The Inherent Evil of Man is confirmed by William Golding when darkness overpowers the minds of the boys. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the theme Inherent Evil of Man is communicated through the symbolism of the pig head, the Lord of the Flies, the island, and the conch. The Lord of the Flies symbolizes the evil that is found within every person. The island seems to be the “perfect paradise,” but eventually becomes the grounds in which the boy’s minds are invaded by dark thoughts.The conch creates a fragile social structure which leads to some of the boys doing whatever it takes to gain power and control. The Lord of the Flies, when compared to the other symbols, is most important to the theme because it was the main cause …show more content…
The boys feel safe going into the forest during the daytime but when it starts getting dark, the forest becomes a terrifying place. The fear of the boys who go into the forest at night is emphasized by their imagination. The littluns have been having nightmares about the forest. Phil, one of the littluns, reflects the fear of the forest in the quote “Last night I had a dream, a horrid dreams, fighting with things. I was outside the shelter by myself, fighting with things, those twisty things in the trees. He paused, and the other littluns laughed in horrified sympathy” (Golding 93). Phil’s dream shows that during the night the forest is a scary place because he was fighting with the creepers, which help make the forest look eerie. The forest is an important aspect to the evil on the island because it helps to frighten the boys. The other boys are terrified of the forest but laugh to try and ease their fear. They laugh in horrified sympathy because they want other boys to think that they are unafraid but deep down they fear the darkness of the forest during the night and the unexplainable evil of the island. They sympathize with Phil because they understand why he had that dream. This relates to the theme Inherent Evil of Man because in order to be thought of as fearless by the other boys they put on a mask to conceal …show more content…
Jack all along had been trying to gain control of the group of boys by appearing to be courageous and unafraid of any threats the island presented. Jack is obsessed with hunting the beast and the pigs on the island. His lust for blood is proven in the quote “Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her. The butterflies still danced, preoccupied in the center of the clearing” (Golding 154). Jack’s savageness is shown when he cuts the pig's throat. He enjoys having the pig’s blood on him because it is described as hot blood that spouted over his hands. Jack shows that he is capable of anything. He could have killed the pig in a way that was less violent and gruesome. As the story goes on Jack reveals his true evil self through the killing of the pigs and some of the other boys on the island. The conch is the only thing preventing him from becoming a blood thirsty maniac because it represents law and order. In the quote “ We’ll have rules!’ He cried excitedly. ‘Lots of rules” (Golding 33). Jack suggests that the boys have rules in order to stay as close to civilization as possible. With society’s idea of being a good civilian Jack is not able show the evil within himself. After the conch is
The evil in man is seen in many parts of life and it could be only be brought out when they have the power and position to do it. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to show the theme of the Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the Lord of the Flies, and the fire. The breaking of the conch shows how the boys forget authority and destroy their only symbol of civilization. The Lord of the Flies shows the violence of the boys, and the temptation of the evil Lord of the Flies. The fire shows how something used for rescue and hope is turned into something violent and evil. The fire burns down trees and parts of the island when the savage boys are trying to kill Ralph.
The impact of Jack’s savagery on the island leads to the boys forgetting the real truth about about themselves. The boys on the island are able to explain that human are evil from the beginning and that they aren’t impacted by society. The boys see the island as a place where they are free from the adult world and without any rules. The boys don’t realize that a world without rules causes the chaos on the island and the savagery within the boys. Jack’s authoritative power forces him to push the rest of the boys out of their comfort zone by making them evil being that was not there true identity before. Upon realizing that the savagery they had obtained was only destroying themselves they “wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart”(202). The power that was developed by Jack impacts everyone and destroys all of the lives that rejected him. Piggy who was the most knowledgeable character and also the weakest character was often disrespected by Jack because he opposed Jack’s power and recognizes that his power not voted for. As as result, Piggy is killed by Jack’s own boys because they too have been impacted by brute force. They killed piggy just like how they hunted pigs. Next, Simon's death reflects the rejections of religion and the idea that the
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence.
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.
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 Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.
