Theme Of Foreshadowing In Lord Of The Flies

William Golding depicts the island the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ is set on as a paradise that takes on an idyllic nature. It is pure and completely undamaged before the arrival of the boys and the scar created by the plane crash that brings the boys on the island. Much like the group of boys that are stranded on the island themselves, the island has two sides. The novel begins with the side that is seemingly innocent and free of evil but grows into the more dangerous, stormy side that implies further wounding and damaging. The sinister side of human nature is foreshadowed in the novel through the boys’ descent into savagery, the beast within mankind that gives anyone the capacity to do harm and the natural development of violence in the boys’

relationships with each other. Golding uses several motifs, symbols and characters to foreshadow and represent the evil side of mankind.
Golding foreshadows the dark side of human nature by pointing out the tendency within mankind to resort to savagery as opposed to civilization outside social constraints, through a foreboding mood and characterisation. The boys’ isolation from the rest of society, from the civilisation they lived in, tests their character giving them the choice between civilization and savagery under the circumstances of no supervision where there will be no real consequences for their actions. Golding employs the characterisation of the two groups that are formed when the boys eventually split, one a physical representation of civilization and the other of savagery as principal examples to point out that there is a dark side to human nature. Early on, the boys are enthusiastically willing to adopt a civility among themselves and embrace the idea to elect a leader, “a chief! A chief! A chief!”. A crucial example of civilization reflected in the novel, it demonstrates the awareness the boys have that a leader, a democracy is associated with order. However, this is also foreshadowing the conformity of the boys, the ability to be easily influenced which means they act based on their surroundings and without the democratic regulations of society, they are left to follow more childish and primitive actions. The idea to build a signal fire and huts on the beach indicate the ties to civilisation that the boys have and their intent on returning to their previous way of life. However, when they lose control of the fire, setting the forest on fire and losing one of the little boys, “the understandable and lawful world is slipping away”. The imagery and the personification give the text an ominious mood. The darkness that spreads over the island as well as the damage and the mess the boys create is foreshadowed. The conch the boys’ use at their assemblies represents rules and order. It is a standard measure of the respect the boys have for rules and each other all the way through to when the conch is broken. Jack’s motto of “bullocks to the rules! We’re strong, we hunt, the conch doesn’t mean anything here”, and the boys’ inability and lack of desire to maintain order through the diction of the text clearly expresses foreshadowing of the savagery that would inevitably take over the island. The wicked of human nature is foreshadowed through the way the characters that gradually drift away from a civilised way of life and accept savagery as normality when there is no one to punish them, in comparison to the other, more commonly seen side of mankind.

The foreshadowing of the idea that the beast, a motif of the evil that exists within mankind rather than externally, is delivered through symbolism and allusion and is significant in the novel.

This becomes evident as Golding uses characterisation to portray the message through Simon, whom he paints as the only one of the boys who is truly moral because he is aware that the beast is inside mankind and simultaneously knows how to control his. As Simon suspects that the beast that they all fear is inside them suggesting that “maybe there is a beast, maybe it’s only us”, the symbolism of the beast foreshadows the evil presence in human nature. This is later confirmed when a dead pig’s head, a symbol for the Lord of the Flies, synonymous with the beast, taunts Simon, “you knew didn’t you? I’m a part of you. Close, close, close!”, so close that it is within. The point that because of the “darkness of man’s heart” anyone is capable of evil is also foreshadowed. Both characters that are represented as predominantly savage and the ‘normal’ boys share some form of foreshadowed cruelty. Although even Jack is reluctant at first to kill a pig, the “memories that crowd him of having outwitted a living thing, imposed his will upon it and taken away its life like a long satisfying drink” after his first kill clearly foreshadow the dark, cruel obsession of killing would consume Jack. The use of words Similarly, in Roger’s first act of pointless cruelty, he is “conditioned by the taboo of the old life, a civilisation that knew nothing on him and was in ruins” while throwing stones at the younger boys. While Roger is still lingering on the line of wrongdoing, the language implies the broken structure of civilisation, Roger’s further distancing from it and foreshadows who he really is and what he is capable of. Henry, one of the younger boys, as he becomes “absorbed beyond mere happiness exercising control over living things giving him the illusion of mastery” while simply playing on

the beach, characterises Golding’s view through the allusion that even those who are seen as innocent, can be swept up in evildoing for it is simply part of mankind. The beast being a natural presence in human nature is foreshadowed through the allusion of the characters who convey that the ability to be sinful and immoral is deep inside everyone.

Golding also makes use of diction and symbolism of the way that the boys and their relationships with each other change to foreshadow the sinister presence within human nature. The way that the boys were quite often excessively physically expressive, sets the grounds on which the violence in their relationships with each other increases in intensity as their suppressed dark side that Golding hints at is released.” Jack smashing Piggy’s glasses is particularly significant as it shows a shift from his verbal malice to physical violence, the first time he crosses the line building up suspense and tension in mood hinting at the increase in weight of his actions in the future. This is also significant as Piggy’s glasses symbolise foresight and intellect and it represents Jack’s loss of touch with any empathy and rational thinking making him threatening. The foreshadowing of Jack arguing that “we’re not savages. We’re English and the English are best at everything”, is not only ironic but also alludes the wartime mindset of the boys and gives context to the fact that conflict and violence is quite natural to them because of habitual surroundings and the power struggle between the boys that brings out the dark side that Golding denotes. Throughout the novel, the violent re-enactments of each of the boys’ hunts grow in aggression, each time more violent and injuring the boys more severely, the boys circling around Robert as he is “screaming and struggling with the strength and frenzy of the desire to squeeze and hurt” foreshadows Simon’s death that happens in the same kind of frenzy and setting through the viciously aggressive mood it creates and graphic imagery. Simon’s death demonstrates an escalation in tone and mood of the text and is foreshadowing of the “the end of innocence”, deaths that are to come as well as the torturing and hunting of each other. The personas of the aggressive development in the boys’ interactions with each other foreshadow the existence of the unrighteous side of mankind.

Through methods of characterisation, symbolling, creation of mood and allusive language, Golding questions natural human behaviour when left to choice and the source of evil in the world by foreshadowing the presence of the more menacing side of human nature. The motif of the boys’ turning to savagery without ties to civilisation as well as the symbolism of the beast that lives in mankind’s dark side and the characters that illustrate a progress from a subtlety violent nature to cruel and hostile behaviour towards each other give readers hints about human evil. Foreshadowing the presence of a darker side to human nature, Golding suggests human beings are bound to a sinful nature as it is everlasting in their primitive biology.