Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies uses characters to develop his theme concerning the nature of humanity. There is an innate evil in human nature. Although certain characters appear to demonstrate the opposite, in reality, they are all defeated in the end by the evil within them and others. A comparison between Ralph’s order and Jack’s savagery will be made, followed by Piggy’s intelligence and rationality and Roger’s brute force and sadism. Finally, Simon’s wisdom and neutrality will be analyzed and compared against the previously stated characters.

To begin, Ralph and Jack each represent opposing forces. Ralph represents civilisation and order, while Jack represents savagery. In the end, savagery is victorious over civilisation and order,

proving the innate evil of human nature. Ralph instates order in the first assembly by suggesting “[He will] give the conch to the next person to speak” (31). Ralph, along with the conch, represent order and civilisation, providing a platform to later be torn down by savagery. Jack descends into savagery fairly early in the novel, when he kills his first pig, and starts the chant “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (72). Jack is too innocent to kill a pig in the first chapter, but at this point, the evil within him and the painted face allows him to descend into savagery and kill the pig. Ralph descends into savagery as well, but not until the end of the novel, when he is escaping the hunters, “He swung [his] stake and the savage tumbled over” (221). This demonstrates that the evil within everyone will take over in the end, but some characters may resist the temptations for longer. Ralph and Jack represent opposing forces. Jack aligns himself with evil and savagery earlier in the novel, and Ralph with order, but he eventually gave into evil like Jack.

Secondly, Piggy and Roger represent opposing forces as well. Piggy represents intelligence and rationality, while Roger represents brute force and sadism. In the end, brute force overpowers intelligence when Roger kills Piggy. Piggy proves he is intelligent because “Only Piggy could have the intellectual daring to suggest moving the fire from the mountain” (142). Piggy has intellectual superiority over the boys, and he uses it for good instead of evil, contrasting the main theme of the novel. Roger shows his sadism and use of brute force when he tells Jack “That’s not the way” (202) in regards to hurting Samneric. Roger is the only character sadistic enough to challenge the chief’s method of torture, showing that the evil within him has taken full control. Before this, Piggy is killed by Roger, who threw a rock from a cliff that “struck Piggy, a glancing blow from chin to knee” (200). Brute force and the evil inside Roger conquers the intelligence and good inside Piggy, because human nature is innately evil, so evil will always win. Piggy and Roger represent opposing forces, but the evil in Roger overpowers the good in Piggy.

Finally, Simon represents neutrality, wisdom, and true good, but even he will lose the battle against the evil of human nature and savagery. Simon reveals he likes to spend time alone at “a place [he] knows. A place in the jungle” (92). This shows that he will later remain neutral when the tribe splits up. He stays alone instead of choosing a side. Remaining neutral contradicts the theme, because he is not savage, and he has no grasp on civilisation to lose, so