Eve Kennedy Ms. Corza, Adv. English 10 3 June 2024 Lord Of The Flies - Human Nature Essay “Civilization is the lamb’s skin in which barbarism masquerades.” -Thomas Baliey Aldrich This quote captures how thin the layer of civility is that separates individuals from their primal inclination to savagery. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies and Philip Zimbardo’s TED Talk, “The Psychology of Evil”, both authors explore this delicate balance. They both show how humanity relies on laws, assigned roles and order to control primal violent instincts. By examining the breakdown of social structures among stranded boys and the psychological roots of human behavior, Golding and Zimbardo reveal how easily civilizations can be unraveled without these …show more content…
This comparison illustrates the crucial role of civilization in preventing humanity’s descent into savagery. Both Lord of the Flies and the TedTalk “The Psychology of Evil” demonstrate the idea that individuals often conform to the roles assigned to them and may resort to violence when these roles are disrupted. In Lord of the Flies, Jack’s transformation into a violent leader is illustrated in chapter 4 when it states, “The mask became of a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” (Chapter 4, Page 53). This quote suggests that the anonymity provided by the mask allows Jack to shed his own identity and the expectations surrounding it to embrace a new and more violent persona. The phrase “liberated from shame and self-consciousness” specifically reveals Jack’s newfound freedom from societal norms and expectations as he becomes more invested in his role as a hunter and leader. This “liberation” allows him to unleash his violent tendencies without fear of judgment or …show more content…
‘Coming in the dark--he hadn’t no business crawling out of the dark. He was a bit batty. He asked for it.’” (Chapter 9, Page 140). In this quote, Piggy is attempting to deny his involvement in Simon’s death and struggling to find a way to process it logically. Despite Piggy’s usual logical approach, his response demonstrates the impact of the island’s chaotic environment and fear on even the most reasonable and calm characters. At this moment, the lack of accountability and the atmosphere of violence led Piggy to participate in the violent act of murdering Simon, highlighting the profound influence of the structure of the environment on human behavior. In conclusion, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Philip Zimbardo’s TED Talk, “The Psychology of Evil” significantly demonstrate how crucial laws and societal structures are to restrain humanity’s primal instinct of violence. Both sources show that without laws and order, people can quickly revert to violent instincts. The breakdown of social structures among the boys on the island in Lord of the Flies highlights how easily societal norms can fall apart, leading to chaos and
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.
Humans, by nature, are genuinely good people who show compassion and concern for others, right? Well true, if we all lived in a utopian land. Unfortunately, humans are, in fact, evil and easily corrupted by others. In William Golding’s 1954 published Lord of the Flies, the boy’s on the island learn that a peaceful civilization is easily destroyed without cooperation or agreement. The frustration manifested itself, making a transformation of the boys into meat hungry, hunters, who even try to hunt the other boys who don’t follow the pack. Golding analyzes the flaws of human society, directly related to human nature.
Within each of us lurks a beast waiting for the first opportunity to bare its ugly fangs. A vestige of ages past, when violence and destruction was man’s only language, the beast only needs a bit of chaos to resurface. William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, is hinged on this idea. In the story, a group of English schoolboys are stranded on an island without a single adult. They try initially to keep a rough semblance of civilization in place, calling assemblies and lighting signal fires, but the beast is soon awoken from its primeval slumber to wreak terror among them. Golding makes it his duty to reveal the innate evil of the human soul in Lord of the Flies by not only displaying general chaos, but detailing specific instances where the violent nature of man bleeds through. The “darkness of man’s heart” (Golding 202) is demonstrated when Roger feels the sudden urge to throw rocks toward a younger boy, when the boys’ game of mock hunting turns a little too real, and when the little savages murder Simon in a passionate frenzy.
The psychology of evil is vital to understanding why Jack and Ralph progress through the story as they do. In Lord of the Flies, evil is an undoubted key to life on the island. The main characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies demonstrate Zimbardo’s “Seven Social Processes that Grease the Slippery Slope of Evil,” most notable mindlessly taking the first step, blind obedience to authority, and de-individualization of self.
