Malevolence Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

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To Learn the True Meaning: Benevolence vs Malevolence
It is imperative to know the real difference between benevolence and malevolence, or good and evil. To learn about the true meaning of good and evil, one must read the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The novel examines controversial aspects of human nature and the implications for society. Lord of the Flies was written as a response to the novel The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne, which demonstrates that humans are born good at heart and that evil is a force that tempts to corrupt innocent people. Unlike The Coral Island, Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in an opposite view, where evil comes within. Golding represents evil and good by creating struggles within each character, …show more content…

The characters Ralph, Piggy, and mostly Simon, represented the good of the island. Ralph was the elected leader who did everything in his power to be fair. For example, on page 23, the quote “ …the freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification. Ralph looked at him, eager to offer something. ‘Jack’s in charge of the choir, so he will lead the hunters’ ,” shows how fair Ralph is because even though Ralph was elected was leader, he felt bad for Jack, so he appointed Jack to be the leader of the hunters (Golding). Piggy was the rational one who tried to help people realize the situation and to take responsibility. Piggy looked out for every single boy on that island, including Jack, who was cruel to him. Simon was the Christ-like figure who always knew what was good and bad. An example of Simon being Christ-like is described on page 56 when Golding writes, “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands.” This quote represents Christ because Simon is described as a provider of food; providing fruit in the way that Christ provided bread. Lord of the Flies has different levels of aspects for both good and evil. William Golding did a great job explaining the true meaning between benevolence and malevolence, which is …show more content…

Golding illustrates this theme through the story of a group of boys stranded on an island who must overcome not only natural obstacles given by the island, but also the difficulties presented by their own human nature. Throughout the novel, readers witness the gradual decline of the morals of each of the boys and therefore the decline of their constructed society as a whole. Some might say that “good” is anything done out of love and “evil” is anything done out of hate, yet “love” and “hate” are so similar in many respects. Although some may define “evil” as that which displeases many by one’s own moral standards, others would define it as the act of taking the position of deliberately making one’s personal morals irrelevant with regard to our ambitions and desires. By this point, “evil” would be the freedom asserting the power of humanity to choose one’s own destiny. William Golding has wrote a beautiful novel about human nature, society, morals, and the strong difference between good and evil. Many should read this book in order to understand morals, human nature of being good and evil, as well as society’s impacts on who one will

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