Duality Of Good And Evil In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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Society is born with a sense of compassion. It could be called a sixth sense. No one captures this more than William Golding, a very prestigious author. He has plenty of ideas to convey and many more tricks up his sleeve to help convey them. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding, through the use of characterization and symbolism, shows the contrast and duality of good and evil through conflicting pairs.

The fire symbolizes hope and the “beastie” symbolizes fear which are both elements of either good or evil. The definition of hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. In Lord of the Flies, the fire represents the hope of rescue. For instance, in the book, the children say,”‘We must …show more content…

Piggy is the Parental figure in the novel. He is the voice of reason and responsibility that we all associate with our parents and what we consider “good”. As seen throughout the novel, Piggy is constantly worrying about the wellbeing of others. Piggy tells Ralph,”’We got to find the others. We got to do something” (8). Notice he says that they got to find them, implying that he indeed wants to make sure that everyone is ok. Just like any parent would do, he cares more about everyone else before himself. In the same instance, Piggy asks,”’How many of us are there?’”(8). Again he takes another precaution as to figure out how many kids there may be, so he can try his best at rescuing them all. Once Ralph calls all the children to an assembly, Piggy starts to go around and figure out everyone 's name as to keep better track of who they have and if anyone is missing. In a later assembly, Piggy helps keep the rule of whoever has the conch is the only one allowed to speak by making a simple gesture to the conch (26). He was consistent til his death; Piggy says,”’Ralph - remember what we came for. The fire. My specs’”(160). Even when his life was in jeopardy, he still kept his priorities straight while trying to reason with the boys. Jack, on the other hand, is only concerned with having fun. Just like a child, he throws responsibility to the wind. When the boys gather after the plane crash, Jack says that his choir boys will take care of the upkeep of the fire. However, he doesn 't keep his promise. He goes out to go on a hunt with his choir boys who abandon their duty. Eventually, the fire goes out, and they missed an opportunity for rescue. As the book progresses, Jack starts to take more control over the boys by hunting and using fear to control them. He uses,“a constant and deliberate erosion of personal dignity, physical and verbal cruelty as a weapon to humiliate, and sadistic

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