How Is Human Nature Shown In Lord Of The Flies

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

Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding shows his views of the inherent evil of humans. He shows how humans can be in such a savage state, practically mimicking the way of life of their prehistoric ancestors. He exemplifies this with acts of carnage carried on by the young stranded children. It all started with a slight urge to hunt down a pig and then continued on to murdering another human being. Golding shows his views best at the end of the book with the boys being rescued by a Navy crew, which would go on to war it self.

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.

“Life is scientific, that’s what it is. In a year of two when the war’s over they’ll be traveling to Mars and back. I know there isn’t no beast, not with claws and all that, I mean but I know there isn’t no fear, either. Unless we get frightened of people.” (84). Lord of the Flies is a novel where civilization is involved and it was found surrounded by a group of little boys under-aged teenagers who try to govern themselves on an island. The boys were found in a plane crash on a island and they try to create a society based on their own rules and laws.The boys: Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and the rest of the boys try to work out their differences and make a civilized little group in order to survive. Everyone on the island wants to survive and hope to be rescued to come home to their families. As the book went on, you see changes in the characters as they are influenced from others or in society. The characters develop as the book goes on and they experiment new beginnings when they are put in difficult situations. William Golding, in the novel of Lord of the Flies, uses the characters, Jack and Ralph, to reveal that human nature is naturally corrupted.

Imagine if one was asked to compile a list of every flaw of human nature that was demonstrated by the boys in the novel Lord of the Flies. Among the words used would probably be naive, uncivilized, and unfocused. While these words certainly do describe the boys and their poorly constructed society, they also hold the same meaning and truth when they are applied to our own people in our own society. People in both our society and the one described in the novel exhibit a profuse amount of faults and flaws, but this extensive list of faults can be narrowed down to the three most common ones. The three most prominent flaws of human nature are being selfish, desiring power, and not following through with plans.

Humanity today is full of cruelty. There are terrorist groups fighting everyday to hurt people, to kill innocent people, bullying, shootings, the list goes on. Andre Gide says, “Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death.” The cruelty of humanity is shown in Lord of Flies in Jack, hurts other members of the group, mentally and physically. Roger, destroying the littluns sandcastles with Maurice and throwing rocks at them. Ralph, desperately trying to be in control of the group against Jack.

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding is able to use his outstanding writing abilities utilizing metaphors, symbolism, and other literary devices to establish a hidden message throughout the novel. The hidden message that Golding builds on is that there is a natural evil inside every human being, which is suppressed in an organized society through laws, rules, and punishment. The young boys in the novel are on an island all by themselves. There is no punishment for their actions, therefore allowing that evil to come out of most of the boys. All humans have an innate evil within them and that evil is brought out when there is a lack of civilization and consequence as seen in Simon’s murder,

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story that happens between a group of schoolboys on an island. The boys establish their own society, and wait for being rescued in a peaceful environment on the island in the beginning. However, the conflicts about the issues of hunting, disciplines and leadership eventually sever the boys to two different groups. The separation and the arguments between the boys ultimately result in the sorrowful ending that the island becomes a place that is filled with deaths and chaos. According to William Golding, the theme is able to trace the flaws of the society back to the flaws of the human nature.

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of schoolboys are stranded on an island isolated from adult authority and societal norms. As time progresses, the boys attempt to replicate a government similar to what they observed from the adults at home. However, they never succeed due to human nature that is wicked and selfish, according to English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. It is especially easy to lose the concept of right and wrong if one is at a lower level in Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development stages. If there is no order or the higher authority of society that people need then their selfish nature emerges, exhibited when a boy’s life is lost, sand is kicked into a boy’s eyes, and rocks are thrown at a boy merely for enjoyment.

It has been said several times throughout history that human nature is constitutionally a negative force. This is further shown in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies when numerous young boys aged twelve and under are stranded on an island after a plane crash during World War 2. These children abandon all civilization and grow more savage as the literature progresses. The main boys Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and Jack change exponentially throughout the novel, gradually losing themselves and any culture they had. Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, depicts human nature’s inherent evil and man’s inability to escape his innate instinct.

“Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity. -Xun Zi” In the novel The Lord of the Files, author William Golding questions the true nature of humans through boys stranded on an island who experience both civilization and barbarism. Since the old days, there have been lots of debates on this topic. However, I believe that humans are naturally evil. From the novel, the author suggests that the human nature is originally bad, and there are evidences in the history that suggest human evilness as well.

Humanity is what shapes the world and societies people live in. It is the base of all communities and human behavior. Over time, the world has seen different sides of humanity, from world wars and devastating acts of violence, to showing everyday kindness, the nature of humans can be both bad and good at times. Humanity is naturally good because of evidence from Lord of the Flies, Are Kids Born Good or Evil, and The Social Influence of Good vs. Evil.

One’s behaviour can have a 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 demonstrate the defects of society. These symbols are used by Golding to illuminate the subsequent

Human nature is the “general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind”. Between the Book, Lord of the flies and The Crucible, human nature is strongly portrayed through similar characters such as Simon and Mary Warren, Satan/Devil and the Beast, and Jack and Abigail. Simon and Mary Warren both share their wise and kind traits and being bringers of truth, while Satan/Devil and the Beast share the characteristic of exotic and the unknown, both are also able to bring out each person’s human nature like Jack and Abigail’s, which is consisted of being selfish liars. Lastly, Jack and Abigail, who both portray betrayal and the same characteristics of being evil, lying , and selfishness.

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.