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