Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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.

According to Rousseau, the means of government are drastically different. He believes that societies come together because “as soon as one man realized that it would was useful for a single individual to have the provisions of two equality disappeared” (Rousseau, 74). As the overall population increased, people herded together, gathering in small communities. When people lived together, they would then be able to divide labor giving people much better lifestyles. The division of labor allowed individuals to specialize in tasks, and the differences in demand created a society full of inequalities. Some individuals had property and others were forced to work for them, and the development of social classes began. Eventually, citizens decided to create a government in order to create a large system where workload was divided between the people. I disagree with this theory. Humans are much more likely to create government with the incentive of protection than that of leisure. Everyone is bound to protect themselves first (Locke, 264). And because of this greed, a

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.

In the novel “Lord of the flies” written by William Golding examines the true nature of humankind when unfettered by the constraints of civilization, culture and society. When a group of boys varying in ages are stranded on an island without adult supervision, they immediately organize a society and elect Ralph as their Chief and Jack as the Hunter. The group of boys were divided into two groups the bigguns which comprised of the more seasoned children that symbolized government and littleuns which comprised of the younger children that symbolizes the ordinary people. Initially, everybody was given a responsibility and their role was taken seriously. However, the lack of maturity within them caused them to abandon assigned task that was pivotal

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.

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.

Jean Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher who believed that man was born with a pure heart and good intentions; however, society inevitably corrupted man. He believed that any desire to be a good person must be internally initiated from the one seeking it. Once man has immersed himself into society, he allows himself to be persuaded that being good is not the only way of life.

Haruki Murakami once said “My biggest fault is that the faults I was born with grow bigger each year.” What are the greatest faults located in the consciences of humans? There are many different faults, some related to individuals, society, or certain demographics of people. I believe that the most destructive faults are found within, hard-wired from birth. In my opinion, they are anger, greed, and the unilateral methods of dealing with such emotions. There is an ineffable quantity of examples of these faults found within myself, society, and even in the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

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

“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!

Sir William Gerald Golding had experienced over five years of war previous to his writing of Lord of the Flies. World War II had apprehended his thoughts and actions, leading his young self to abandon teaching English to join the Royal Navy. Succeeding his service, and within the start of his literary career, Golding had travailed through twenty-one initial rejections for his first story. Lord of the Flies supplied humanity with a transcript of their psychological processes, all written and bound into one book. It tells a story that illuminates the brutality human nature can adopt, and how the will to survive encompasses or overcomes all who disable power. Within this psychological aspect, there are two key researchers who have formulated

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.

Human beings are brought into the world not knowing the difference between right and wrong. They test limits, have evil thoughts, and say horrible words, the result of this can be easily summed up to one simple phrase; Human beings are naturally born evil. If human beings were brought into the world with naturally good instincts, they would never have the feeling of remorse or guilt, so why can they feel it anyway? This is because human beings posses malicious thoughts no matter how they were raised. By saying this, it proves the major point that Golding expresses, in his novel Lord of the Flies. His theory is that children are boring with the ability to do evil and be evil without someone there to stop them. In the novel Golding remarkably expresses his theory through boys who are on a deserted island. The ending result was fire, intentional murder, and above all else, savagery, but this is what ends up keeping the surviving boys alive. Golding's book expressed that everyone is born savage and remains in that state until they die. No matter what circumstances a person has been born into, human beings have natural everlasting evil instincts, resulting into the key of savagery, but this, perhaps is what keeps society functioning.

Looking back through the history of humankind, there is an eminent pattern of primitive and truculent behaviour. William Golding and Joseph Conrad recognised this basic nature of humanity and portrayed it in their novels, Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness. The environmental and circumstantial influence on one’s human nature is thought to have the greatest impact, as the isolation from civilisation manumits the evil inside. Human nature, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is “the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioural traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans.” These novels exemplify the concept of this behaviour to show how the savage nature of a person is brought to light by the influence of

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.