Americans as they go through their day to day lives, do not very often see corruption of power here at home, so they very frequently forget the sufferings of other nations under the power of oppressive regimes. It is important to remember that human power, in its pure form, will tend to be used for evil rather than good. In fact Golding creates such a situation in his book Lord of the Flies which will later be seen. It is also important to know that even if a person is conditioned to use his human power for good and not for evil, the temptation to use that human power for evil is often so great that the user will succumb to the temptation and could use that human power to do something terrible. This is seen in both I Only Came to Use the Phone and Lord of the Flies. Another important aspect of human power is that human power with good intent is often stamped out by human power with evil intent. This is demonstrated by some characters in Lord of the Flies. So basically, human power is an indiscriminate force which can be used for either good or for evil depending on the human who is yielding said power; however, in general, human power is used to achieve selfish and evil desires.
The topic of human nature, in its pure form, will tend to use its human power for evil rather than good. This topic is illustrated in Lord of the Flies in a series of quotes that show how a boy named Jack acts when his human nature in its pure form takes over. This first quote establishes that Jack’s human nature in pure form will eventually show itself, by showing that Jack is on an island with only himself and other kids: “Beyond the hollow was the square top of the mountain and soon they were standing on it. They had guessed before that this wa...
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...ic have painted their faces. Sam and Eric started off as some of Ralph’s followers in that they believed that it was savage to paint your face and that to be savage was to be evil. However, now after they have been hurt, the temptation to use their human power for evil, by endorsing the savages with their painted faces and by effectively pledging themselves to participate in the savage acts, and by allying themselves with the savages. This enforces the topic that even if a person is conditioned to use his human power for good and not for evil the temptation to use that human power for evil is often so great that the user will succumb to the temptation and could use that human power to do something terrible.
Works Cited
Golding, William. Lord Of The Flies. New York: Perigee, 1954. Print.
Marquez, Grabriel. I Only Came To Use The Phone. Oveja Negra, 1992. Print.
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.
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
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.
In the modern day world, society is an important part of our everyday lives. However, oftentimes, society can be detrimental to moral values. In both Lord of the Flies and I Only Came to Use the Phone, the authors offer criticism on society and point out its faults. To demonstrate these faults, the authors use characters, on both sides of the power struggle, to shed criticisms on their book’s societies. Furthermore, by utilizing symbolism, the authors are able to make criticisms parallel to people as a whole. Which in turn, allows the authors shine a light on the many faults of mankind.
Simon and Jack from the novel of Lord of the Flies are great representations of the theories of Natural Man written by Aristotle and Thomas Hobbes. The character with the best purpose of representing Aristotle’s theory is Simon due to his morals and spiritual goodness. Leaving Jack as the best representation of Hobbes’s theory due to his violent state and the desire for power. The two theories clash due to the fact that they are polar opposite of one another. Aristotle sates that Natural Man is morally sound and just in their actions, whereas Hobbes states that Natural Man is corrupt and a wicked thing of existence. Therefore the two characters cannot coexist on the island. One or the other will have to come out on top, which Golding gives us a foreshadowed by placeing Jack’s camp on the top of the mountain.
Crashing onto the island, the kids have immaculate, clean faces due to the fact that they attend a Catholic school which, incidentally, enforces a school uniform code. As time progresses, some of the kids, particularly the choir boys, dirty their faces because of their hunting adventures. As seen on page 69, “Jack, his face smeared with clays, reached the top first and hailed Ralph excitedly, with lifted spear.” After dirtying their faces, the choir boys proceed to paint them. Page 74 mentions, “I painted my face—I stole up.” In the beginning the face painting is only something they do for fun. However, near the end of the story it becomes so bad that Ralph cannot even recognize who was standing in front of him. On page 195, “A smallish savage was standing between him and the rest of the forest, a savage striped red and white, and carrying a spear.” It can be seen by this quote that the face painting becomes a mask of evil over the choir boys’ faces. Nevertheless, besides their faces, there is a smaller, more inconspicuous physical change, hair.
