Lord Of The Flies And Existentialism

Existentialism is a 20th century philosophical belief that emphasises individual existence, freedom and choice. It was first brought to public attention, through Jean-Paul Sartre’s book L’existentalisme est un humanisme in the mid-1940’s. The philosophy allows humans to define what the true meaning of life is, to make their own rational decisions despite living in an irrational world. It deals with the absurdity of life and emphasises action, freedom and decision as a fundamental belief. And the only way to rise above the absurd condition of humanity (typically categorised as suffering and death) is by exercising personal freedom and choice. The philosophy of Existentialism and the absurdity is presented through the literary works of both William

To begin, the plot of both novels revolves around Sartre’s philosophical ideas of alienation and the basic principles of existentialism. To start, Lord of the Flies relates to three aspects of the existentialism theory: the absurd, alienation and the freedom of individuality. The first part of the novel analyses the absurdity of the world – a nuclear war brings a group of children to a deserted island that later becomes a slaughter-house due to the human conditions. According to Albert Camus, “The absurd is born out of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.” (Camus 21) Camus’s theory is exhibited when Jack rebels against the societal norms as they are no longer being enforced . He persuades the other children to join his tribe on the basis of food and moral freedom. They are soon relieved of their shame and self-consciousness and wreak havoc on the island. While the second part of the novel analyses the alienation the boys face while on the island. Sartre interprets alienation in an ethical manner, he believed that alienation occurs when humans’ reject their responsibilities and freedoms. Golding uses alienation to showcase the reason that the boys succumb to their fear of the

Both Golding and Camus speak of the human condition which they showcase through the emotions and actions of characters. In addition, the authors use hidden symbols of war to reveal existentialism and absurdity. The war itself represents absurdity and pointlessness of life. In the Lord of the Flies, Golding introduces the idea of the inner beast within every being. Though the novel isn’t in a war zone, William Golding uses children to express the human condition and the reason for wars. William Golding based his character Jack on the Nazi Leader Adolf Hitler. For instance, Jack persuades the other boys to join him by saying “Listen all of you…We hunt and feast and have fun. If you want to join my tribe come and see us. Perhaps I’ll let you join. Perhaps not.” (Golding 140) Jack’s offer makes the boys reconsider their current duties and his nonchalant attitude compels the children to join him. This is similar to Hitler’s actions in the late 1930’s to 1940’s, he promised the citizens he would bring food again to Germany and eliminate the cause of the depression. In the Lord of the Flies, Jack implements punitive and irrational rules among the boys similar to the rules enforced upon the Germans during WWII. This created conflict among the two groups of boys which resulted in Jack exhibiting vicious and sadistic behaviour. Jack’s rule brought out the worst in the