“All are born with extremely good and evil hungry desires. The question lies; in which of the two, do they take pleasure in starving the most?” –Enrique Vega. This quote asks a question that we don’t really think about. We never grow up and say that we want to be evil or good. It all happens from experience and choice. In Lord of the Flies many extreme events, like kill one another for thrill, happen causing the boys to choose between having an evil or good identity. Identity is one of the main themes in Lord of the flies by William Golding because it shows us the struggle of choosing to be a moral, honest good person or a dishonest, violent evil person through external conflicts, internal conflicts, and symbolism.
In the book Golding shows external conflicts through the fighting between characters and survival on the island. From the second the boys set foot on the island they show loss of civilization by bullying Piggy because he was different, fat, and his name is Piggy (Jack hunts pigs). They call him by his nickname and don’t even care how he felt. When Ralph calls in the very first meeting with the conch they have a chief election. "None of the boys could have found good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy while the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart" (Golding 19). This quote is conveying the difference and individuality of Ralph, Jake, and Piggy. Ralph and Piggy are intelligent and in...
... middle of paper ...
...t also is an important character. The beast symbolizes our human nature, the evil, and the bad inside every human being. As I said, Simon was the only one to know what the beast was. The beliefs of the beast grew ‘till the end of the story. The more they let their savagery act, the more realistic the beast was.
No one grows up to choose weather to be evil identity or a good identity. No one is born evil. It all happens from experience and choice. Identity is an important theme in Lord of the flies by William Golding because it shows us the struggle of choosing to be a moral, honest good person or a dishonest, violent evil person through external conflicts, internal conflicts, and symbolism. Everyone has a beast inside them, its your choice whether to show it or not.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber, 1954
Word count: 1192
The most influential saying in the lord of the flies is the fact that the symbolism represents the many statistics in the communal world which is relatively amazing for a book to possibly recreate. The way that William Golding showed his audience in this book how the negativity of the world and the wickedness in a man’s heart is beyond belief. This can be shown through the development of the children who progressively become more and more malevolence as the days pass. It can be made known through the items that represent the civilized world or ‘the adult’ society. It’s reasonably scary when we are exposed to the evilness sinfulness people have, even those that we perceive as innocent can be deceiving.
...tate they are in is being caused by the beast, a symbol of fear. The barbaric way the boys attacked Simon without a moment of restraint shows that the beast had summoned their inner evil, primal, and savage minds. All of the boys but Simon are becoming the beast in that moment.
It is in these games were the boys get carried away and Ralph feels a
Symbolism is a way to use symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In the Lord of the Flies, by William Golding tells a story about boys who are stranded on an island after surviving a plane crash. These children come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. On the island we see conflict between Ralph and Jack ultimately symbolising civilization versus savage. The use of symbols such as the conch shell, beast, and even Piggy's specs, demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules, allow their human nature become evil to dominate their idea of civilization.
The classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an exciting adventure deep into the nether regions of the mind. The part of the brain that is suppressed by the mundane tasks of modern society. It is a struggle between Ralph and Jack, the boys and the Beast, good and evil.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
Using the character of Simon, author William Golding in the Lord of the Flies weaves the concept of religion, morals, and good and evil throughout. At first glance, the novel may appear to be only about a group of young schoolboys stranded on an island, but it goes far deeper than that concept. Instead, the core of the book is about the presence of evil within all of mankind, no matter what the age. Simon helps to bring together all of society. In the end, society begins to crumble without him. William Golding utilizes the character of Simon to portray spirituality and religion through Simon’s desire to know the truth of the beast, which is the evil in all humans.
Jack finds a pig while hunting, yet he cannot kill it, his reason being, “because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting living flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (31). Because of the strictly regulated society Jack has grown up in, he finds it disturbing to kill an animal, even if he must do it to have food. Later in the story, changes can be seen in the boys from when they first arrived on the island. During an assembly, the boys discuss how to track the “beast” living on the island, and Jack speaks without holding the conch. After being reprimanded for that he says, “Conch! Conch!...We don't need the conch anymore… It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us” (101). Jack’s disregard for the conch shows his growing distaste for laws and civilization. He also challenges Ralph's authority by implying he should be in charge of decisions taken for the group. After some time, Ralph is only left with Piggy, Samneric, and some littluns on his side of the island. These boys realize everyone else has become savage.
My sense of the book Lord of the Flies is as follows, people are who they want to be. Rather it is to be good or bad. It is our self that needs to accept the fact if we are good or bad. We all have choices, what we have to do is make the right ones. In the book they all started off pretty good but then they started to become animals in a way. Because it got inside their head and drove them all crazy. Letting evil into your life can cause
The psychology of evil is vital to understanding why Jack and Ralph progress through the story as they do. In Lord of the Flies, evil is an undoubted key to life on the island. The main characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies demonstrate Zimbardo’s “Seven Social Processes that Grease the Slippery Slope of Evil,” most notable mindlessly taking the first step, blind obedience to authority, and de-individualization of self.
From the time that the boys land on the island, both a power struggle and the first signs of the boys' inherent evil, Piggy's mockery, occur. After blowing the conch and summoning all the boys to come for an assembly, an election is held. "I ought to be chief , said Jack with simple arrogance, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy"(Golding 22). After Ralph is elected Chief, Jack envies his position and constantly struggles for power with Ralph throughout the rest of the novel, convincing the rest of the boys to join his tribe rather than to stay with Ralph. Also, soon after the boys arrive at the island, Piggy, a physically weak and vulnerable character, is mocked and jeered at by the other boys. After trying to recount all of the liluns' names, Piggy is told to "Shut up, Fatty," by Jack Merridew. Ralph remarks by saying, "He's not Fatty. His real name's Piggy." All of the boys on the island, except for Piggy, laugh and make themselves more comfortable at Piggy's expense. "A storm of laughter arose and even the tiniest child joined in. For a moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside."(Golding 21). The boys instinctively become more comfortable with one another after Piggy's mockery and create a bond, leaving Piggy on the outside.
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.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted.
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.
is left with the decision of whether or not to drop the rock. Roger is