The Evil Within: Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

The Evil Within
Imagine a group of boys brutally beating a child to death with their bare hands. Without even recognizing the damage they have done, the boys leave the corpse to wash away in the ocean. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, wrote the novel to portray the relationship between savagery and civilization. The novel is about a group of boys who become stranded on a deserted island during a nuclear war; however, the boys fail to create a working society. As a result, a multitude of horrific events occur. Based on the novel Lord of the Flies, humanity is ultimately savage because of the actions performed on Robert, the death of Piggy, and the betrayal of Ralph. Firstly, human nature is savage, as the boys use Robert for a mock hunt. The text states, “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!” (Golding 114). The boys display their savageness by using Robert as the pig in a simulated hunt. They were very close to killing Robert; however, he got the boys to snap out of it. Next, the author writes, “Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown

Golding comments, “Roger Sharpened a stick at both ends” (190). After Jack and his tribe kill Piggy, Ralph escapes and hides in the forest. The boys prepare to brutally kill Ralph and imply that sharpening a stick at both ends will be used to kill and impale Ralph through both sides just like the Lord of the Flies. Then, Golding notes, “A voice started.” “Smoke!”(190). Ralph is hiding for the sake of his life, and the boys smoke the forest to try and reveal Ralph to kill him. Furthermore, the boys have adapted to their surroundings by using the tactic of smoking their old leader. Nevertheless, Ralph is in a dire situation against the remaining boys and will have to fight to keep his life. Overall, the time on the island switched the English school boys to wicked and vicious