Abuse Of Power In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Given the right circumstances anyone will become violent and bad. Humans have the tendency to turn towards violence and hatred. People given too much power or given a reason to think someone’s differences “threaten” them, can become resentful, enraged, and dangerous to other human beings. I believe that humans are essentially bad because they abuse power and enslave people.
William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies shows that humans are bad through abusing the power they obtain. Jack acquired his power through fear. Jack scared the boys so badly that they felt that they had to listen and obey him. Jack had complete control over these boys so much that they felt like he was an idol worth worshiping. “Jack painted and garlanded sat there like an idol.” (Pg. 149) He abused this power he had over the boys by turning them against Ralph and his group, therefore splitting the boys into two groups. In the novel Jack says, “I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you.” He then says, “I’m going off by myself... anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.” (Pg. 127) He persuaded his tribe to resent Ralph and Piggy to the extent of attacking them, stealing their fire, killing Piggy, and eventually hunting Ralph. Jack also abused his power by making the littuns serve him and follow him around. He makes them bring him fruit and water when he demands it. ““Give

me a drink.” Henry brought him a shell and he drank.” (Pg. 150)
Another way Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies shows that humans are bad is through enslavement. In the novel Jack captures Samneric and ties them up. He keeps them, forces them to join his tribe, and makes them work for him. “Samneric were part of his tribe now. They were guarding Castle Rock against him… Samneric were savages like the rest.” (Pg. 186) If they don’t do what they are told they are abused and tortured. ““If you’re fooling us”, immediately after this there came a gasp, and a squeal of pain… You’re sure he meant in there?” (Pg. 192) In this quote from the novel it is revealed that if Samneric don’t cooperate they are physically abused. Another way Jack shows his abuse in power is when he ties up Wilfred. In the novel Robert tells Roger, “He’s going to beat Wilfred… He got angry and made us tie up Wilfred… he’s been tied up for hours, waiting.” (Pg. 159) Jack has no exact reason for doing this to Wilfred. In a way he just felt like it. Jack most likely did this to Wilfred to incite fear in the other boys. Jack abused his power in this way as well. He enslaved his whole tribe by means of fear. The boys feared Jack to the extent that they felt they had no other option but to obey his orders.
Golding’s view that society is essentially bad can be seen throughout history. For example the Stanford Prison Experiment. The men placed in this experiment, who were given just a small amount of power, easily took advantage of it. In the experiment college students were selected through a questionnaire they had to answer and tested out as normal. Similar to Lord of the Flies all the boys were close in age and for the most part, normal. The students were separated into guards and prisoners by a coin toss. These guards were to be in a higher position than the prisoners and their only responsibility was to watch the prisoners. However, the guards given this power, easily took advantage of what this power enabled them to do. “The guards with little to no instruction, began humiliating and psychologically abusing the prisoners within twenty-four hours of the study’s start.” (Pg.1) The guards, knowing that this was only an experiment still behaved, and treated the prisoners this way with no problem. “About a third of the guards became tyrannical in their arbitrary use of power.” (Pg. 2) It reveals that any person, give the power, and right circumstance, will result to immoral behavior. This relates to Lord of the Flies because Jack was just like the guards. He got the tiniest amount of power and took the use of that power way out of proportion. This easy manipulation of power reveals that humans, in the right situation, can and will do bad. “The study suggests that ordinary people harbor ugly potentialities, it also testifies to the way our circumstances shape our behavior.” (Pg. 1)
Another example from history that supports Golding’s view that society is bad, is slavery.

Just like Jack did to the other boys on the island, blacks were taken from their homes and brought here to America to work. They had no option but to do the work and obey their masters. If they were to disobey and rebel, they were abused or tortured. They were held captive and were not allowed to visit or speak to their families. Jack treated the boys the same way as some of the slaves were treated. He captured them, made them work for him, were abused if they said no, and weren’t allowed any contact with the other

boys.
I believe that humans are essentially bad because they abuse power, and enslave people. The events in the book Lord of the Flies, the Stanford Prison Experiment, slavery, and how humans easily take advantage of power proves that.