How War Is Used To Explain Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

Carter Doss

Ms. Tantlinger

Honors English 10

2 January 2018

How War is Used to Explain Human Nature in Lord of the Flies

War is a destructive consequence of the human desire for power. War always leads to destruction and this proven correct in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. War and violence not only destroys the physical island, but also destroys Ralph which proves what about mankind

War not only destroys the physical island but also destroys Ralph. Throughout the novel Ralph is seen to symbolize civilization and the resistance against savagery and Jack is seen as the savage and more war like. This extreme difference comes to a head when Jack leaves to form his own tribe. Over the course of this fighting, Ralph turns into a savage. Golding writes that “Ralph thrust his own stick through the crack and stuck with all his might” (194). The use of the stick in this passage is also symbolic, however, the main purpose of it is to demonstrate how much Ralph has changed. The passage shows that Ralph

has become not only willing to harm but also willing to harm another child. This also shows that no person is immune to the effects of savagery that are brought out by war.
Ralph succumbs to these influences even though he has witnessed the outcome of savagery.

Ralph witnesses the deaths of Piggy and Simon, both of which are outcomes of the savagery of Jack and his hunters. Even though Ralph has seen the brutality that man is capable of he is still brought to it because of war and violence. Golding writes “But a sign came down from the world of grownups, though at the time there was no child awake to read it. There was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars” (95). This shows that the outside world is just as savage as the boys are on the island. It also shows that wherever man is war will follow. that no amount of civilization will stop wars from being fought. Ralph is the embodiment of civilization on the island and no matter how hard he tries he can not stop the inevitable war. Human war not only affects the people involved but also destroys their

environment.
When Jack and his hunters are trying the kill Ralph, they light the island in fire in an attempt to smoke him out of his hiding spot. Establish context for the quote. Golding writes, “His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island” (202). This passage not only describes the literal destruction of the island by fire but is also symbolic of the outcomes of all war. Throughout human history there are countless examples of humans destroying the environment in which they live. Golding writes that “Didn't you hear what the pilot said? About the atom bomb? They're all dead. (14). This is a reference to at least one of the two atomic bombings of Japan during World War II. This quote shows not only that man is willing to destroy the environment during war but that he is also willing to win by any means necessary which is the reason why Jack decides to burn the island. The burning of the island is also ironic because by Jack wanting to kill Ralph, the only one dead set on rescue, Jack becomes the one who gets them rescued.
Lord of the Flies demonstrates that at the most basic level man is a violent creature that is prone to war and violence and to destroying his surroundings and himself through that violence. Golding uses the war between the boys as a way to describe man’s basic nature as being evil and he also uses it to show that man will always revert to this basic nature without the rules and laws of civilization.