Throughout history many people have tried to pin down the true nature of man. There are many who will fight to say man is essentially good or essentially evil.These people are called philosophers and while all the ideas are just hypotheses, some contain much truth in them. Both William Shakespeare's Macbeth and William Golding's Lord of the Flies follow the ideas of the english philosopher Thomas Hobbes on the nature of man. Hobbes' ideas on the nature of man, that man is selfishly individualistic, man is constantly at war for self preservation, constant state of war produces brutish people and that law and punishment prevent brutish behaviour are showcased through the thoughts and actions of many characters.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth from William Shakespeare's Macbeth as well as Ralph and Jack from William Golding's Lord of the Flies, are selfishly individualistic, advance only what they view as important, think only of themselves, use anything and anyone they can to further their aspirations. Macbeth uses Duncan to gain the throne of Scotland and Jack ignores the values of the group to satisfy his craving to kill. Macbeth's willingness to use Duncan to gain power is shown as Macbeth thinks about what he will do after Malcolm is named the Prince of Cumberland saying aside,
The Prince of Cumberland: that is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires,
Let not light see my black and deep desires,
The eye wink at the hand. Yet let that be,
Which the eye fears when it is done to see(1.4.48-53).
Jack's abandonment of the group's values for his own are exhibited as Jack defends himself from Ralph as he questions Jack about why he let the fire go out saying,
“We had to ...
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...hove one could find them self acting like a Macbeth or Jack. Who could honestly say that they wouldn't lie, or steal, or cheat or even kill if the benefit outweighed the risk. Who is pure enough to actually refrain from hurting another in one way shape or form to benefit oneself. There is no-one. People act only for themselves and do so to survive in a world where everyone else is the exact same. Man is selfishly individualistic, it is in man's nature to do these things. Man is constantly at war and constant state of war creates brutish people and thus creates brutish behaviour. That is why there are laws, government and systems of punishments, because people need it to suppress their true nature. Without rules and punishments man is nothing but animals, dangerous and self serving.
Works Cited
William Shakespeare's Macbeth
William Golding's Lord of the Flies
With such rigid and different identities, Jack and Ralph have very different priorities, making it challenging for them to work together. Ralph’s identity is threatened when Jack lets the fire burn out to go hunting, so he lashes out at him, accusing him, “I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. You talk. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let out the fire-”(70, 71). By ignoring what Ralph told him to do, Jack threatens numerous aspects of Ralph’s identity. Ralph identifies with being elected Chief based on his plan to get rescued, so Jack’s insubordination threatens Ralph. Meanwhile,
Most people understand that there is a class system even if it is unspoken. William Golding believed that all humans were savage and evil deep down. This idea was the one mostly portrayed in the novel Lord of the Flies, but also shown in the novel is a deep allegorical comparison between boys on the island and classes they would fall into in everyday society. Little’uns, big’uns and Jack and his hunters all represent different classes of people.
A part of human nature is inherently chaotic and “barbaric.” These natural impulses, however, are generally balanced by the human desire for leadership and structure. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding discusses what may happen in a scenario in which there is a lack of societal structure and constraints. Golding wants the reader to understand that humans have an innate desire to be primitive- describing it as “mankind 's essential illness”- that is usually suppressed by an equal desire for order. Under extreme circumstances, humans may revert back to their most basic impulses that they usually keep suppressed due to social norms. Throughout the book, the boys’ primitive behavior is heightened by their lack of a leader and, eventually, their
...w true moral behaviour is stamped out by the majority, who are all immoral and like to bully and kill the weak. In the end, there is no hope for true spiritual purity.
Humans commit many acts of evil towards each other. Some well-known examples are Hitler killing the Jews during the Holocaust, spouse abusers, and infamous serial killers, like John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy. Another example is Satan worshippers in Russia stabbing four teenagers 666 times and then proceeded to eat them (Haywood 1). Another example is a woman and her boyfriend beating her 1-year-old son with belts...
of Louis XIV was that he thought human nature would always be the same. The
During the novel, the reader becomes increasingly aware of Jack’s dominating and violent tendencies. Specific actions taken are when Jack suggests using one of the younger children as a substitute pig, ties up Wilfred, and hunts Ralph. Things begin to get out of hand when the group’s game turns into a cruel beating. Not long afterwards, Jack suggests that the group
He displayed that he was willing to do anything to survive. When Jack realizes that they're no adults or real rules, he takes advantage of it. He realizes that he doesn't have to take responsibility for his actions because he's in control. An assembly was called when talk about this “beast” emerged and got out of hand. When Ralph confronts Jack about talking out of turn and breaking the rules he simply says “who cares.”
