Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a controversial novel written in 1954, right in the middle of The Cold War. The novel is about a group of British schoolboys, who, during World War two were put on a plane to evacuate from somewhere in Britain. The plane crashes on a deserted island, leaving the boys stranded. As the novel progresses, the dark underlining of the story becomes more and more apparent, as does Golding’s view of human nature. His view on human nature is pessimistic and cynical. All humans are born with a dark, savage side that society and civilization pushed down, and the only way to resist this evil side is to confront yourself.
Everyone has a savage side to them, but some people give in to this side easier than others. In the novel there is the protagonist Ralph and the antagonist, Jack. On pages 48 and 49, the chapter opens to Jack attempting to be a hunter. Jack is described more like a primitive than a boy trying to hunt.
“Jack himself shrank at this cry with a hiss of indrawn breath, and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees” (49).
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Throughout the novel, many symbols and scenes show just how dark Golding sees humans, and shows many of the actions proving him to be correct. The darker sides of people can only be controlled when they want to control themselves, or when the pressure of society and civilization are weighing them down. This dark savage side is not exclusive either. It is part of us from the time we are able to put together coherent thoughts, and continues to affect us all throughout our lives. This is how a young, innocent child can become a savage, blood-thirsty killer with some time away from society. Overall, Lord of the Flies was a complicated puzzle that shows many of Golding’s perspectives, some obvious and some a lot darker and harder to