Evil, a Theme in William Golding´s Lord of the Flies

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In the novel, The Lord of The Flies, written by William Golding, there is a recurring theme of the evil in human nature. Throughout the story, the boys that are stuck in the island return to their natural selves, which as Golding percieves it, is evil. Golding’s informative purpose for writing this book is to show his belief that humans are naturally evil, which aJean-jacques Rousseua contradicts with his theory of Naturalism, stating that all humans are naturally good, but society corrupts them.
William Golding was born in the 20th century roughly around the time World War I was taking place. He went to Oxford and shortly after starting his studies as a natural scientist, changed his focus to English Literature. In 1940 however, Golding joined the Royal Navy to fight in World War II. As to many other soldiers, being in a war can deeply affect one’s view of humanity. The experience of war may have had a profound effect on the Golding’s view of the evils humans are capable of commiting. Lord of The Flies was written in 1954, after the war. It is based on the Golding’s interpretation of humankind, which is violent in the natural state. After crashing on the island, the boys start by making rules and electing a leader. However, as time passes and the boys remain on the island, some start descending into savagery by doing things such as rituals and to the extreme case of murder. Even the most civilized of them all eventually
Boyadjian 2 takes part in a murder, which clearly exhibits Golding’s purpose of savagery that naturally occurs in humans. The boys in the novel fight the urge to cause pain and to have power. An outlet to violence that the boys have is hunting, giving a reason as to why they are so obbsesed with hunting the p...

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... a man that are looked down upon. Because of these traits, which affect his perosnal appearance, he is not chosen as leader. The more attractive boy is picked as leader, Ralph, because this is what society has taught the boys to do. However, once the tribes have been split, the two twins, Samneric, finally realize that Piggy is the one that should have been chosen as the true leader.
Although Golding’s and Rousseau’s ideas contradict eachother they are similar in some ways. They are similar because they both believe that humans are capable of being evil. Rousseau’s ideas are shown throughout the novel by things such as the boys turning corrupt when they split into tribes and also through Piggy as the inequality of a man. On the other hand, Golding’s informative purpose is portrayed throughout the novel because as society is lost, the boys slowly return to savages.

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