Man has a constant internal struggle between good and evil, humans innately have the ability to commit deeds of both good and evil. Within this battle there is never a winner; only a victim. Man is that victim, and is constantly dealing with this battle. William Golding strongly confirms this matter in his novel The Lord of the Flies. In the novel, the inherent evil in human beings is clearly evident. To emphasize humans to be inherently evil, Golding employs the ideas of symbolism, the death of Simon; a Christ like figure in the book, and control.
The first way that Golding shows that humans have a capacity for evil, is using symbolism. The following quote illustrates the pig head of the Lord of the Flies who torments and teases Simon with the truth. The Lord of the Flies rhetorically asks Simon “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?” (Golding 143) This shows that the beast is indeed within Simon as well as all the boys. Realistically, when the Lord of the Flies is speaking to Simon, it’s just Simon hallucinating as he hears the voices of everyone in his mind. In this situation Simon has become overwhelmed with the beast inside himself. “Simon found that he was looking into a vast mouth. There was blackness within, a blackness that spread” (Golding 144) Although, Simon never shows evil tendencies, as he is a Christ like figure in the book, he instead denies them by blacking out as a result of his internal struggle: “Simon was inside the mouth. He fell down and lost consciousness” (Golding 144). Probably the most important symbol in the book is the pig’s head on a stick. This symbolizes the imaginary Lord of the Flies, which is really the demon ...
... middle of paper ...
...nd control when he excessively beats Wilfred, for no apparent reason except as to show that he has unchallenged control over the boys, “He’s going to beat Wilfred…he didn’t say what for. He got angry and made us tie him up.” (Golding 176). The excessive amounts of control used by Jack, and the boys in the novel supports the idea that humans are inherently evil.
The methods employed by Golding of symbolism, the unfortunate death of the Christ like figure of the book Simon, and excessive control give lots of support to the claim humans are inherently evil. Although no one can be completely evil. There is some good in every one, but one shouldn’t think that someone can be completely good either. As stated before, humans innately have the ability to commit goods of both good and evil; humans have a consciousness and an ability to choose. That choice is all up to them.
Whether people will deny it or not, it is certainly apparent that human nature is all too evil; for there is a demon that lurks in everyone, just waiting to come out. Humans can build civilizations and attempt to deviate themselves from such basic instincts, yet nevertheless, evil is not something that they can run from; it is not something that they can defeat. William Golding knew this, and so in his book, Lord of the Flies, he presents so by portraying a microcosm of a society in the form of little British schoolboys. Their plane, in an attempt to escape from the raging war, came to its own demise as it was shot down, leaving the boys stranded on an island they know nothing of. Ralph, later on the leader of the boys, and with the help of
We can see other evidence of this conflict within ourselves, with the masks that Jack and his hunters put on. We are informed that Jack “ rubbed the charcoal stick between the patches of red and white on his face” The mask represents the dark line (charcoal) between good (white) and evil (red) within ourselves. These masks also let the boys hide from their conscience; we can see this when we are informed, “The mask was a thing on it’s own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” We can see that the mask releases Jack from rational behaviour, which helps him, assert power.... ...
"In each of us to natures are at war the good and evil all our lives the fight goes on between them and one must conquer." In Lord of the flies, Golding shows how fragile the line between good and evil is. He does this through a number of symbols and motifs. We can see the boy struggle from the intense challenges of the island, everything starts well as civilisation thrives but in time a number of factors including the beast begins to influence the boys into savagery. However the two who best portray the two sides between good and evil, are Simon and Jack with Ralph representing the cross between. Lord of the flies depicts the message that evil will try to overcome you but in the end its up to you to let it in
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.
The analysis of human evil is mostly based on Golding’s experience with World War II that featured non fictional violence and brutality. Golding quickly shows that when the boys are free from rules, they quickly turn to savagery. Some work for peace and order in order to achieve prosperity, whereas the others rebel and seek the leadership of corrupt and violent leaders. In World War II in a time of economic crisis, Germany turns to extreme dictatorship under Adolf Hitler’s reign. Due to the desperate times, Nazi’s joined in the effort to commit evil crimes to blame Jews and other groups for the condition of the economy. “Coming from Golding's Jack, these words effectively shatter Ballantyne's easy optimism. Conditioned no less by the theology of man's fall than by Nazi atrocities, Lord of the Flies traces the spreading stain of man's depravity from its first intimations in Jack to its near-total corruption of the boys and their social order.” (Friedman) It is with harsh times that enables people to surrender and follow under the evil leadership in order to achieve relief. Likewise, in Lord of the Flies the boys turn to Jack, whom they believe can help them to hunt for food. However, Jack begins to succumb to hysteria, causing him to murder Simon, along with other sacrificial killings. Throughout the novel, some boys in the group decide to join Jack’s tribe to avoid going hungry. “He’s not a hunter. He’d never had got us meat. He isn't a prefect and we don't know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing” (126) Thus, this example can be compared to Nazi’s following under Hitler’s dictatorship in an effort to remedy the economic downfall from World War I. In addition, Jack is able to manipulate the group into thinking that Ralph is not as valuable of a leader as
Golding has a rather pessimistic view of humanity having selfishness, impulsiveness and violence within, shown in his dark yet allegorical novel Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, the boys show great self-concern, act rashly, and pummel beasts, boys and bacon. The delicate facade of society is easily toppled by man's true beastly nature.
...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.
...t. By physically punishing the boys, they will fear Jack, so they will obey him "We’ve got to have rules and obey them" (P.47).
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
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.
It seems as though there is so much more evil than good in the world today. We hear of war and fighting 24/7 but we rarely hear about the good things that happen. Everyone is born with both good and bad within them. We, as humans, must choose which one we want to be. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph is good while Jack is evil. Ralph represents the good side of us while Jack represents the evil side. Although sometimes it is easier to be evil, it pays off to be good. The novel is a perfect example of how all people are born with both sides. At the beginning, the boys choose the good side, with morals and civilization. But as the story moves on, the boys find it more exciting to be on the bad side. It shows that all the boys are torn between good and bad and there is a very thin line that separates both. We realize that people are born inherently good and bad because in life there are always right and wrong choices, children are born good but are easily influenced to do bad, and it is always harder to do what is right than what is wrong.
Inside all of man is inherited evil that is concealed by our surroundings, and the society around us. Lord of the Flies reveals that without a structure, man is an evil savage beast. The young group of boys show that humankind is inherently evil through aggressive control and power. When the boys are put to do their duties, Jack starts become more demanding and belligerent towards his group of choirboys. When Jack tells Ralph, “I’ll split up the choir-my hunters that it, “ (Golding 42). Jack tries to show his suppirouness over the choirboys and how they are becoming more and more like savages. Jack then begins show his need for control and power by breaking the rules and doing his own thing, for example he says, “ Bollocks to the rules! Were strong- we hunt! If there’s a beast , we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and b...
Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding shows that all of mankind has a potential for evil although a select few can overcome this with reason and sensibility. Golding expresses this through the biblical parallels of the similarities between Simon and Jesus and the comparison of the island to the Garden of Eden and the story of original sin.