Author William Golding uses Lord of the Flies to paint a picture of the internal evil of man through a variety of different mechanisms. Ralph, while being one of the most civilized boys on the island, still shows characteristics that would indicate an inherent evil. Henry also displays a darker personality, even as he practices innocent childhood activities in the sand. The island on which the story takes place holds evidence that man possesses inherent evil, seen in the way the boys corrupt and destroy the innocence and purity of the tropical oasis, and viewed in the symbolic manner in which the island's pristine exterior shields a darker inside. The use of a stick sharpened at both ends provides evidence of the savagery of the boys, and the dead parachutist shows that the boys are blinded by their internal evil and have become so villainous that they do not even recognize a human being. Golding shows throughout the novel that evil is the prevalent force within man, and that savagery takes precedence over even childhood innocence.
There’s no doubt that as the story went on, Jack become more savage and mean. Ralph was voted leader but he let Jack take control over the hunters and the fire and Jack agreed but he really only cares about hunting and he forgot about the fire. The hunters and Jack walked to the top of the hill, with a pig on a stick chanting “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” (Golding, 69). Ralph and Piggy were at the top of the mountain and as Jack arrived, both of the boys yelled at him for letting the fire out but Jack did not care at all, instead he was saying that it was no big deal, that they needed food and could easily re-start the fire using Piggy’s specs. From then on, Jack was just talking about how proud he was that he killed the pig, saying “I cut the pig’s throat,” (Golding, 69) proudly. This shows that Jack only cares for what he wants, not what is important to others, and to further celebrate the successful killing of the pig, the boys reenact the killing with Maurice being the pig. In chapter 10 of Lord of the Flies, Jack’s evil side is shown when he lies about killing Simon the night before. He’s the chief of the new group and he told the boys “... the beast might try to come in. You remember how he crawled--” (Golding, 160). Jack was hesitating and took a while to put together that sentence because he knew that they killed Simon but he didn’t want the rest of the boys to know so he
As the story progresses it shows how the boys change from disciplined school boys to savages. Jack is the first to show the transition. When Jack, Simon and Ralph go exploring for the first time, they come across a piglet caught in a curtain of creepers. Jack couldn't kill it "because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood (31)." From that moment on, Jack felt he needed to prove to himself to the others that he's strong, brave and isn't afraid to kill. When Jack says, "Next Time (31)" it's foreshadowing his future of savage hunting.
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.
While Jack and Ralph are exploring the island, they encounter a piglet which Jack supposedly attempts to kill. After gaining the courage to kill the baby pig, Jack rectifies the situation by saying "I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him (Golding 31)." This event clearly illustrates that along with inherent evil, "man is [also] capable of being good and kind, and has to choice and free will to choose which one he will become."(Ridley 97) Jack's mercy is short-lived, however, and when they encounter another pig, Jack and his hunters are relentless.
This leads to the fact that a beast really does exist within all human beings, but is only expressed when human instinct for survival becomes the main objective. At first the boys aren?t able to kill, but as survival instinct starts taking over, the reader?s are able to se the true character?s play out, and lives are compromised. ?You feel as if you?re not hunting, but- being hunted, as if something?s behind you all the time in the jungle,? (pg.53) proves that it?s every man for himself and people will do anything to survive. An example of this in the novel was when Robert became the ?pig,? and was wounded even though it wasn?t intentional, but the situation became worse when Piggy?s death happened as a result of all civilization lost and evil taken over.
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.
Throughout the novel Lord of the flies written by William Golding, Golding is able to fulfill Hobbes’ ideas of man by integrating events in the plot that reference Hobbes’ ideas. Golding incorporates many of the ideas of man throughout this fictional plot which helps lead to the major theme of human nature. In Leviathan, Hobbes identifies the nature of man as being signified by three principal causes of quarrel which are diffidence. Within the story line Golding is able to incorporate these three parts of the nature of man by using the plot to demonstrate the idea of nature vs. nurture amongst the boys which evidently coincides with Hobbes’ ideas of man. Competition, diffidence, and glory are all distinguishing characteristics that the boys
Jack begins the novel partially innocent, cruel enough to yell at the boys yet pure enough to hesitate when faced with the task of killing the pig. Jack obtains the tools necessary to kill the pig, yet claims to need help cornering the animal. Jack, not truly needing help to kill the pig but rather needing the support provided by the mob mentality, acquires the support of his choir and together the boys hunt and kill the pig, all the while chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood”...