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How Does Golding Present The Evil In Lord Of The Flies

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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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

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962 Words | 4 Pages

Ralph says “ Don’t you understand, Piggy? The things we did-“He may still be-”“No” (Golding 160). This shows that they knew that it was Simon who was getting murdered but decided to not help him. This proves that even people considered to be civil can still be evil.

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The Lord of the Flies, a pig’s head skewered by a stake that severed the ground, summarized the power of evil. From the time the boys first arrived on the island to when they encountered the Naval officer, savagery turned everything upside down. The sow’s head summoned the presence of evil; as well as the face paint they used to hide who they really had become. The head counted as an offering to the “beast”. Simon found the Lord of the Flies and began to discuss his feelings with the head.

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William Golding’s Theory of Savagery in Humanity Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel in which the natural savagery of human nature is conveyed through the characters present within the novel. While some of these characters behave in different manners, the majority of the characters display savage tendencies. There are but three exceptions to this trend: Piggy, Ralph, and Simon. These characters appear to be the only ones that display any desire to maintain order amongst the boys stranded on the island.

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You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there-- so don’t try to escape”(143). The Lord of the Flies is tempting Simon to become bad before he was killed. “The beast was harmless and horrible; and news must reach the others as soon as possible” (147). He goes to warn the boys who start to attack him viciously, ending with the boys killing Simon.

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In Lord of the Flies by WIlliam Golding, a group of boys are flying away from England because of the war that is going on and eventually get stranded on an island. The boys go through a journey of learning how to survive by themselves in a foreign place with no one else but them. Golding writes his characters very well and they are very thought out, whether it be from the way they look to the way their mannerisms slightly change from the start of the book to the end. One of the big differences in Golding's characters is that all the other boys have some form of evil in them, some more than others. One character had no evil in him, Simon is the only boy who does not fall victim to mob mentality but he does fall victim to the other boys on the island.

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Although the boys laugh at his suggestion, this proves Golding’s point that innate human evil and savagery exists. Simon is furthering his thinking and sees the Beast as a component of human nature instead of an external force, revealing the evil that is throbbing inside the boys. Similarly in Chapter 8, Simon has a vision in the glade and is faced with the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies says to Simon, ““There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me.

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Simon becomes aware of his internal cruelty when it manifests itself in hallucinatory forms as “The Lord of the Flies”. Simon at first lacks the understanding and cannot comprehend what is happening until the hallucination says “‘Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew didn’t you?

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No one else” (Golding 50). Simon is very involved with this civilized action of building shelters, and does not want to be a part of the hunting or any other uncivil activity. For example, Simon wants to get away from the idea of evil, or the Lord of the Flies, after it starts talking;he tried to brush off the idea by calling it a “Pig’s head on a stick,” (Golding 143), and trying to pretend that the Lord of the Flies does not affect him. Simon is only starting to doubt his sanity after he has a talk with the Lord of the Flies, and even then, he is wanting to prove the voice in his head wrong and gain back his civility. This is the point where Simon realizes that the Beast may be in their heads.

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When they are describing Jack it makes the reader feel like he's not being human like, he's not ashamed of what he's doing or feels like he’s doing something inhuman. This also makes the reader feel like Jack's small tribe is slowly becoming more demoniac and evil to their own people. This detail also brings us back to Jack having this illusion of him hunting and having fun while doing it, this illusion also makes Jack forget the reality of who he really was back in the UK. In the passage Golding describes Jacks small tribe as “Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling” This sentence shows how the kids humanity is slowly drifting away from them their behavior is changing and their action like animals hunting all this show how Golding's idea about humanity in this kids are them being maniac and action like animals.

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Even his death was a symbol of the end of all logical thinking, where the other boys truly revert to their chaotic tendencies. The audience of “Lord of the Flies” is presented with the consequence of losing the gift of reasoning as the story progresses. Being the first of many deaths in the book, Simon’s passing displays a loss of humanity in the boys, which becomes clear with the rapid increase of killings that happen afterward. William Golding dictates to the reader that rationalization is significant in the most obscure events, and without it, chaos

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Power and manipulation takes over people’s minds and turns us into egotistical people without even knowing and the sense of having control or authority can brainwash us into the people who we despise. William Golding fabricates his ideas around the time period 1933 after he received his English degree where he mostly wrote poems. Golding’s world consists of writing novels, pulling ideas from the real world into his own creative words on paper, this is where he developed his most famous book, Lord of the Flies, throughout 1954. The perspective of Lord of the Flies is through the eyes of the Second World War and since he was in this war, his point of view on violence changed and gave him a different outlook on society. In the Lord of the Flies

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696 Words | 3 Pages

Golding uses vivid imagery to indicate how the boys’ morality fades and savagery unveils. Jack Merridew is just one example of how much evil humans are capable of possessing. He is noted for being the most brutal of the boys, and the first to let go of his civility. Golding uses Jack’s appearance to display how the boy's morals are starting to change, and implies that Jack is turning savage.

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1164 Words | 5 Pages

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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1805 Words | 8 Pages

Bell 1 During the Great Depression, the housing crisis forced the homeless to create encampments in shack towns known as Hooverville. The shacks were tiny and poorly built. Hoovervilles, named after President Herbert Hoover, were a visible symbol of poverty and the economic struggles faced by the American people during this time. People living in these communities lacked access to necessities such as running water, electricity, and sanitation facilities. As a result, they suffered from illnesses and diseases that were easily preventable.

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1127 Words | 5 Pages

During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”

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