“It is not human nature we should accuse but the despicable conventions that pervert it” this quote by Denis Diderot shows stark contrast with Golding's view of mankind and human nature. Denis Diderot believes that Mankind himself is not perverted, but it is the things of the world and the temptations that we face that are contributing factors to our perversion. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding portrays mankind as wild and uncivilized. In fact, Golding believes that human nature -- when free of the constraints of society -- pulls people away from common sense and into savagery. Golding disagrees with Denis Diderot’s quote, by believing that it is man himself that is innately savage.
According to Golding, man's innate savagery is allowed to flourish when societal constraints are removed. Jack is used as a tool in the novel to prove Golding’s point that mankind is savage. However at first Jack resisted the urge to go savage, "We've got to have rules and obey them. After all, we're not savages" (Golding 42). We can see Jack’s savage progression with his eventual
…show more content…
In the beginning of the novel, the beast is thought to be a figment of the littluns imagination. But as the reality of being stuck on an island becomes more clear to them the more acceptable the reality of the beast becomes. Simon is the one to truly doubt the existence of a beast, "What I mean is . . . Maybe it's only us . . ." (89), Simon proposes that the beast is only a creature made up in the minds of the boys. He also recognizes that the beast is not an outside force, but a part of human nature. While laughed at by the other boys, Golding uses Simon to show that a deep-rooted human evil exists. Later on in the story Simon's encounter with the beast validates the authors claim, "Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close..."