Human Nature in I Only Came To Use The Phone, and The Lord of the Flies

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Recommended: Lord of the Flies in relation to World War 2

In the Lord of the Flies and “I Only Came to Use the Phone” both authors create mini societies to portray the anarchy and the dehumanized, savage behavior going on in the outside world. Though both authors set out to show this human nature, Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, is more effective in doing so by placing objects from civilization on the island that bring out savage characteristics. These are characteristics that are hidden until isolation occurs. Golding is found more effective in showing the human nature as savage by placing fire on the island. In order to construct a fire, a fire source is required: Piggy’s glasses. By making Piggy’s glasses one of the few resources to build a fire, it causes the boys on the island to desire them and even fight over them. The boys do not understand the power of fire, and they use it the wrong way. “They had smoked him out and set the island on fire” (197). This emphasizes the savage behavior in Jack and his followers because they are on a manhunt to kill Ralph. Though it is a tactical decision to smoke out Ralph, Jack and the others do not realize that the fire is destroying their food source. The fire that is placed on the island portrays the mini- society because the plane that the World War II soldier is in, is blown up in the air causing an explosion. This represents fire as an evil thing. “There was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars” (94). This evidence proves that the chaos on the island is demonstrated in the rest of the world from World War II. Golding puts the fire on the island to draw out the savage characteristics of death being an acceptable thing. A boy dies in the fire on the second day and the followers of... ... middle of paper ... ... to show the human nature as savage and dehumanized, Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, is found more effective in doing so by connecting his story to a historical event and by placing objects from civilization on the island that bring out savage characteristics. These are characteristics that are hidden until isolation occurs. Golding places fire, a government structure, the Lord of the Flies, death, and fear on the island to represent this behavior. He also places the plane exploding and the World War Two soldier’s death to show that this behavior is not just happening on the island but in civilization too. This supports the creation of a mini-society to reflect the outside world. Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York Coward-McCann,1962. Print. Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. Strange Pilgrims: Twelve Stories. New York: Knopf,1993. 71-91 print.

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