ipl-logo

Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

1631 Words7 Pages

For centuries, many famous philosophers debate whether humans are naturally born good or evil, or if they are influenced by their environment and circumstances. People such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes have conflicting points of view on this matter. Early on John Locke believed that all humans were born with a clean mind, and therefore they were naturally good at the time of their birth. Thomas Hobbes disagreed with John Locke and introduced the theory that man is wicked and must be controlled. This extraordinary classic, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding has presented more of a cynical perspective on human nature. Through this novel, Golding is trying to convey a message that although humans have the capability to balance …show more content…

People change whether it is something worth celebrating or a disaster that may occur. When these boys were abandoned on the island, they started out so innocently. As time proceeded, Jack and many of the other boys quickly became animalistic. While young lives were killed due to the barbaric acts carried out by Jack and his savages, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric remained hopeful. Unlike many of the other boys who easily gave into joining Jack’s tribe, Ralph is determined not to submit to Jack’s cruel and unjustified authority. After the death of some of his closest friends, Ralph was left to fend for himself until he found Sam and Eric, only to see that they joined Jack and his savages. Ashamed for what they had done, Sam and Eric came through for him and were able to warn him of the many dangers that he would soon face. Putting Ralph before themselves had been a selfless and generous deed, in which Ralph was very grateful. The rescuing of Ralph could not have happened at a better time. Close to death, Ralph was saved from being another victim to yet another of Jack’s vile acts. Although Ralph will never be same once he goes back to a civilized world, he has portrayed many positive qualities that show the righteous nature still existing despite the harsh environment he has been exposed. There is always a slimmer of evil that lives in humans, but the good will always win if

Show More
Related
1015 Words | 5 Pages

After Jack makes his tribe and starts hunting with them, Ralph and Piggy start to notice that many of the boys have left to join Jack's tribe. Piggy also figures out that the boys left to survive and hunt, not to play (131).The boys are leaving because they are fearful of their survival. They know that Jack is the expert when it comes to hunting so they leave Ralph because they know that if they go with Jack, they are guaranteed food and they know they’ll survive on the island. When Jack goes to kill the beast, all of the boys except for Ralph, Piggy and Simon, go to join him.

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

He and his tribe started to chase Ralph, trying to kill him. Ralph was only saved by the sailor coming onto the island to rescue the boys. Ralph remained one of the only boys who seemed to stay clear headed during the stay on the

Read More
1039 Words | 5 Pages

There are three main characters of the book: Jack, Ralph, and Piggy. Jack is where the immorality on the island originates from, and it spreads to the other boys. Jack is very reckless and careless in his decisions. Ralph was the leader of the island, until Jack took control of the tribe and turned all of them into savages. Ralph was an image for the boys to follow but spoke Piggy’s words.

Read More
823 Words | 4 Pages

By accepting that what he did was wrong, Ralph preserves his humanity while all the other boys are starting to become savages. The world around them has started to change them, yet Ralph remains unchanged. Ralph’s civility is also shown near the end of the book. In Chapter 12, a naval officer discovers the island and sees Ralph. When the officer addresses Ralph, Ralph is not relieved by being saved from being killed by Jack’s tribe.

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

Upon arriving, Ralph’s primary ambition is to get off the island safely, considering the expected immaturity in reaction to the boys’ sudden loss of authority. He manages to maintain this intention regardless of his job or worth in society among the boys. As evil challenges his capability to retain this quality by the irony of the fire, breaking of the conch, and overall destruction of civilization, demonstrates his level of mental strength considering all of the odds against his favor. Having the, “voice of someone who [knows their] own mind,” and instituting an independent attitude towards his goal, Ralph displays competence and trust in his capabilities rather than depending on that of others. As displayed in his immediate need for order, Ralph establishes a plan to get off of the island.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Ralph was the leader of the civilized group, and Jack was the leader of the savage and bloodthirsty hunting group. Important arguments between the civilized boys and savage boys come up in three important moments throughout the book: when the signal fire is allowed to go out and a boat passes by the island, when Jack leaves the civilized group to create his group of savages, and when the savages steal Piggy’s glasses to make their own fire. The first key moment near the beginning of the book shows the growing tension between civilization and savagery. It comes up when

Read More
902 Words | 4 Pages

Evil is Within Everyone Without thinking, the laws and social rules we abide by every day are actually a fragile barrier keeping the worst of human nature from overtaking modern society. In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a plane full of British school boys is shot down over an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They are stranded without adult supervision or means to communicate with the outside world. This creates the perfect setting for Golding to explore the best and worst of human nature. It is in this setting that Golding illustrates what can happen when laws and rules vanish and human instinct reigns.

Read More
1057 Words | 5 Pages

Lord of The Flies: Human Nature Are humans instinctively evil? Savage? In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, young boys are left to organize themselves into a society to keep balance and peace on the island. When the society crumbles beneath their feet, one must ask these questions. The downfall and overall plot of the book is largely telling of human nature, and may be a smaller analogy for human nature in itself.

Read More
1231 Words | 5 Pages

The boys knew Ralph would do what is right and best and in the end what they truly wanted. The other boys would be happy that they got a say in what happened on the island as well. Ralph did not change much in the novel, he mostly stuck to his ways of civilization, law, order and rescue. He tasted the urge of savagery in the novel and understands why the other boys have acted so savagely. Although he realized he must stay civilized and did not change.

Read More
1702 Words | 7 Pages

Being under a dictatorship can demolish any kind of sanity one has. Now Ralph has realized what power and manipulation can do to one person. He never intentionally plans on becoming a savage, and unfortunately, he misses his dignity. In response, Boyd comments, “It is rather the coming of an awareness of darkness, of the evil in man’s heart that was present in the children all along” (Boyd 27). His elaboration explains how the beast was not only in Ralph but in all of the young boys.

Read More
1164 Words | 5 Pages

In Lord of the Flies, Golding explores the idea that human nature, when left without the regulations of society, will become barbaric. As one of the prevailing themes in his work, the dark side of human nature is represented through the novel, not only in symbols and motifs, but in his characters as well. The dark side of human nature is an integral part of the novel 'Lord of the Flies.' William Golding, a British novelist employs symbols, motifs and characters to create the idea that human nature, without civilisation will become barbaric.

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

Lord of the Flies Are people born evil or good? Some people believe that humans are born good but get tempted into sin. Some people believe that humans are born evil and stay that way. Some people wonder if there is an inner debate of the soul. Because everyone is different could we be born with different souls.

Read More
1443 Words | 6 Pages

The human nature can be a vile, corrupt, and heinous object that will do anything to benefit itself and put down others. This is the bleak reality of the human nature. LoTF, written by William Golding, and Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini are two books that follow the tragic stories of young boys who lost and sacrificed everything when they succumbed to their evil desires. Lord of the Flies and Kite runner both shed light on human nature by showing the inherent evil that can be evoked, how it can lead to the loss of childhood innocence, and the sacrifices we are willing to make.

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Another huge part of medicine is expected to involve genes sequencing, or in other words: genetic screening. Originally, it cost several million dollars to sequence all the genes in a single human body. Today, because of improved technologies, it would cost $50,000. But in the future Moore’s law going to drive down the price of genetic scanning and make it possible even for an average person to get their full “gene portfolio”. In within 10 years scientist expecting the price of it be a $1,000.

Read More

More about Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

Related Topics

Open Document