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Essay on characters in lord of the flies
The theme of evil in Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The theme of evil in Lord of the Flies by William Golding
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Unleashing the Seed of Evil The seed of evil that is planted within all people sprouts when they are pushed to brink, which forces the root of savagery to return although it was abolished out of the human condition. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, boys are stranded on an island and are left to fend for themselves which allows the reader to witness how a person's instinct to follow the rules crumbles away along with all reason and order. This essay analyzes the protagonist, Ralph, and how his morals change when the boys on the island surrender to their savage ways and order collapses. The first pivotal moment in Ralph’s moral development is when he establishes himself as the Chief. In the beginning of the novel the boys on the island gather together and realize they are free from the crippling restraints of their previous …show more content…
society. They decide to place their trust in Ralph and “the fragile, shining beauty of the shell” (180). They see Ralph as a leader and the representative of their freedom. With placing so much responsibility on Ralph, he tries to convince the boys that working together to building shelters and keep the fire burning so they can be rescued should be their number one priority. Ralph himself hopes the boys on the island will come together and be “full of pride [in their] contribution to society” (129). Trying to create an orderly and proper community for the boys to live in is important to Ralph because he feels that them working together will stall the inevitable. While their true colors yet to emerge, the tension builds in Ralph as he begins to witness a change throughout the island leading to another pivotal moment. The second key moment that shapes Ralph’s moral development is when he identifies that the community is dividing. Once the excitement of being alone on the island simmers down, the group of boys divide as they realize what is important to them in order to survive. Ralph is faced with the truth that the filthy, wild group of boys he is leading “were the conditions he now took as normal and he did not mind” (110). While trying to be a fair chief and guide the boys it causes him to be slightly more mature mentally, at least as much as an eleven year old boy can be. He sees that one of the wild boys, Jack, is fighting against what Ralph stands for as their leader. Ralph was “vexed to find how little he thought like a grownup and sighed again. The island was getting worse and worse” (139). The two main priorities on the island in Ralph’s eyes is to build shelters and keep the fire going, meanwhile the only activity Jack is concerned with is hunting. This leads to the boys siding with Jack and becoming reckless and even wilder than when under Ralph’s rule. As he tries to reason with the chaos Jack creates he has to decide whether to retaliate with violence or his original, peaceful morals. The most monumental pivotal moment for Ralph is when he comes to terms that Jack and his faction are complete savages and that the order in their society is history.
The community of boys is torn and “Samneric were savages like the rest; Piggy was dead, and the conch smashed to powder” (186). With the conch being the one thing that held the boys together, Ralph now has no control and no say in what happens on the island. Ralph can only stand to the side as the boys dig their own graves, he is disgusted and ashamed of what they have become. The seed of evil has flourished in the boys and has taken its toll, by murder and the sacrifice of innocence. That is why “Ralph weeps for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). With his innocence and belief that mankind lives for the greater good spoiled, he now sees what they are capable of. It is scary to see how feral one can become by simply attempting to survive. So while Ralph tried his best to be a leader and be true to his word he ends up watching the boys stray from the path of order and
peace. The Lord of the Flies helps people realize that everyone has the capability to be evil, savage even, given the opportunity. So when friends fall, trust is broken, and the true colors of humans shine through, it is important to remeber what is important and push through and to make it out alive. The seed of evil has the possibility to grow, and for the sake of all things human, do not let it. Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.
A group of kids got stuck on an island after their plane got shot down and they all have many different personalities. Being stuck on an island usually brings out the worst of people.But, there were two characters in novel, “The Lord of The Flies” that had good morals. These two characters were Ralph and Simon. Ralph and Simon weren’t intimidated by not having any adults around, instead, they tried to bring out the best of themselves and not take part in any horseplay the rest of the boys did.
The influence of power, or “power hungry”, has had a huge effect on many people who feel that they must be in charge. These people often have trouble being told no or being told that they can’t be in charge. People throughout history have done it in many ways. Our own government displays this when we elect a new president every four years. These candidates often tell the public what they want to hear and how they’ll make it a better place, when, in reality, they only mean half of it and they just want to be able to have the power of the president. In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the antagonist, Jack, shows throughout the book that he craves power and feels that he deserves it more than anybody else.
the novel, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, the idea of cruelty is shown through many brutal actions that the characters find pleasurable.
"His [Piggy] head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed. Then the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone."
William Golding communicates the idea through Ralph that all the order and goodness of the island is gone when the Conch breaks and how the rest of the boys turned into savages. Golding shows in the novel that, “Samneric were savages like the rest; Piggy was dead, and the conch smashed to powder.” This quote it demonstrates how the other boys took everything from Ralph who was the only person still somewhat civilized. The rest of the boys just follow and let the evil inside consume them. The other boys broke the conch to show how they turned on the only person not evil. The conch broke because they forgot how authority works and the do not listen to anybody and more. Samneric turned to evil also and the only person that wasn’t changed was
“The duty of the youth is to challenge corruption,” Kurt Cobain once said. The Lord of the Flies tells a fictional story of a group of kids whose plane crashes on an island. Among these boys is Jack, a choirboy who is eager to hunt and create laws. However, in Lord of the Flies, the character Jack shows himself to be an arrogant tyrant because throughout the novel he acts in a way that is cruel, evil, and violent.
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.
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.
‘Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!’” (Golding, ). This quote demonstrates how Ralph’s ruthlessness takes control and how he begins to turn senseless. The transformation the boys undergo is substantial to the theme of loss of identity because it reveals how the island is truly affecting the boys mindsets. Ralph, who was chosen as leader because he showed confidence and fortitude soon became paranoid about hunting the beast. This caused Ralph to lose himself, and it allowed the ruthlessness to consume
“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us” (Golding 80). Referencing the savagery of human nature, this statement is one with great accuracy. While reading Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, many themes and problems presented themselves. The book really highlighted the use of power, and the types of people using it. People in society, whether they want power or not, can use their authority without the best intentions, corrupting themselves and others into inhumanity. For example, Jack uses his urge for authority, and eventually his control, to create an extremely savage tribe of boys, by pushing his own wants and laws onto them. This type of power can demoralize many people, including the ultimate
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.
His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy (Golding, 290).
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.
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.
Loss of innocence occurs throughout the novel. Piggy realizes the change between innocence and savagery when he questions, “What are we? Human? Or animal? Or savages?” (Golding 79). Simon soon follows when he states, “What I mean is…...maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Both boys realize the true beast is the group and they end up paying for the uncontrolled actions of others with their lives. The drastic change between civilization on the island causes the group to become savage and feed off of violence. When Golding writes, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202), Ralph shows his understanding that they need adult authority in their lives and Piggy was the one trying to warn him. Ralph starts to think, “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding 91), when the group starts to lose innocence along with civilization. The late realization adds to the theme of civilization vs savagery and drives the plot to loss of