Lord Of The Flies Human Nature Essay

The Illusion of Human Nature

An important portion of a fictional story depends on the development of its characters. During this process, the more an author adds to the complexity of the characters, the realism of the story improves. Therefore, if done correctly, the character will not be defined through a single word; a similar concept of development also applies to human nature. Namely, in the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding illustrates human nature as inherently evil through his depiction of an island full of English boys that starts with civilization and ends in savagery. However, due to the complexity of human nature and the vagueness of the definitions of good and evil that prevail in both literature and real life, human nature

For instance, when Roger saw a little child playing in the sand, he began to throw rocks around him, Roger’s moral that was “conditioned by a civilization” ended up “in ruins” once it was separated from him(Golding 62). Civilization acts as the restraint of the inherent savagery and evilness of the boys on the island; by removing an external factor like civilization that modifies the children’s view of the world, evil appeared to be the dominant driver of the boys’ minds. Furthermore, at the end of the novel, when Ralph barely escaped being slaughtered by other boys on the island, he “wept for the end of innocence” at the realization of the evil in human nature(Golding 202). Ralph notices that the same instance of savagery within the island is currently going on outside of the island as well, with humanity resorting to savagery and war instead of civilization and order. Consequently, Ralph progressed from naively believing what society had conditioned him to believe, to facing the harsh, brutal reality that mankind is naturally evil and savage. The development of an innocent British boy in the faith of civilization, ending with a realization of fundamental evil in humanity portrays that humanity reveals its inner evil once civilization is

Although some argue in favor of human nature being evil or good, the nature of the concept remains vague and indefinite because of the complexity of the human mind and its inadequacy, causing human nature to not be categorized as either good or evil. This evident truth appears in literature through play, the judicial system to news stories, displayed by the differences between individuals and the ever-changing human mind. The indefinite nature of the human mind restricts the establishment of a limit defining humanity, providing a glimpse of the endless possibility and self-autonomy of