Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

Alexander Karaivanov

Mrs. Jackson

Period 5

4/10/24

The Good in Human Nature

Evil, “profoundly immoral and wicked” is a word that could describe the human nature of the boys that Goldwing illustrates in his novel Lord of the Flies throughout the actions he writes (Oxford Dictionary). Alternatively, contradicting Goldwing's view, human nature is more positive and innocent than evil. Despite the illustration that Golding depicts of human nature being wicked, it can be seen that humans are more good than evil because human nature is the natural behavioral traits that a person possesses, causing there to be an internal innocence. Within the novel Lord of the Flies, written by Golding, he constructs an idea where human nature is inclined toward

This expands upon the idea that the essence of human nature is inherently good due to the fact that people will make sacrifices and give something up and or perform an action so someone else can benefit from it. It is evident in Lord of the Flies that human nature is initially good when it can be seen that Simon prioritizes the wellbeing of others over his own personal desires. This is illustrated when the hunters bring back the first pig that they killed and give a piece of meat to everyone but Piggy. When Simon saw this, he, “Shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy” (Golding 72). By partaking in this action, Simon displayed selflessness by giving Piggy the piece of meat given to him instead of eating. Further building upon the idea that human nature is originally good due to there not being a benefit to sharing it with Piggy, but Simon still did because he felt sympathetic towards Piggy. Moreover, selflessness can also be seen when taking into account the heroic actions of the man in the red bandana. These actions were discussed while former President Obama was asked about the events that took place to help people who were stuck in the towers. Obama stated that, “He led those survivors down the stairs to safety... and carried a woman on his shoulders down 17 flights. Then he went back, back up all those flights, then back down again,

This can be seen through actions such as being helped, guided through a time of need, asking about how someone is doing, and many more. This is why it is important for authors to display the positive nature of mankind, so it is not assumed to be evil or wicked. For this purpose, people should take time to examine what people might have gone through because someone's surroundings and or circumstances may have led them down a path where it could be believed that human nature is naturally evil or wicked when in reality there is a fundamental goodness within