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Lord Of The Flies Inherently Evil

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Maja Trtanj Ms. Dief ENG 2DA-03 17 May 2023 The destruction of innate goodness If children are seemingly associated with goodness, how can their descent into savagery be explained? Is man inherently evil, or are there other factors at play? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the boys prove that humans are inherently good, but can become evil as a result of their environment and lack of moral foundation. This is proven by Simon's untainted goodness, Ralph’s sustainment of civility, and Jack’s descent into savagery. Simon’s consistent goodness outlines the impossibility of a human possessing inherent evil. His moral foundation and intelligence cause him to show compassion and empathy toward others on the island. Many boys on the island …show more content…

Although he struggles against the island's mob mentality, he stays strong thanks to inner resistance. Ralph clearly shows his prebuilt knowledge of right and wrong; unlike some more savage characters, he understands that the savagery the boys participate in is fundamentally wrong. He states, “I am frightened. of us. I want to go home. oh god, I want to go home” (Golding 160). He is scared of the direction their society is heading in because he understands it is wrong, and he does not want to live in it. Ralph's understanding of morality is one of the driving factors behind his sustainment of civilization and goodness, as he has a solid prebuilt moral compass. In addition to his moral compass, he has a passion for civilization's success on the island. This is directly related to the fact that he knows he thrives in a civilized environment. He commonly references the conch to sustain order on the island, for example, stating, “You haven’t got the conch… sit down” (Golding 103). Ralph’s determination to uphold civility stems from the fact that this environment is most beneficial for him; he knows he thrives in a civilized society, which is why he tries so hard to uphold this, as he is not just upholding society; he is upholding his sanity. Lastly, although Ralph shows confidence and cockiness throughout the novel, he understands he is not the best. As cocky as he may be, he understands his flaws. It is …show more content…

He thrives in an environment where he is the leader of the tribe, as seen with his choir. When Ralph is coined as the leader, Jack attempts to fight back to suit his environment to his more vital traits but fails. “Ralph thinks you're cowards, running away from the boar and the beast. and that's not all” (golding 129). Jack’s failure to be chief only worsens his actions since he is such a prideful person, and the fact that he is in an environment that does not highlight his strengths worsens it. Jack enters the island with an inflated ego and sense of superiority, which only worsens in an environment that does not suit him. The mixture of a non-suitable environment and lack of morality causes Jack's susceptibility to savagery to increase, with little foundation tying him to his innate goodness, as he feels savagery grants him the leadership he

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The tribe wants to hunt Ralph even though he did not do anything wrong. In fact, all Ralph wants to do is get rescued which is something that not only benefits him but everyone else on the island. The boys on the island want to hurt Ralph solely for their own pleasure. Ralph does not share the violent beliefs of the tribe and because of this, he does not join them. However, because Ralph does not engage in the violent actions taken by the other boys, they target him.

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Throughout the entire story, Ralph has been the one to be civilized. He represents the order in the story by making sure to remind everyone of who they are. Ralph keeps the humanity in the boys despite the fact that

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It has been said several times throughout history that human nature is constitutionally a negative force. This is further shown in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies when numerous young boys aged twelve and under are stranded on an island after a plane crash during World War 2. These children abandon all civilization and grow more savage as the literature progresses. The main boys: Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and Jack change exponentially throughout the novel, gradually losing themselves and any culture they had. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, depicts human nature’s inherent evil and man’s inability to escape it.

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As Ralph leads the group, he leads with intentions of keeping everyone safe and uses others ideas. Oppositely, Jack leads with arrogance as cares about himself and himself only. An example of Jack’s impervious attitude can be seen when he said “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!

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Simon is innately good and Ralph is only good because of society. Simon has no savagery within himself so he is not changed by being free from social moderation. “All of the boys, so it is argued, removed from the pinfold of civilisation, inevitably regress to savagery. But Simon doesn’t regress to savagery”

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Humanity has adapted to its surroundings and has almost been “trained” to refrain from killing and inflicting damage but there’s still a lingering evil within that will only get exploited when those rules are taken away. Page 137 of Lord of the Flies by William Golding perfectly captures how savage the boys become evil by describing how the boys beheaded a pig and put its head on a stick in the ground. They did this to inflict fear into whatever or whoever came by, flies surrounded the head which is how it got the nickname of Lord of the Flies. William Golding captures just how savage the boys become when the boys say “kill the beast!

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