Lord Of The Flies Essay On Human Nature

Lindy “Neil” Canada

Mr. Horton

English 10 Honors

17 March 2023

Human Nature: The Reality of the Evil Inside Us All

Humans can be monstrous at times. It’s a question of personality, situation, and in total, human nature. Golding’s stance on human nature as portrayed in Lord Of The Flies is that it is a constantly changing aspect of humanity that can shift towards evil at the drop of a hat. It has been featured in other works of fiction such as Animal Farm by George Orwell and is even displayed in current events like the Russo-Ukrainian war, where evil cannot even begin to describe the atrocities of man and its hunger for power. But why does human nature shift towards such deplorable ways?

Human nature is malleable. It is easily swayed one

There are many different ways this is expressed, some examples being arguments, physical harm to others to prove a point, and gaslighting. Gaslighting is a very prevalent concept throughout Animal Farm, and is the main source used to prove that the pigs wrongdoings aren’t wrong. Squealer generally backs up these claims, such as the rule that was changed regarding beds. “You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed merely means a place to sleep in. A pile of straw in a stall is a bed, properly regarded.” (Orwell, 22) Other rules are changed throughout the book, a memorable change being that the pigs are allowed to stay in the farmhouse, which was previously considered a human-like activity and was ruled against. “It was about this time that the pigs suddenly moved into the farmhouse and took up their residence there. Again the animals seemed to remember that a resolution against this had been passed in the early days, and again Squealer was able to convince them that this was not the case.” (Orwell, 22) This gaslighting of the other animals is an act of selfishness that benefits no one but the pigs, causing the action to be construed as malicious or evil. Because of the negative effects on the other animals, is becomes obvious that the light it is portrayed in is

As Ralph changes through the course of the book, it is shown that he too is susceptible to evil even if he doesn’t want to be. He starts to realize this after the killing of Simon, thinking about how he was simply swept up into the way of the savages. It implies that people will act cruel and horrible towards others as soon as the situation makes it appear more favorable, which unfortunately happens quite often, as displayed in the current Russo-Ukrainian war. When given the options to either be peaceful and get nothing or be violent and get everything but the kitchen sink, obviously the risk/reward of the second option is going to be chosen with no regard to the consequences’ effects on