The Extent to Which William Golding Portrays Mankind as Being Inherently Evil

The Extent to Which William Golding Portrays Mankind as Being Inherently Evil

Although I do not think he shows humans to be completely, irrevocably

evil, I think that Golding paints an increasingly dim picture of

humankind. As his faith in humanity's intrinsic good fails, Golding's

foresight of a dark future for man is reflected in the colour of his

metaphorical oil paints as he writes this allegorical novel. Even

supposedly innocent children are shown to be incredibly sinful and the

rules and regulations they are brought up under fade away into

insignificance. This mirrors William Golding's belief that people are

born corrupt and malevolent, they are not influenced into bad ways;

rather it is something about us as a species. Throughout his story,

Golding demonstrates the true nature of people coming out into the

open - manifesting itself more openly after being restrained by

society for so long.

At the start of Lord Of The Flies, there is chaos amidst horrendous

storms, with panicky schoolboys unregulated and vulnerable. Together

though, they set about their predicament in a very well meaning,

sophisticated way - everything is orderly and civilised in true

boy-scout fashion. The boys act above their ages and decide they ought

to "...call the others...have a meeting"(I, p. 22), to organise

themselves and to build shelters after their adult 'election'. Like in

Parliament, only one person is allowed to speak at once and the conch

helps to enforce this. With the well meaning and democratic Ralph in

charge, even specific jobs are allocated amongst the children with

Jack's choir designated the island's hunters. However, even at this

early stage, the children test the limits of this new adult-less

world. Jack says to Piggy, "Shut up, Fatty"(I, p. 28). Then, the

name-calling continues with Ralph even, abusing Piggy's trust and

revealing his former private nickname merely for a cheap laugh. Even

the tiniest child joined in the resulting combined uproar of laughter

- every one glad that there is no authority to discipline them. Later,

when Piggy approaches Ralph about his betrayal, Ralph is caught

between "...apology or further insult"(I, p. 33) as his conscience

begins to falter.

As the story progresses, incidences illustrating the immorality of the

boys become more frequent and more prominent. Still in the first

chapter, Ralph, Simon and Jack revel in the wanton destruction caused

by their hands when they roll a boulder into the canopy below - they

were transfixed by this "triumph"(I, p.37) and utter an excited

"Wacco!"(I, p. 37). The first time the boys chance upon a pig, Jack

crucially hesitates whilst considering the consequences of taking

life. Though, as later on Jack renounces his social conditioning and