...the dark side that exists in all humans will emerge. Golding’s primary message from The Lord of the Flies is just that, all humans are capable of evil, but society inhibits these evils. Jack epitomizes this concept as he is originally shown as a choirboy, a title given to him by adults. But as the story progresses, and he becomes more and more distant from society, Jack changes. He begins to show more connections to the id or instinctual behaviors. Golding is also insinuating that mankind will begin to disintegrate over time. As war, and even climate shift occur, and civilization becomes more and more distant; mankind will go into a state of id, not having to obey societies rules, expelling the superego. Golding uses The Lord of the Flies to convey a variety of different symbols and allegories, which makes the novel one of the most influential novices ever written.
Jack’s representation of malignant and viciousness validates that there is a dark side of human nature. As choirmaster, Jack succeeds pushing control over others, such as the choir, through his manipulative approach. He concentrates on hunting and yearns for meat. In result, his repulsive acts create a savage within. Evil is present in every single one of us and it is natural for one to do whatever it takes to stay alive. In Golding’s novel, Lord of The Flies, Golding depicts society through the group of stranded boys who are compelled to create their own representation of civilization. Though the civilized boys were born into the liberated civilization not all approach the situation with an enlightened belief. Everyone has the proposition to do great however when undermined, man can turn vicious, such as Jack. His fundamental conflicts are that people are savage by nature, and are moved by urges to dominate over others. The natural darkness in humankind brings about the breakdown of civilization, as demonstrated by Jack.
As shown in literature, corruption and the abuse of power is an ongoing discussion. When it comes down to the point where people are being used and abused physically and psychologically, it creates a hostile environment for both the subjects and the abuser. As represented in the two similar texts Lord Of the Flies and “I Only Came to use the Phone”, corrupted authority and abuse of power usually end up leading to the collapse of a society or a world of chaos and violence.
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
“Everybody has good and evil within them. All we're trying to say is that people are not all good or all bad. People are more complicated than you think, and one has to be more knowledgeable about the complexities.” This quotation from Stephen Schwartz establishes that even the best of people can be bitter by their own nature. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding removes the restraints of society to prove that it is human nature to live primitively and that evil lies within all of us. The sanctions of society begin to deteriorate due to the loss of communication, Jack’s obsession with hunting, and the inhumane nature of Jack and his “tribe”.
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.
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.
Inside all of man is inherited evil that is concealed by our surroundings, and the society around us. Lord of the Flies reveals that without a structure, man is an evil savage beast. The young group of boys show that humankind is inherently evil through aggressive control and power. When the boys are put to do their duties, Jack starts become more demanding and belligerent towards his group of choirboys. When Jack tells Ralph, “I’ll split up the choir-my hunters that it, “ (Golding 42). Jack tries to show his suppirouness over the choirboys and how they are becoming more and more like savages. Jack then begins show his need for control and power by breaking the rules and doing his own thing, for example he says, “ Bollocks to the rules! Were strong- we hunt! If there’s a beast , we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and b...
Man’s inhumanity to man literally means human’s cruelty towards other humans. This is a major theme of the story and is seen throughout it. Golding himself even states that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” A review of the book states how Golding portrays this “because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.” Piggy, Ralph, and Simon are the “rational good of mankind” portrayed in the book, and Jack and his hunters are the “evil savagery of mankind.” “The beast” is a symbol for the evil in all humans, and Simon and Piggy, or rationality, are almost helpless in his presence. Simon, though, in a book filled with evil, is a symbol of vision and salvation. He is the one to see the evil as it truly exists, in the hearts of all humanity. When he tries to tell the others of this truth, however, he is killed, much like Christ was trying to bring salvation to the ignorant. Simon being there gives us hope; the truth is available to those who seek it. In the book, Jack and his hunters become so evil that they end up killing two boys while on the island. Man’s tendencies towards evil in The Lord of the Flies are also compared to the book of Genesis in the Bible. Nature, beauty, and childhood can all be corrupted by the darkness within humankind. The ending of this truly dark and evil story tells readers how Golding feels about evil within society and where he thinks humanity is headed. Evil will triumph over the intellect and good, unless some force intercedes. In th...