12 Angry Men And Lord Of The Flies

“Every man should be responsible to others, nor should any one be allowed to do just as he pleases; for where absolute freedom is allowed, there is nothing to restrain the evil which is inherent in every man” (Aristotle). Both Lord of the Flies and 12 Angry Men illustrate this concept. Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of young boys who find themselves alone on a deserted island. They develop rules and a system of organization, but without adults to serve as a civilizing impulse, the children eventually become violent and brutal. Similarly, 12 Angry Men illustrates the dark side of most of the jurors, especially juror ten. Unfortunately, the evil side of human nature is also present in the real world. In the novel, William Golding

Once the boys lose their connection to civilization, there is nothing to keep them from becoming savage. One of the major examples displaying that they lost their connection to civilization was at Jack’s feast when all the boys were tempted by the idea of pig’s meat. Jack and his hunters caught a sow, and at the feast, they murdered the sow in a savage and cruel manner. At the feast, Jack “…started to work on the sow and paunched her, lugging out the hot bags of colored guts, pushing them into a pile on the rock while the others watched him…Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick which pierced through into the mouth. He stood back and the head hung there, a little blood dribbling down the stick” (Golding 136). Jacks vicious and bloody killing of the sow not only suggests that Golding views human nature to be evil, but it also conveys the Golding believes that the “beast” is inside of everyone. In a world where the “beast,” is unleashed, rules and morals become weak and useless. The “beast” symbolizing the boys indicates that Golding suggests humans are born innately

The main characters are young boys whose behavior suggests that evil is inherent in children. Jack, for example, starts out as keen for rules and civility because this is what he has been taught by adults and authority figures in his life. However, he becomes obsessed with hunting, frightened by the situation he finds himself in, and ultimately empowered by violence once adults are no longer showing him right vs wrong. Jack’s desire for power becomes stronger than his empathy and morals, causing him to become a savage and brutal leader. While the boys are arguing over what the beast is, Jack yells “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat -!” (Golding 91). In Chapter Five, Jack feels that being a hunter is more important than following Ralph’s rules. He starts to value killing and hunting more than contributing to the order and civilization of the island. Jack conveys his growing ambition for power over the others and begins to establish an authoritarian system based on hunting and barbarity. For example, if children are not told by adults not to push someone on the playground, and rather to be kind to the other children there, they may be rude and/or hurt another child if they feel angry or