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Is Human Nature Good Or Evil In Lord Of The Flies

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Is human nature good or evil? Many have attempted to answer the question, yet it still has no definite answer. After Treasure Island came out and made its waves in the world, William Golding took it upon himself to write the reality of what would have occurred. The reason is that Golding was a professor and fought in World War II as a soldier. In his work Lord of the Flies, his novel illustrates that human nature is innately evil; however, due to Golding's pessimistic view of life, it can be said that he was biased and that human nature is inherently good. First, Golding's creation is a microcosm of society. One ravaged by war and destruction. A reflection of his world during World War II that he served and witnessed first-hand the horrors …show more content…

In Lord of the Flies, Jack symbolizes savagery; after hunting the sow down, Jack commands his hunters to "sharpen a stick at both ends"(Golding 136). This stake displays the head of the sow that Jack and his group had brutally hunted. It later implies the same thing would happen to Ralph when Ralph is trying not to get murdered by the savages. If they found Ralph, they would decapitate him. Then his head would be displayed just like the head of the sow. In the case of the pig, it was for survival; however, the attempted murder of Ralph is not for survival. The savages hunting down Ralph is an act of savagery. Golding foils savagery with goodwill, and having Simon represents human goodness. Golding shows the good nature of humanity by having helped the little uns, "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach"..." passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands" (Golding 56). Though he acknowledges that humans can be good, he also implies that it is an anomaly for such people to exist. Golding continues to describe Simon as this christ-like figure, implicating that it is a rarity for truly good nature people to be alive. As Simon is later tragically killed by the group of boys. Golding makes his stance on humanity

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When one’s chance comes to eat meat, they turn it down because they know what is right for them. This w is not an easy choice, but Simon continues to follow what he believes is right. “Ralph stirred uneasily. Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy who grabbed it. The twins giggled and Simon lowered his face in shame.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

The first time we see Simon do something good is in chapter 4, after Jack and a few others went hunting while they were supposed to be watching the fire. Jack and his crew catch and kill a pig. After they cook it they refuse to let Piggy have some because he didn’t help catch it. Simon shows sorrow for Piggy and wants to help him. Golding shows this by saying, “Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy.”

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902 Words | 4 Pages

Even though Simon warns them about the evil inside them, their actions still reflect their inherently bad human nature. As the time on the island goes by, the boys kill Simon and Piggy, along with a mother pig, and a well-timed rescue is all that prevents Ralph’s death. Even if people can act good, there is still greed, selfishness, and evil within everyone. It is only through the influence of civil society that the worst of human nature is kept in

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579 Words | 3 Pages

Simon exemplifies a kind of innate, spiritual human goodness that is deeply connected with nature in its own way. Simon upholds morality because he thinks it has an inherent value, not because he feels guilty or ashamed about it. In chapter two golding illustrates “We used [Piggy’s] specs... He helped that way”(43). The others frequently make fun of Piggy for his lack of physical strength, however, Simon points out that without Piggy’s specs, they never would have been able to make the fire, reminding them not all contributions to society are physical.

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1318 Words | 6 Pages

You tell them off,” (51). Simon is indeed Ralph’s helper in this book (Enotes: “Compare and contrast Ralph and Simon; both seem to be good characters). I think Golding is trying to make a point that just with one person they can make difference by their unique example. I think another point that made Simon different from the other boys was his meditation. That may seem a little out of the context, but I think his meditation benefitted him to stay

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Golding wishes to demonstrate that the goodness that both figures have in their natures, unlike the intrinsic evil of the rest. Lastly, Simon faces temptation and becomes enlightened, “‘You are a silly little boy,’ said the Lord of the Flies… ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go?

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962 Words | 4 Pages

The overall theme of Golding's novel is the intense fight between civilized and savagery societies. Simon provides a strong connection because he is deeply connected to nature and calmness in contrast to Jack, who is primitive and evil. His goodness causes Jack's savagery to intensify. When Simon gives his meat to Piggy, Jack responds to this by demanding that Simon must eat the meat Jack hunted. Jack realizes that his only source of control is the meat.

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716 Words | 3 Pages

Human beings' internal motive is evil, Evil is a first thought in all minds but can be suppressed if there's incentive to. Jack, one of the main protagonists of Williams Golding's novel “Lord of the flies” is a prime example of when there's no incentive to not carry out those acts. Jack, a young boy who represents the dark side of human nature and goes against the rules established by society, leads many boys to be ruthless and carry out sinister behaviors throughout the book. In Phillip Zimbardo article about “What makes good people do bad things” we get to see a deeper perspective on what initiates the evil drive in human nature. Zimbardo's article brought in points that were related to “the lord of the flies' ' such as wearing war paint to cover true identity, which he describes as a place where you “lose your humanity' ' and makes you more subjective to caringing out evil acts.

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

One of the most debated topics for decades has been whether human nature is inherently good or evil, this topic has divided people since the idea was introduced. However, human nature is fundamentally good, it is not anywhere near evil. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies he alludes to the idea that human nature is evil , savage, and violent however the true overall nature of people is kind, civilized, and nurturing which is evident in “The Real Lord of the flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months” and 12 Angry Men. Throughout Golding’s Lord of the Flies he tries to prove how violent human nature is, however, human nature is truly nurturing as seen in “The Real Lord of the flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked

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898 Words | 4 Pages

Simon remains in touch with his own humanity and recognizes the inherent evil that lies within each person. Through Simon's actions and thoughts, Golding emphasizes the primal nature of human beings and their susceptibility to abandon moral behavior in the absence of societal norms. The other boys abandon moral behavior as soon as civilization is no longer there to impose it upon them. They are not innately moral; rather, the adult world—the threat of punishment—has conditioned them to act morally. To an extent, even the seemingly civilized Ralph and Piggy are products of social conditioning, as we see when they participate in the hunt-dance.

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984 Words | 4 Pages

Golding certainly gives us a view of the personalities of the characters, and also the influences present in the country at the time. An intriguing point is when Simon is presented as a Jesus-esque figure. He is kind, mends the huts (Jesus was a carpenter), and provides the children with the fruit they can’t reach. This also falls in line with the message the Bible presents us with, to live selflessly and to put others needs before your own without haste. In the case of Simon “communicating” with the pigs head, he learned that there is no beast to be afraid of-

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898 Words | 4 Pages

Humans are born evil but have the chance to do good. Just like in the book Lord of the Flies, Ralph wanted everyone to survive and get home as soon as possible. Also how that one woman stopped an entire experiment because it was taken too far and people started getting hurt. Also Jack let the fire go out but he also got everyone in the camp food. so even when he let Ralph down he made up for it by getting everyone pig.

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981 Words | 4 Pages

Simon is innately good and Ralph is only good because of society. Simon has no savagery within himself so he is not changed by being free from social moderation. “All of the boys, so it is argued, removed from the pinfold of civilisation, inevitably regress to savagery. But Simon doesn’t regress to savagery”

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1883 Words | 8 Pages

Golding and Grant both characterise children to make generalisations on the human race through their innocence. Golding creates a tribe

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658 Words | 3 Pages

The boys interaction with the sow demonstrates their loss of morality through Jack's actions. “Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick … a little blood dribbling down the stick” (Golding 136-137). There was a major use of imagery, which helped to set an ominous mood, in Golding's description of the sow's head being mounted for the beast. Jack uses this act to to his advantage, scaring the boys even further into the places of his devoted savage-servants. Simon's death was one of the boys ultimate losses of morality.

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