Self-Preservation In Lord Of The Flies

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

Every human being has things that are not perfect within them. Almost all of these things we can not control. Even with these traits, people have learned to live together in peace and harmony with each other. There are so many different faults that a person can have. This does not mean faults on the outside, those do not matter, but on the inside, rather. One may want to put something off, not help when it is needed, or say ‘I’ll do it later.’ Someone else might be scared, fearful of what is ahead, or timid. Or, any other person might be thinking their way is the only way, and anyone who does it wrong is incorrect. All of these traits are faults of our own human nature, and there is nothing we can do about it. Fear, judgement, and procrastination--all are faults that we can not control as human beings.

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.

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.

“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.

There is a quote by Edmund Burke, “man is the cruelest animal”, that perfectly describes the truth about human nature; that humanity, at its core, is an evil species. William Golding acknowledges this fact in his 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, Golding highlights the cruelty of children, the carelessness of their actions, and the evilness present in the very fabric of society.

“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.

Even in the kindest of boys among the Island, all of them display some form of savagery. After the boys had hunted down a pig, they got in a chaotic circle chanting “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!" (114). These energetic, savage, and chaotic dances would carry away even the most innocent boys. Even Ralph thought that “the desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering” (115). Ralph, among the most reasonable and helping of the group, was carried away by the thrill of hurting and killing. This represented his barbaric side, the side that existed in all of the boys, even though at times it may seem not present. This shows that people in their everyday personality show the amount of evilness they wish, and it alters the perception people will have on someone. But in “Lord of the Flies”, this raw human

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,

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 nature is often described as the distinguishing of characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting, which humans tend to have naturally. William Golding’s book. “Lord of the flies” is an excellent novel that describes how humans, when put in a rough environment, react to power they are given. The title of the book “Lord of the Flies” refers to the Boars head idol that was surrounded by flies was later created by the boy. The title also represents the fall of the boy’s civilization. The reason William Golding used this title was because of his experiences from the navy in World War Two. As he wrote about his war times later he said, “man produces evil, as a bee produces honey.” World War Two taught him the

Throughout the novel The Lord of the Flies we see characters who represent each side of man, but first what is the nature of man? Golding portrays men of all ages to have an evil side to them. For example give them a society with rules and expectations that aren't clearly established after discovering that they are clearly alone in a deserted place they will begin to descent into savagery. Keeping in mind that these characters are young boys who’ve survived a plane crash, as well as discovering that they are alone without parental supervision for what seems like the first time ever. They’re following what their natural instincts are which to become violent to pretty much survive. Knowing the behavior of many characters we’d soon dreadfully

The topic of humanity as a whole and its continued existence continues to present engaging discussions. Throughout the years many ideas about what lies at the root of all humans have been argued and philosophized over. Some people like the author William Golding theorized that at the core of humanity was savagery and evil, whereas others like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the young diarist Anne Frank believed that people were essentially good at their core. William Golding’s pessimistic view, expressed in his novel Lord of the Flies, isn’t everything there is to be said about what lies at the root of humanity. Evil may be an inborn characteristic but if so, good would have to be as well.

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.

In William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies” we have several characters representing one of the sides of human nature.