Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

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Evil Humanity
“Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity” (Xun Zi). In this quote the Chinese philosopher, Xun Zi, is stating how naturally our human nature is to be evil. It is only when we think about being good, do we do it. In the novel The Lord of the Flies, Golding implies that human nature is inherently evil which is an overall fair assessment of human nature as there have been many instances throughout history and stories that support this idea.
Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. He builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. For example, when he writes, "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in..." (Golding 75). This is the group's chant when they all together have killed their first pig. This indirectly portrays the savagery that has slowly developed into the group. The characterization by Golding supports his argument that humans are profoundly diabolical. …show more content…

In 1971, there was an experiment played out, where applicants were split into “prisoners” and “guards,” called the Stanford Prison Experiment. This experiment ended up showing the idea that humans battled up against each other and ended up being horrible because of a title they were given. “Over the course of the experiment, some of the guards became cruel and tyrannical, while a number of the prisoners became depressed and disoriented”. The guards and the prisoners rebelled against each other and truly were ruthless towards each other in a matter of days. This is a real-life example of how humans just naturally are evil-minded. “On only the second day, the prisoners staged a rebellion. Guards then worked out a system of rewards and punishments to manage the prisoners.” This clearly shows how a title can change humans in a horrible and toxic