Golding vs. Rousseau

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The nature of human: are humans born good or evil? These two opposing views on human nature are two topics that Rousseau and Golding have both touched upon. While Golding believes that humans are born inherently evil, Rousseau believes the opposite: that humans are inherently good. Golding wrote the novel Lord of the Flies as a response of the novel, The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne because he believed that it was farfetched. In this novel Ballantyne’s main characters are able to enjoy their time on the deserted island. My opinion on this matter leans to Rousseau’s side. I believe that people are born naturally good.
Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712 and died in 1778 in France. While Golding lived through the two World Wars, Rousseau never lived through such conflict. A topic of Rousseau’s that always came up is about how humans can keep their freedom despite their dependence on one another. He believed that there were two things that had something to do with this topic and that was a human’s material and psychological need and that the latter was more important. Rousseau believed that humans get their sense of self due to opinion of others. Rousseau believes that humans are inherently born good and that and that it is society’s corruption that causes humans to be evil.
William Golding was born in 1911in Cornwall, England and died in 1993. William Golding was born only three years before the start of World War I. Golding lived through both World Wars and harsh times. His beliefs that humans are born good and that society keeps humans from becoming evil are most likely influenced by his experiences in life. He believes that it is reason that is preventing humans from degenerating into primitive creatur...

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"Lord of the Flies Background." Study Guides & Essay Editing. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
"Rousseau and Golding: Opposing Views of Human Nature as Seen in the Lord of the Flies." Rousseau and Golding: Opposing Views of Human Nature as Seen in the Lord of the Flies. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .
"Rousseau." Rousseau. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .
"William Golding - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 13 Mar 2014. .

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