“Humankind seems to have enormous capacity for savagery, for brutality, for lack of empathy, for lack of compassion” (Lennox). William Golding and Annie Lennox’s have the same view of society, innate human evil. In the fictional novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, his view on humanity is innate human evil. Golding shows this as the characters Roger and Jack progress in the novel, and when the civilized society breaks.
The first time Golding expresses his view on humanity is when Roger is introduced into the book. Roger represents all evil in the novel. Roger is characterized as having a face of "unsociable remoteness” and "uncommunicative by nature" (Golding 60, 121). Roger started to ruin the littluns sand castles, "burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones" amusing himself (Golding 60). Roger introduced the concept that humanity’s embrace on individuals runs deep even when they have been taken away their normal structure. The taboo of the old life limits Roger from throwing the rocks at Henry. Roger is the first to leave Ralph and Piggy when Jack gives the boys an opportunity go with him. Roger's vicious action toward killing the sow is the first scene of savage behavior. "Some source of power began to pulse in Roger's body" when almost causes Sam to fall off of the cliff (Golding 175). It is apparent that Roger is rapidly going down the path of pure evil. This is proven when he throws a boulder down the cliff to smash Piggy. Roger shouts, “That’s what you’ll get! I meant that. (Golding 180). Roger sharpened both ends of a stick with Ralph in mind. Golding used Ralph as an example to complete savage, and it shows his view on society.
The second time Golding expresses his view on humanity is when he introduc...
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...d Simon when they were on the beach. While the other boys were chanting and dancing, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152), Simon appears as a dark shadow coming down onto the beach. None of the boys recognized him, so they “leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (Golding 153). The morning after the death of Simon, Ralph and Piggy feel guilt from accidentally taking part in the death of Simon.
William Golding’s view of humanity is clearly seen in the characters Roger and Jack, and when the civilized society falls apart. When Golding introduced Roger, he made the expressed Roger as pure evil and pure savage. When Golding introduced Jack, he expresses his character as the savagery that is being held back. When Golding wrote about the ship passing and the murder of Simon, he was leading up the civilized society falling apart.
Whether people will deny it or not, it is certainly apparent that human nature is all too evil; for there is a demon that lurks in everyone, just waiting to come out. Humans can build civilizations and attempt to deviate themselves from such basic instincts, yet nevertheless, evil is not something that they can run from; it is not something that they can defeat. William Golding knew this, and so in his book, Lord of the Flies, he presents so by portraying a microcosm of a society in the form of little British schoolboys. Their plane, in an attempt to escape from the raging war, came to its own demise as it was shot down, leaving the boys stranded on an island they know nothing of. Ralph, later on the leader of the boys, and with the help of
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding expresses the idea that humans are naturally immoral, and that people are moral only because of the pressures of civilization. He does this by writing about a group of boys, and their story of survival on an island. The civilized society they form quickly deteriorates into a savage tribe, showing that away from civilization and adults, the boys quickly deteriorate into the state man was millions of years ago. This tendency is shown most in Jack, who has an animalistic love of power, and Roger, who loves to kill for pleasure. Even the most civilized boys, Ralph and Piggy, show that they have a savage side too as they watch Simon get murdered without trying to save him. Simon, the only one who seems to have a truly good spirit, is killed, symbolizing how rare truly good people are, and how quickly those personalities become corrupted.
After this incident we can see continual conflict between Ralph and Jack. We can see this when Jack proclaims that Ralph, “Isn’t a proper chief.” Golding is trying to show us that this conflict is very similar to the conflict between humanities inner barbarism and the living influence of reason. We can see other evidence of this conflict within ourselves, with the masks that Jack and his hunters put on. We are informed that Jack, “ rubbed the charcoal stick between the patches of red and white on his face” The mask represents the dark line (charcoal) between good (white) and evil (red) within ourselves. These masks also let the boys hide f...
...Golding is a perfect exemplar of humans at their worst. Examples of evil towards humans is Roger and Maurice kicking the little boy’s sand castles down (Golding 60), Piggy getting no meat (Golding 74), the murder of Simon (Golding 153), and the attempted murder of Ralph (Golding 195). Examples of evil towards animals is the torture and murder of the mother sow (Golding 136) and putting the stick in the sow (Golding 135). Examples of evil towards environment is Jack slashing the candle buds (Golding 30) and the savages setting the island on fire in their attempt to try and kill Jack (Golding 195). Lord of the Flies shows how dark mankind truly is.
