Power In Lord Of The Flies

“Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best” (Edward Abbey). Mirroring this statement by Abbey, William Golding conveys the dangers of power and how the corruption of mankind occurs. Golding validates that with free will, prevails iniquitous actions. In his novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding concentrates the use of symbols to portray the message of perverseness and man’s evil nature. It is predictable for wickedness to surface when free will is given, as shown when Jack’s love for hunting emerges, when Roger becomes a destructive character, and in the brutal mistreatment of Simon. Using characters and plot, Golding elucidates the horrid behavior of humankind. As the character, Jack Merridew gains independence

He never conveys his mind-set and he thinks it would be best if he keeps his thoughts to himself, which he did. He believes the beast is only the boys’ internal spirit. “‘What I mean is . . . maybe it’s only us.’” (Golding 96). The boys immediately cut Simon off, leaving him inarticulate and unable to portray the flaws he sees in humankind. Once Simon speaks his opinion, the group instantly shun him and disallow him to share his thoughts again. They think what Simon has to say is incompetent and useless, although it is quite ingenious. The assembly ignores Simon’s viewpoint surfacing the evil or ‘beastly’ actions, which Simon tries to convey. They believe they are superior to Simon and have the power to disrespect him because he is physically weak and is epileptic. Simon plays the role as a victim multiple times and when he is unknowingly pushed into the ‘dance’ circle, this is the peak of the group’s mistreatment of him. Although not the entire group has fallen into savagery and wickedness, Ralph and Piggy for example, they all take part in Simon’s homicide. The boys are bloodthirsty and assume Simon is the beast, so they kill him.
“The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding