How Is Human Nature Inherently Evil In Lord Of The Flies

The Defects in Society are the Defects of Human Nature in Lord of the Flies

Are humans inherently good or evil? The simple question has been asked many times, even though the answer isn't so simple. In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies, he further explores the concept. His novel is viewed through young boys trapped on a deserted island, striving to survive. In The Most Dangerous Game, Richard Connell investigates influences and integrity. In non-fiction texts, like "Why Boys Become Vicious" also by William Golding, the author defends his position and gives specific examples to support his stance. In other non-fiction works, authors have given their own views of human's natural behavior. Although some authors believe humans are good and others believe they are inherently evil, based on the evidence humans are born balance with both good and evil. Different situations however, shape their behavior and cause them to be either more good or evil.

Humans have been around for about six million years. Humans have had their ups and their down. We have gained faith in humanity, yet we have lost faith in humanity. Which brings up the question, are humans inherently good or evil. The book Lord Of The Flies and documentary Promises clearly show how humans are inherently good. Humans are inherently good until they are changed because of the environment they are born in and how they are treated.

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.

Lord of the Flies Man vs Society, Man vs Man, and Man vs nature Illustrate Humanity

The next reason for humanity to be pushed over is the fact that the boys were living on an island with no rules to be followed unless they were their own. In the first chapter on page. 16, Ralph proclaims this to piggy, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us.” The conch represents power, and whoever had possession of it received this gift. This caused drama because everyone was “power hungry animals”, and they caused fights over who got to use the conch to make a statement. An example of one of these people is Jack. Who wanted the conch because with it, you could do and say anything. All in all, “Lord of the Flies,” can show readers that humanity can be covered up and turn rotten by selfishness, struggle, and envy.

The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding questions individuals whether humans are naturally good or evil. Throughout the novel, there are certain events and people that show humans are good. Not only is it shown in books but in real life too. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great example of this because what he did changed millions of lives and not in a bad way. As of the book, there are two characters that support the idea of humans being good. One of them is Simon and the other is Samneric. These two characters in Lord of the Flies help shape the answer of this question because the island never changed them. Humans have the choice of whether they want to turn evil or remain good. As seen by Simon and Samneric in Lord of the Flies by William

Notwithstanding power and its means to cultivate one’s evil ways, the loss of innocence, a phase that many individuals in Lord of the Flies go through, has proven to create and support an evil demeanor. Take Roger for instance, a cold hearted boy, yet still conditioned and civilized near the beginning of the novel. “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed and threw it at Henry-threw it to miss.”(64).The fact that he “threw to miss” can be interpreted as “not crossing the line”, the line symbolizing a limit to rudeness or bad behavior. Although Roger isn’t the kindest of characters to begin with, his innocence that comes with the rules and boundaries placed by his parents/guardians is not tainted…yet. This psychological line, along with his values and morals is overthrown when Roger murders Piggy in cold blood. “High overhead, Rodger with a sense of delirious abandonment leaned all his weight on the lever.”(200). Roger intentionally triggered the boulder to roll down the cliff, killing Piggy instantly. Thus the innocence that would’ve stopped him from doing this terrible

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.

    Despite the progression of civilization and society's attempts to suppress man's darker side, moral depravity proves both indestructible and inescapable; contrary to culturally embraced views of humanistic tendencies towards goodness, each individual is susceptible to his base, innate instincts. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, seemingly innocent schoolboys evolve into bloodthirsty savages as the latent evil within them emerges. Their regression into savagery is ironically paralleled by an intensifying fear of evil, and it culminates in several brutal slays as well as a frenzied manhunt. The graphic consequence of the boys' unrestrained barbarity, emphasized by the

In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, the novel simulates aspects of raw human nature. One part of this human nature is the division between good and evil, and how it plays a role in the personality of a human. This idea, develops a concept throughout the story. It is that in every person, there is a level of evil and savagery, this cannot be manipulated, but the level of which one displays it can. It develops personality, some people will tend to hold in their anger or distaste, and others will let it loose, altering the personality among people. In “Lord of the Flies”, this level of evil that is shown, varies in each character among the island.

In the novel “lord of the flies” there are many symbolic differences compared to similarities, an example is that both the conch and the pigs head symbolised different things. The conch symbolised order and the pigs head symbolised the evil within them. The conch was first found by Ralph and Piggy,

Every one has asked this question " Is human nature good or essentially bad?". There are different types of people in this world, for example there are good and bad people. I think that human nature is good but every person has evil in them. Weather it's easily detected or hidden deep inside of them. In the book " Lord of the Flies" there are two main characters named Ralph and Jack. Ralph and Jack both start out good but as time goes by their good seems to descend. Towards the end of the book when Jack turned evil, " Ralph gazed at the green and black mask before him, trying to remember what Jacked looked like". People seem to change from evil to good or the opposite depending on who they are with. For example in the book "Lord of the Flies"

Human nature is evil because in the "Lord of the Flies" everything was turned inside down .They treated piggy like he wasn't there .Jack and Rodger was plain jerks in the story because they killed piggy by throwing a big rock at him which knocked him over the Cliff and he fell 1,000 feet and it killed him .Human nature is also evil in the "Lord

James Madison once said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary”. But men are not angels and there is a need for government, because men are not inherently good. Throughout the novel, Lord Of The Flies, William Golding successfully portrays his view of human nature as inherently evil by the actions and thoughts of the boys who are stranded on an island. The catholic church’s standpoint that human nature is inherently good is overpowered by William Golding’s view. William’s view is expressed throughout the Lord Of The Flies through the savagery in the book, the desire to kill/ hunt, and the loss of their innocence.