Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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William Golding’s book; Lord of the Flies uses defects of society to trace back to the defects of human nature. One of the many motifs Golding uses is this “beast” which represents the core of human nature, savagery. To the stranded boys the beast was seen to be a physical thing that hunted them and hid on the island, but the truth that only Simon and Jack knew was that the beast was not physical at all, but inside each and every one of the boys, covered up only by a thin layer of society. This layer is easily pulled back as the kids become more savage fueled by their belief in the beast that Jack continues to exploit. The beast first comes up when the unnamed kid described by the mark he had on his neck says he sees something creeping around …show more content…

When Simon is returning with vital information that smudges the beast out of existence, the sow skull on the pike(The Lord of the Flies) talks to him. It explains how the beast was never real, but inside of the boys the whole time. “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!”...“You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?(Golding, 182). At this point it is basically inevitable that the other boys could realize truly what they are doing. The Lord of the Flies foresights was confirmed when Simon was ripped to shreds when he came out of the forest trying to warn the boys about the beast. There is no return beyond this point as the savages now have human blood on their hands because there was no “society” to hold them back. At this point Jack knows that the only way he can control his savages is through the beast, which he just killed. Jack states, “And then, the beast might try to come in. You remember how it crawled...Well? But didn't we, didn't we-? He squirmed and looked down. No! In the silence that followed, each savage flinched away from his individual memory. No! How could we-kill-it?”(Golding, 204) This somewhat symbolizes how the beast inside cannot be physically killed, only covered up until this

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