How Does Golding Present The Evil In Lord Of The Flies

In the Lord of the Flies evil is presented in all of Golding’s characters, both civilized and savage. His presentation of these characters demonstrates the concealed evil in all of humanity, and the actions that the kids take when allowed to present this aspect of humanity. Golding is able to present his opinion that despite the good in people evil will always lurk beneath the surface through the book. The main way Goldings conveys his ideas are through the savage thoughts and actions of the characters. Golding first portrays pure evil through the character Roger. His character is classified by his cruelty and heartless actions while being a right hand to Jack, who becomes the leader of savagery. Golding narrates the character depicting evil

He conveys this clearly in Simon's death. Simon, the only character to display purity and innocence, was brutally killed by everyone, not only the clear savages. They acted as if Simon was a beast chanting, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!”, mercilessly killing him with rocks, spears, and even their bare hands (Golding, Lord of the Flies, 152). Every person on that island participated in the ruthless murder of simon. They let out the evil inside of them despite almost everyone not wanting to admit that. Piggy, the previous intelligent and rational character, refused to accept that they committed murder. When Ralph told him that this was murder Piggy said, “It wasn’t- what you said '' not allowing himself to call it murder and rejecting the idea that he could have possibly done that (Golding, Lord of the Flies, 156). Golding is able to express that no matter how bright, reasonable, or logical a person is they are still subject to the evil that resides in

The Lord of the Flies was a symbol used by Golding to show the evil within humanity. The Lord of the Flies told Simon, “You know perfectly well you'll only meet me down there”, referring to the evil it represents in the rest of the boys (Golding, Lord of the Flies, 143). Considering the Lord of the Flies speaking to Simon was a figment of his own imagination, Simon already knew deep down and was warning himself of the evil he would find within his friends. The savagery of the boys is continued to be displayed as the boys decide to hunt down Ralph as he was the only one left trying to represent civilization opposed to the evilness and savagery they had fallen into. Despite giving Ralph the warning that, “They’re going to hunt you tomorrow” Sam and Eric were still an accomplice to this savage act (Golding, Lord of the Flies, 188). All the boys mercilessly hunted Ralph as if he was a wild animal with no consideration for his life. This final act from the boys cemented what Golding had been saying the entire novel about