Good Versus Evil in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

1244 Words3 Pages

Good vs. Evil

Many years ago, Charles Darwin introduced a theory that we humans are a species which evolved from animals that have inhabited the Earth for many years, and he believed that we were civilized, intelligent, and logical life forms for these very reasons. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding there is a prominent theme of good versus evil which reveals that maybe humans are not the civilized human beings that they were said to be. William Golding carefully netted this theme with his utilization of literary device such as his symbolism. Golding uses this simple story of English boys stranded on an inhabited island to illustrate how destructive humans can be when implanted in a impoverished environment where they are left to self survive. William Golding was present during World War II, and this is where he presences how a normal individual can experience changes from a civilized human being into a complete savage. The dictionary definition of good is a man-made conformity based on rules which society has created and modernized and evil is a profound depravity and wickedness. Throughout the novel, these boys are having many conflicts between good vs. evil and civilization vs. savagery. As Lord of the Flies unfolds, it demonstrates that inside every individual there is a beast, and they are released when traces of civilization, law and order begin to tarnish and let it conquer our own personality, no matter how strong-willed, good, or disciplined we claim to be.

William Golding makes very good uses of his characters in Lord of the Flies, by showing good and evil through each of the characters. One of the characters that represents good will is Simon. Simon is pure and good, and is different from the other...

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... possess innocence and heinous, but also children that no one ever thought had the potential of becoming savages themselves. An author once said," Human life is fiction's only theme," and Golding portrays this in Lord of the Flies .Golding creatively uses symbols like Jack, Simon, and conflicts to give a full understanding of good versus evil.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Penguin, 1954. Print.

Lloyd, Sharon A. "Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy." Stanford University. Stanford University, 12 Feb. 2002. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. .

Wood, Bryan. "The Social Influence of Good vs. Evil." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Mar. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. .

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