Human Nature In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

A recurring theme among leaders in many societies today is that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” (John Acton, a 1700’s English Catholic historian, politician, and writer). In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this idea of leadership, power, and corruption is put in the spotlight. Jack, one of the boys on the island, forces his way into the leadership position without actually earning it. It is clear that Jack has become corrupt as he turns into a person who is intimidating, egotistical, and selfish. Ralph, on the other hand, is a quality leader under most conditions as he appeals to the boys’ sophisticated side and has a

It may have taken millions of years for humans to evolve enough to create the sprawling civilizations known today, but it only takes a few months for a group of civil, educated boys to regress back into savagery. In his novel Lord of the Flies, author William Golding depicts a group of young British boys getting stranded on a deserted island sans adults. The boys must look out for themselves, forming a basic governing system and trying to survive. But the challenge soon proves too much to handle, and order deteriorates. William Golding conveys the universal theme of civilization vs. savagery in his novel Lord of the Flies using the literary elements of plot, setting, and characterization.

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.

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.

Two philosophers of different eras tackle the same topic, human nature, and a great argument breaks out. Is man inherently evil, like William Golding believes? Or is man good at heart but inevitably becomes corrupted by the society he lives in, as said by Jean Jacques Rousseau? Both philosophers have very strong opinions and well reasoning for what they believe. Golding’s views are displayed well throughout his novel, Lord of the Flies; a tale about strong minded, young boys stranded on an island who must find a way to survive on their own. After reading this novel, I found myself agreeing much with Rousseau’s views on human nature.

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

Lord of the flies was written after World War II, and during the Cold War. William Golding wrote the novel from his experience during World War II. During his service in the Royal Navy, he experienced the brutality of the war, and there he learned that all humans are capable of extreme evil. His experience of the war greatly influenced his view of humanity. Also, after the war, he continued with his teaching job. He taught in an expensive boys school. While being a teacher, he noticed that students can be very cruel with each other. This reassured his idea that humans are capable of anything. He expresses his view of humanity through the novel Lord of the Flies where schoolboys are stranded in an island without any adult to guide them, and

“Human nature is like water. It takes the shape of its container.”- Wallace Stevens. The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding provides a clear example of human nature which is developed and manipulated by the environment and experiences of the characters within the novel. The boys begin to lose sight of society's ways and turn to savagery, ultimately killing one another. Human nature is shaped by our environment and experiences according to a Swiss-born philosopher Rousseau, an article titled “Children Who Kill” by Katherine Ramsland, and the novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.

“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!

In Sir WIlliam Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, although some of the boys have kept their humanity, others have become savages. Therefore, the boys, who remain humane, suggest, “without the fire [they] can’t be rescued”, as they apprehend, “stay[ing] by the fire and mak[ing] smoke”(157), persists to be eminently essential for survival. Cleverly, they experiment with different branches and leaves, assuming, “some of [the] leaves must be better for [the fire] than the others”(143). Significantly, it becomes evident some of the boys are trying to cope with their conflict as they are adapting to the situation, while maintaining their internal integrity. In contrast, many boys have become savages as they chant, “kill the pig! Cut his throat!

“Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.” This very much true statement came from General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., who was a Commander-in-Chief and led all coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War. It depicts that character overshadow strategy in leadership, or that strategy is not as important as character. This can be further analyzed to mean simply that it will be hard to find success in your leadership if you do not have the right character.

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"

Ellie Herrin British Literature Lord of the Flies, the Savagery Within Mankind “There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or a spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs. ”~George R.R. Martin. As humans, each person is faced with their own battles with sin and temptation. One of these being the savage capabilities hidden inside the hearts of men. William Golding uses his book Lord of the Flies to represent what happens when one gives into that darkness.

In William Golding novel Lord of the Flies it gives prime examples of Sigmund Freuds personality theory by showing a group of civil school boys who turn savage and show their true colors of id, ego and superego. These categories can also be described as the conscious, preconscious and the unconscious. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Piggy would perform traits of the superego, ralph would greatly demonstrate qualities of the ego and jack would undeniably represent the id. William golding shows how three different segments of the human brain act differently by counteracting each other along with aiding in each others movement with making decisions.

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist known for his research on psychoanalysis, said “Civilization began the first time an angry man cast a word instead of a rock.” Before the dawn of civilization, the basis of human mentality was savagery. It was, and is still argued to be, the underlying, fundamental nature of humanity. In the novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, the idea that humans tend to revert back to their roots of savagery instead of civilization is supported. The savagery found in humanity is an innate characteristic, as if it was embedded into the DNA of all humans, but they are just blind to it. The savage mentality slowly erodes away at innocence, and if one was to realize the truth, it kills that person. Society enhances the savagery found in our hearts, because it depends on the morals of each individual partaking in that society. The morals will not be constant, of course, and will differ. This is how savagery is cruel to the good-hearted; it does not treat the good with good and the evil with evil. There is no justice in savagery, nor is there any morality. It does not affect only one person, but the entire community. Savagery is like rain: it does not just rain on the good but also the evil, and not only on the evil but also the good. While leaning toward an uncivilized motive tends to be the natural tendency of humanity, there are those who choose to change and be a civilized people, taking hold of themselves; they are the most powerful