As fear grows and the lack of control rises it unleashes the monster in everyone. In Lord of the Flies one character, Roger motives change as time progresses. As the boys are all relaxing and doing their duties Roger is witnessed bothering and watching the liluns in particular Henry. Roger was throwing rocks at Henry but made sure not to directly hit him. “ There was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not to throw… Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policeman and the law”(Golding 62). This shows that society is what keeps people from being savage and prevents our instincts from coming out. Golding is proving that without the authorization of society...
...he world what he saw. He showed this in the novel by at first having the boys make a small civilization for themselves on the island, but as the days go on the boys begin to rebel against the rules and their society. They act as savages and become obsessed with killing. They ignore the fact of a possible rescue just for the fascination to hunt and kill for their survival. It appears that Golding is making the statement that humans are not innately moral beings; they naturally hunger for barbarism, violence, and power (Neighbors). When the boys are faced with the chance of returning to civilization, they see where ignoring society and its rules has taken them over. They have become permanent savages and barbaric like and have no intent of going back to civilization. Savagery has taken them over and the worst of humanity prevailed causing them to act in terrible ways.
The boys’ fear of the beast causes them to pay no attention to their morals and act savagely to defeat it. However, Simon is ultimately able to understand the beast and avoid savagery because his embrace of nature allows him to avoid any fears of the island. Simon demonstrates this lack of fear when he climbs the mountain by himself in order to find the beast, despite the dangers that might await him. The hunters and even Piggy and Ralph want to avoid the mountain because that is the last place where the beast was seen, but Simon seems to Once he reaches the top, he finds a physical beast, but not the kind the boys were expecting: a dead parachutist. The parachutist serves as an ironic symbol of Simon’s understanding; the monster the boys were afraid was a human. In contrast, Piggy displays immense fear throughout the novel, especially about Jack. For most of the story, his appreciation of logic and order help him remain civilized, but eventually his fears overcome him and he acts savagely the night of Simon’s murder. As Golding states, “[Piggy and Ralph] found themselves eager to take place in this demented but partly secure society….[the crowd] leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (136). After this occurrence and the theft of his glasses, Piggy decides to
Mankind is innately evil. The allegorical novel, The Lord of the Flies, allows for little interpretation about human nature. William Golding depicts the idea, “evil is an inborn trait of man” (Golding). Throughout the novel the children who have crash landed on the island begin to uncover their savage nature. Although all of the children somehow succumb to a heinous behaviour, Jack, Ralph, and Roger become most noticeably corrupt. Ultimately, it becomes clear that malicious intent is intrinsic in mankind.
Ralph and simon that the rest of the kids horesplay was a bad idea. In the novel Golding writes, “Shouting that he is the beast, the boys descend upon Simon and start to tear him apart with their bare hands and teeth. Simon tries desperately to explain what has happened and to remind them of who he is, but he trips and plunges over the rocks onto the beach. The boys fall on him and violently kill him” ( ). This just goes to show us that the other boys’ horseplay and beliefs lead to bad things. Ralph did not take part in this act because he knew what was wrong.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
Eric Burdon, a famous singer-songwriter and member and vocalist of rock band, The Animals, and the funk band, War, once wrote, “Inside each of us, there is a seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.” Both good and evil are inherent in humans, however it is up to man to discover which trait will be displayed dominantly. William Golding, a witness of the destruction of humanity during World War II, has the ideology that man is inherently evil. Through his novel “The Lord of The Flies,” Golding introduces the thoughts of evil in society. To exemplify that man is inherently evil, a variety of characters, allegory, and metaphors are used to convey the occurrence
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of young boys from England are evacuated out of their country due to a war. The plane is then shot down and results into a plane crash on a deserted island. The boys are left all alone with no adults, no supplies, and no one to come and rescue them. They are all on their own and have to establish a new “society”. The boys have to choose someone to govern them and that person ends up being Ralph, who had an internal struggle between what is right and wrong closer to the end of the novel. The boys turn into savages, killing each other, and showing their evil inside each of them. According to, William Golding man is inherently evil, evil is in all of us, but it is oppressed by society, and comes out when there is not anything to hold us back, civilization is what holds back evil from coming out, or it is what triggers evil inside of man.