Posted: June 4th, 2022
Lord of the Flies (Men are inherently evil)
Lord of the Flies (Men are inherently evil)
Lord of the Flies is a novel authored by William Golding. It is a story about a group of young boys who had a plane crash on a deserted island. The boys were escaping from England due to war when the plane got shot. Initially, the boys were civilized and polite. However, with time they became more brutal.
William Golding depicts men as being evil through this group of young boys. According to him, its civilization and the surrounding that suppress or trigger the savagery inside people. The boys turned to savages. They began hunting and killing each other. Simon tried to let them know about these evils, but they killed him. At some point, Simon came across a bloody sow on a stake in a clearing.
Apart from that, the boys also ridiculed Piggy, who was an obese asthmatic patient. The lack of structure and adults to control these kids led to a state of lawlessness. At first, the boys choose Ralph to lead them. Ralph stood for civilization. However, in the end, he struggled to distinguish right from evil.
Jack opposed Ralph; he dominates the group through aggression and power. Instead of advocating for civilization, Jack supports hunting. At some point, he said that “if there is a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close and beat and beat and beat.” In the end, all the boys became hunters.
At some point, Ralph followed the rules of Jack. He engaged in hunting and also participated in the mass murder of Simon. Afterward, Ralph felt guilty. He wept due to loss of innocence and the darkness of a man’s heart. Golding says that evil is not escapable. It is part of human nature that seeks a conducive environment to show.
In the beginning, the boys focused on seeking rescue. However, due to a lack of proper structure, they ended up becoming savages. Golding uses a group of young boys to show that even children are inherently evil. The fact that all the boys, including Ralph, engaged in brutal activities is enough proof that everyone is susceptible to evil.
Lord of the Flies has several themes that reveal that men are malicious by nature. Their evil instinct comes out when there is no one to control it. Civilization and society play a role in suppressing it. Evil is inherited. Lack of government and proper structure made the boys reveal their inherent evil.
References
Alnajm, A. L. (2015). The main themes in Lord of the Flies. International Journal of English and Literature, 6(6), 98-102.
Haldar, Santwana. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Atlantic Publishers & Dist, 2006.
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Lord of the Flies (Men are inherently evil)