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Human Condition In Lord Of The Flies

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Lord of the Flies is a literary classic written by William Golding. Written in 1954, it is a young adult fiction novel that explores themes about society and behaviours that are in humans. In the story, a plane full of adolescent British boys is shot down, subsequently leaving them stranded on an uninhabited island without any supervising adults. As the boys get situated they vote for a leader; a boy named Ralph gets a majority of votes making him the chief. Conflict arises as the boys are unable to contain their truculence and barbarity. Throughout the story, Golding uses many allegories for law and order, civilization, and society within the characters and their interactions with items. This book reveals that the human condition reverts …show more content…

Acts normally seen as taboo in a maintained civilization are standard on the island. For example, after only one day, the boys have shed themselves of their clothes and eventually nudity on the island is seen as conventional. This started a steady decline towards savagery. Soon this led to losing of more important things than clothes, such as basic human reasoning and their moral compass. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law.” (86). Roger lost control of his impulses as he throws rocks at the little ones. This serves as a catalyst for the other boys as they begin to lose what makes them human: their empathy, friendliness, and compassion. Here, “The hunters' thoughts were crowded with memories […] of the knowledge […] that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink.”(98), it can be seen that the boys are deviating to savagery through hunting. They do not hunt only for food, but to relish of the feeling of power in killing another living being. The boys’ barbarity is at its pinnacle when Simon is murdered, …show more content…

The boys that were seen in chapter one and are not the same as chapter twelve. In addition to gaining an inclination to savagery and bloodlust they lost something important, their innocence. This altering is massive. In the beginning you read of schoolboys who are delighted at the thought of a lack of adult supervision, but also yearn to go back to their home, England. They play in the water and tease each other, things expected a child would do; not stalking prey and killing other human beings. “You got your small fire all right." […] the boys were falling still and silent, feeling the beginnings of awe at the power set free below them.”(61). Here the boys feel awe and get power from a mere fire, not killing living beings in brutal ways. One remarkable thing is how Golding shows this loss not as an effect of the environment, but something that was lurking inside the characters himself. Simon realizes it the most, “Maybe […] there is a beast […] What I mean is… maybe it's only us.” (126). The children lose their innocence and become the thing they themselves fear of, the beastie that lurks in the night. Although a good portion of innocence is lost, it has not evanesced completely. Reflecting back, a reader can see that the more animalistic they become, the more innocence prevails. Perhaps, like the animal they are deep inside, the boys do not know any better; like a true

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