Humans are intricate. They have built civilizations and invented the concept of society, moving accordingly from savage primal instincts to disciplined behaviour. William Golding, however, does not praise humanity in his pessimistic novel, Lord of The Flies, which tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an uninhabited tropical island without any adults – a dystopia. Golding evidently expresses three views of humanity in this novel. He suggests that, without the rules and restrictions on which societies and civilizations are built, humans are intrinsically selfish, impulsive and violent.
For all their differences the Lord of the Flies and Simon have one singular trait in common; they both know what the pig’s head really means for the boys on the island. At first glance, the Lord of the Flies is just a pig’s head on a stick, however it is so much more than that. The moment Jack and his hunter’s kill that pig, a part of them is lost forever and this lost part is their moral sense of right and wrong (149).
When fear overruns us and our greed clouds our judgment, it is difficult to remain orderly. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, it is demonstrated that a functioning society can disintegrated after the members of the society begin to fall prey to the plague that resides within them. The boys came from a well established country with the mentality of forming a system that would help them survive and be It is controlled by our amygdala and provoked by external stimuli, but it is, for all intents and purposes, an internal reaction. The “littluns” incited the fear of the older children, they began to have nightmares and began to fear the “beastie” they believed was on the island.
All around mankind's history, it has been seen of both civilized and uncivilized humans,from the day a human is born one is hardwired with specific personality traits.Traits both good and bad and traits that may have been influenced or personally derived. But,either good or bad humans have the capacity to perform whichever .This concept is seen in William Golding’s piece of Lord of the flies in which provides a clear and justified understanding of how human’s conduct.The novel delineates a story of a group of young english boys during a war,who are on an unlivable island with just themselves and no authority.William Golding reveals that when humans are removed from authority man's evil instincts are revealed thus causing civility to fall.This message is exemplified by the boys who demoralize aspects of human nature beyond civilized humans as they are put in a society where there are no rules nor civility set.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a poignant reminder of the dark side of the human condition. The ideas that underpin this message are most obvious in chapter nine, when Simon, a representation of benevolence in human nature, is killed. Through foreshadowing this event, natural imagery, and repetition, he reveals that primitive behavior takes hold when social order collapses.
Cruelty can ruin people and destroy their morals and humanity. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, British schoolboys begin to become savages after they have inhabited an island without adults, rules, or order. They regress from being proper boys into inhuman savages all because they don’t have any rules to keep them in order. The novel proves that everybody needs rules, order, and intelligence because it is easy to lose one’s humanity and become cruel and evil without those three things.
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.
A running theme in William Golding's works is that man is savage at heart, always ultimately reverting back to an evil and primitive nature. The cycle of man's rise to power, or righteousness, and his inevitable fall from grace is an important point that Golding proves again and again in many of his works, often comparing man with characters from the Bible to give a more vivid picture of his descent. Golding symbolizes this fall in different manners, ranging from the illustration of the mentality of actual primitive man to the reflections of a corrupt seaman in purgatory.
Imagine the world without judgement, rules, and those who enforce them, the key principles in a civilized society. How long would it take until desires and craving rebel against morality? With an authoritative power ceasing to exist, civilization would turn to chaos as the glory and thrill of savagery override ethics. In his novel Lord of the Flies, Golding demonstrates that without the restrictions of society, human instinct causes the boys to defy and shun social morals.
Human nature is inherently malicious. In a lawless society, we act more like feral animals than we do civilized people. In Lord of the Flies, a group of boys are stranded on an island, and are forced to use their survival instincts to survive. However, in the absence of rules, they quickly turn on each other and most of them begin to only care for themselves. The author, William Golding, illustrates a picture of a society that breaks humans down to their core nature, showing just how primal and savage humanity is capable of being.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an author’s painting of the evil that resides in all of the human race. The tropical island setting presents an environment free from civil order introducing a battle ground for the war of good and evil. Showing different side of human nature one can ponder the question “What would I do?” Golding explains the good, bad and balance of human nature, revealing that in times of despair man can easily regress to a primitive state, leaving the strong willed to promote civil order, but often be extremely out numbered.