Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

At some point, one will find themselves judging those around them to determine which person is good and which person is bad. This might inspire who this person eats lunch with or who to spend their free time with. Although “good” and “bad” might be general terms, they are used to filter through the actions and behaviors of others to make decisions for ourselves. Through these experiences, one develops a general idea of human nature and what they believe to be the true. William Golding’s portrayal of human nature through “Lord of the Flies” is one that rightly exposes the savagery and evil that is a foundation within the human character. This perception is only fortified with the messages of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and the messages of

This sentiment is reflected by how the boys treat Simon as the story progresses; the boys become more barbaric and eventually perform a “bloody dance” that results in Simon’s slaughter (Golding 121). This instinctual act of killing, that all the boys take part in, is evident in showing the reader the evil essence that is present in the boys’ true character. These savage moments contribute to Orwell’s perception that humans are evil natured beings. Jack further shows this decline in civility and the true nature of man by beginning the book by stating that “After all, [the boys are] not savages,” then later goes on to kill Simon, torture Wilfred, and hunt Ralph (Golding 33). Golding uses this irony as a prime example of the decline of the Jack toward his true nature: to be savage and evil. The contrast of Jack’s actions in the beginning of the book and the end of the book only further highlights the message Golding portrays to his audience. The development that all the boys go through conveys to readers Golding’s belief that man is fundamentally savage, and therefore,

The Stanford prison experiment provided real-life examples of power corruption, savagery, and other evil behaviors within guards that were meant to be roleplaying. These guards forgot the “game” they were taking part in, following their deepest instincts and by day 5 they “were hostile, arbitrary, and inventive in their forms of prisoner humiliation” (Zimbardo 8). This display of the guard’s true character further highlights man’s evil nature, particularly when gifted power over another. Humans fall victim to this power corruption so easily that after only five days in this experiment, the guards have misplaced their humanity when in the face of those without the same power. They think of those without it as lesser: truly a corrupt and evil sentiment. As Zimbardo continues the experiment, the guards even develop a punishment that was “often used as a form of punishment in Nazi concentration camps” (Zimbardo 4). The affiliation with Nazi concentration camps is hard to ignore when considering what it implies about these guards and their disposition. These situations brought out the truest form of human nature; men are savage, power hungry, and evil