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How Does Golding Present Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

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In Lord of the Flies, Golding explores the idea that human nature, when left without the regulations of society, will become barbaric. As one of the prevailing themes in his work, the dark side of human nature is represented through the novel, not only in symbols and motifs, but in his characters as well. The dark side of human nature is an integral part of the novel 'Lord of the Flies.' William Golding, a British novelist employs symbols, motifs and characters to create the idea that human nature, without civilisation will become barbaric. In his 1954 novel, when the boys on the island are left without regulations of society they revert to their savage ways. This is explored through the symbol of the conch and its representation of democratic unity and order. The beast is also a reflection of the boys violent and cruel behaviour and their superstition is their dark nature. The main character Jack is an example of Golding's attempt to confront that all humans are savages when left without civilisation. The barbarity is developed when the boys are left to their own devices and this is discovered and introduced by Golding's work through symbols and characters. The 'Lord of The Flies' explores human nature through the communication of …show more content…

In the novel, Golding associates the conch with the boys nature, signifying there civilisation till it was destructed and therefore, the dark side of the boys was released when there was no unity or order. The beast is another important symbol demonstrating their impulses to becoming violent, that the 'beast' is within the boys themselves. The antagonist Jack is addressed to represent that without regulations of society all human beings are savages by nature. Golding includes these symbols, motifs and characters to confront the idea the dark side of human nature is represented when left to your own

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In the first two chapters of Lord of The Flies, we can see a growing tension between Ralph and Jack's group as the boys are taken by a spirit of savagery and engage in controversy regarding their fear and inclinations towards their state of remoteness. Golding also represents conflict and hostility through the harassment of Piggy, who is constantly interrupted by Jack and underestimated by the boys, as we can see in in a quote by Jack" 'You're talking too much', said Jack Merridew, 'shut up, Fatty' " and " 'I got the conch-' Jack turned fiercely. ' You shut up!' " Golding represents the conch in the book as a democratic symbol, which allowed every boy to contribute to decisions.

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Golding uses the conch shell not only to symbolize civilization, but also to inform that all human beings are naturally evil. This is because the conch shows that the boys need to be under constant ruling and order and can not go about on their

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In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses many quotes and Imagery to represent nature of mankind and society. Golding uses lots of analogies to try to foreshadow you about the real life. Throughout the book Golding uses many of the character and the setting to really make the point go across the whole story. As the story is told you begin to think humans are inherently good but nature and other people can turn you evil. In the beginning of the story jack is trying to get the group together to form so type of group which really means they are trying to set up a government.

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(Golding, pg.127). When Jack puts down the conch, it shows his rejection of the standards of law and order that the conch represents. The conch's power to keep the boys united, and connected to society and laws, is fading. The conch loses its effectiveness as a symbol of law and order in increasingly wild

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889 Words | 4 Pages

“The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature” (204). In William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, a plane carrying British boys is shot down over the Pacific. Many of the boys survive the crash, the pilot does not, and they find themselves stranded on a deserted island stranded with no adult supervision. On the island the boys recreate the culture they left behind by electing a leader named Ralph. Another character, Jack who wants to be a leader, slowly drives the boys from civilization and many rules to savagery which causes the death of two main characters, Piggy and Simon.

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Golding’s novel has the boys led by Ralph whose father serves in the Navy, takes initiative to get things done, and is the first to hold the conch which symbolizes the leader. When things got out

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Symbolism of the Conch in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represents civilization. The novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys from England who have been stranded on an island after an airplane crash. They are expected to fend for themselves and are slowly reverting back to their primal savage ways. The group is quickly split into two a savage side and a rational, civilized side. Throughout the novel a key symbol was the conch.

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Over time man’s attempts for survival have been distracted by his fear. The power of fear is demonstrated in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Golding illustrates the breaking of order that can result from violence and power through the symbol of the beast. Golding utilizes the beast within Jack to portray the control the symbol has over each character among the island. Lastly, Golding presents a warning against people’s natural ways explaining that men must stick to the bigger picture to avoid self destruction.

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Readers know that Jack, who represents brutality and the hunger for power, is constantly trying to overthrow Ralph for his position as leader. However, even Jack respects the conch at first, though it represents the exact opposite of his character. Simon is the only person that symbolizes true purity and goodness. He is only one who understands that the island is changing them and that their fear of the beast will eventually cause them to develop into beasts themselves. The conch, much like Simon, represents morality and harmony.

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In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, it depicts the treacherous qualities of a man and the relation to the era of Golding’s time, Word War Two. The story proceeds to show the power of the human mind causing destruction on the island. Lord of the Flies is based on a group of young boys trying to place law and order on an island, in order for survival to occur. These young boys eventually turn into savages causing a tremendous amount of bloodshed. Golding wrote this book about a decade after World War Two.

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However the beast truly is only within them, Golding uses the beast to symbolise and show the reader the evil within everyone including a pack of young boys, the concept the boys have of the beast begins to break down the order on the island.

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In Lord of the Flies, Golding utilizes the characters of adolescent boys to portray the fact mankind may be conditioned by society to behave a certain way, but no matter how much man is trained by society, society can never rid the evil that lurks within man; they can simply mask it. When the boys are put in a situation where they must force society’s cemented mask off, the question of human nature begins to arise as well as a desperation to the answer to the struggle between morals and natural instinct. “What are we? Humans? Or animals?

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In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, he created this book about a group of proper british boys to show that even the most civilize of all can turn inhuman and go savage. Also being in the war helped Golding to see what people were capable of even if they were good at heart. The themes in Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, were influenced by his childhood, his experiences in the war, and his view of human nature. Golding’s early life influenced the theme in Lord of the Flies.

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“Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed” (Golding, 1954, chapter 11, p. 165). The novel, “Lord of the Flies”, is a beautiful story. It’s a deep, expressive and meaningful allegory about our own dark civilization in a certain way. The beauty is established and elaborated in Golding’s writing, the fact that he writes and symbolizes the characters and have them possess distinguishable traits is what opens the readers eyes and have them notice the society we live in.

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558 Words | 3 Pages

Many of them let the evil overcome them, but some like Ralph find themselves trying to hold on. The symbols of the pig dance, the conch, and the masks all show how Golding’s novel fits the allegory of corrupt civilization. When the boys murder a pig, they find it fitting to celebrate, so they dance and sing in a ritual that becomes symbolic for the rest

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