Chris Oshoro Mrs. Forbes Honors 9th Lit February 27, 2024 The Lord of the Flies People have the potential to turn into savages if a leader is abusing their power. William Golding's 1954 book "Lord of the Flies" is a grabbing read that discusses the darker sides of human nature by means of the tale of a group of British boys who become stranded on an unclaimed island. A real-life incident known as "The Real Lord of the Flies," which took place in 1965 when a group of Tongan boys were abandoned on an uninhabited island for 15 months, but they were able to survive and lead a peaceful life until they were rescued, is frequently used as a comparison point for Golding's writing. The Lord of the Flies is more realistic than the Real Lord of the Flies. Scenes that highlight the inherent darkness in human nature are shown throughout the book (LOTF). As the boys undergo psychological changes, one of the book's most moving lines, "The thing is - fear can't hurt you any more than a …show more content…
In the story What Makes Good People Do Bad Things it says, "Often it is the good people who do bad things, not out of malice, but out of a misguided sense of righteousness or a belief that they are serving a greater good." As the lads evolve from civilized people to representations of craziness and sadness, Golding effectively captures the slow breakdown of social conventions and the creation of natural instincts. In the book it says, "The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness" (Golding 64) highlights an essential observation on human nature and is highlighted by this transformation. The mask represents the rejection of social standards and the adoption of a more primitive identity, showing how easily people may turn into animals in the face of fear and a lack of