Golding's Lord Of The Flies: Is Human Nature Good Or Bad?

It is a very arguable subject on whether or not people are born with good intentions, and therefore taught by others the ‘evil’ side of their personality. Whether it is the absence of ethical conduct in human nature, or just the way one perceives a situation, evil seems to be prominent in our everyday lives. Humans seem to have a moral code that follows them with every decision they make, yet despite the laws of morality and society, people of this world still seem to behave inhumanely because of the act of self-preservation, human interest, and who exactly the authority figure is at the time.

“Human nature is evil and goodness is caused by intentional activity” - Xunzi. Humans by nature have natural tendencies to evil however not everyone acts on those emotions.

Lord of the Flies is an extraordinarily well-written novel that teaches one how to live life. When asked about the philosophy of the book, the author, William Golding, replied, "The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectful." This completely exemplifies the theme of the novel. Lord of the Flies truly shows that it is not the government that determines survival, it is the sheer human nature in all of us that proves whether a society can function. A person's personality will always trump another person's because of difference

Human nature is complex. It may take over an individual’s mind in many desperate and threatening situations. In Golding’s compelling novel, Lord of the Flies, it is implied that the evil, or bad side of humanity will overshadow the good. However, there are certain situations present in the novel that portray the opposite. The depiction of human nature in this novel creates a nice balance between the positive and negative aspects of humanity. Although Golding’s novel is portrayed as pessimistic, Ralph’s words and actions when dealing with various situations, Sam and Eric’s loyalty to Ralph, and the boys’ rescue at the end of the novel contradict this idea, creating a commendable balance of pessimistic and optimistic situations.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys who crash landed on an island and must learn how to survive. While on the island there is good moments but also a lot of conflicts, include blood, death, fights and much more. In this book Golding makes sure he shows/tells us all about human nature being wicked. To explore and reveal human nature and it being wicked Golding uses a lot of symbols like the character Roger and blood.

People interact together to create a society. And within that society, a political system is formed to regulate and govern. However, when that society corrupts, who is to blame? The leader? Political system? Or the people? William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies believes that the defects of society are caused by the defects of human nature, and the society must depend on ethical maturity of individuals. The novel demonstrates the defects of an individuals’ human nature corrupting society through Ralph’s failed civilization, Samneric’s fear, and Roger’s natural evil.

Although humankind attempts its best at preventing evil actions, eventually evil rises above all else. While humans are living ordinary lives and living in ignorance, evil is always scheming and waiting to slide up behind the turned backs of society as depicted in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. One could argue that this is not the case and that good deeds always overshadow evil and that evil is just an occasional blip. However, what one’s opinion of society does not outshine the cold hard facts of humankind’s natural tendencies; specifically, how things are never as they seem, how easily humans can betray their emotions and how humans choose to ignore difficult situations in the search for an easy

Knowing William Golding took part of World War II, we as readers can understand why Golding wrote Lord of the Flies and other survival-fiction novels. When the story was released in 1954, Golding described his book as "an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature." It is unmistakably obvious to anyone who reads this book that Golding is trying to exaggerate the good and evil in the boys on the island. Throughout the book, we learn that people, including children, are not pure goodness. Deep inside there is an evil constantly trying to rise to the surface of our minds. Golding proves that eventually the evil within us will destroy us. Golding saw in World War II what

One’s behaviour can have an substantial impact on a society's outcome. There is a common notion that humans are nurtured to be peaceful and civil. However this belief is contradicted by the action of the boys, in William Golding’s, “Lord of the Flies”. A group of schoolboys are abruptly thrown out of their controlled and civil circumstances into an inhabited tropical island in the middle of the Pacific. The novel is Golding’s attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature, by using symbolism to delineate this theme. Golding’s extensive use of symbolism, such as the conch, the signal fire and the painted faces helps demonstrates the defects of society. These symbols are used by Golding to illuminate the subsequent effects on the boys’ behaviour, which undoubtedly illustrates the defects of human nature on society.

The controversy of human nature being good or evil will essentially always be around. Opinions and views are argued, but the truth is yet to be proven. Following his novel “Lord of the Flies”, WIlliam Golding was labeled as one who believes that human nature is evil. Although this pessimistic view in the book can be seen, the optimistic belief is also evident throughout it. Golding’s hopeful view of good human nature is evident through events in the story like Ralph’s rescue, Sam’s and Eric’s loyalty, and Ralph’s refusal to join the tribe.

“The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable.” With this quote, William Golding simply justifies the theme and moral presented in his novel, Lord of the Flies. The characters portray a modern society and depict the cruelty of human disposition. The political system in the U.S., as a whole, is a prime example of the ignorance towards ethical nature and is definitely blameworthy of the ruthlessness of mankind as individuals. Change is needed!

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. After having created everything on Earth, He made man. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”(NIV Genesis 2:15). Thus, He made Eve from the rib of Adam. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge but the evil serpent, who was craftier than them, tricked Eve into eating the fruit. Eve later convinced Adam after having argued with him and he gave in. Both were punished by God for having gone against His word and would suffer the consequences of it. “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden a cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:23-24).

TITLE Humans are a complex species with both moral and immoral beliefs, however certain brain mechanisms favor one belief over the other. In Lord of the Flies, the characters struggle between “good vs. evil” on the island and in spite of some characters efforts, evil overpowers them. The evidence in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Paul Zak’s “Are Humans Good or Evil?” shows that humans are innately evil because humans naturally envy other people’s belongings, desire power over others, and solely care about themselves.

Do you believe that you’re a better human being compared to the characters in the Lord of the Flies? Because you’re the same as them. Human nature is just inherently dark, with our “savage” instincts. To achieve happiness, we are to appease our desires to satisfy ourselves, and that is what the kids were doing in this book. Finding their definition of happiness trapped on that island. Consequently, because of primitive instincts being part of our human nature, their loss of civilization also triggered their revert back to savageness. With their newly converted primordial compulsion and search for contentment, violence, as well as barbarism, prevailed as their new version of happiness. Thus in the Lord of the Flies, William Golding conveys how man can relapse back to their primal instincts without the presence of civilization; even the supposed innocent, can descend into savagery with the darkness in our hearts. For this reason, we can also be considered the beast in the story.

Two philosophers of different eras tackle the same topic, human nature, and a great argument breaks out. Is man inherently evil, like William Golding believes? Or is man good at heart but inevitably becomes corrupted by the society he lives in, as said by Jean Jacques Rousseau? Both philosophers have very strong opinions and well reasoning for what they believe. Golding’s views are displayed well throughout his novel, Lord of the Flies; a tale about strong minded, young boys stranded on an island who must find a way to survive on their own. After reading this novel, I found myself agreeing much with Rousseau’s views on human nature.