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.
However, as the plot progresses, Ralph faces both internal and external conflicts; from those conflicts he greatly matures. Ralph always has the strong belief that all the children will be saved from the island sooner or later; he is so sure that he even insists that they should have fire at all times to signal. However, when the boys abandon the fire which is symbolic of Ralph’s hope of getting saved, Ralph faces an internal conflict that makes him fear about their future; perhaps they will not be rescued at all. By insisting that the children should keep the fire going, he creates an external conflict with Jack whose values are different. Jack is enjoying life as a leader of the savages, and he fears that fire will possibly end his authoritarian rule over the savages. Both conflicts are resolved when Ralph finally meets the naval officer.
...and is being consumed by fire, concludes the end of a long and treacherous experience for each of the boys. Through the process of showing how the boys arrive on the island conditioned by society to act civilized and leave the island at the end more savage and more evil, Golding succeeds in trying to depict how man possesses inherent evil. The concept of inner evil in man can be connected to the inner evil in Brutus, from the play Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. While Brutus is a trusted advisor and good friend to Caesar, he still conspires and is involved with the assassination of Caesar. His desire to murder, even as he holds a prominent position among Caesar’s advisors, provides proof of his inherent evil. Golding ultimately seeks to prove in the Lord of the Flies that evil is the prevalent force in man and that it takes precedence over even childhood innocence.
When Jack loses the election to become chief to Ralph, it becomes apparent that Jack is schismatic and wholeheartedly intends to act against Ralph’s actions and decisions. From small nuances such as churlish remarks to fights, it is obvious that Jack intends to eventually either dethrone Ralph or form his own tribe. In one instance, Ralph assigns Jack a very simplistic task of watching the fire on the mountain, yet Jack decides that his appetence for blood and meat is more important than fulfilling his duty to the fire. Disobeying Ralph’s orders, Jack defects from his post to hunt and does not attempt to have another person tend the fire in his absence. Because of Jack’s actions, Ralph verbally scolds Jack and states to Jack, “You talk. But you can’t even build hut...
The tragedy of Macbeth opens up with him returning home from a victorious military battle, displaying his honor and excellence. This is, also the first time he is presented with the opportunity for power. His success covered him with glory in defense of the crown. Macbeth is busily basking in his own glory and soaking up credit when Duncan basically steals his spotlight from right over his head, proclaiming Malcolm, Duncan's son, as the heir-apparent. This action also belittles Macbeth's achievement, since the procession of the throne is not necessarily dictated by bloodlines. Duncan is basically announcing that Macbeth, while noble, is inferior to his son Malcolm. This is where Duncan provokes Macbeth to hate him and also points out what Macbeth must do to become King. Duncan even tempts Macbeth, by pronouncing him as the Thane of Cawdor. This gives Macbeth a taste of power and he begins to have a desire for more. This desire or ambition is his fatal flaw. Shakespeare, by using Macbeth as a guide, shows that even the honorable men can fall into the hands of evil just like everyone else. No one is safe from his or her own ambitions of power and success. It is clear that Macbeth ends up a far more brutal and simple...
In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of young boys from England are evacuated out of their country due to a war. The plane is then shot down and results into a plane crash on a deserted island. The boys are left all alone with no adults, no supplies, and no one to come and rescue them. They are all on their own and have to establish a new “society”. The boys have to choose someone to govern them and that person ends up being Ralph, who had an internal struggle between what is right and wrong closer to the end of the novel. The boys turn into savages, killing each other, and showing their evil inside each of them. According to, William Golding man is inherently evil, evil is in all of us, but it is oppressed by society, and comes out when there is not anything to hold us back, civilization is what holds back evil from coming out, or it is what triggers evil inside of man.
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience