Man Vs. Nature In 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

Throughout the novel Lord Of The Flies, the boys on the island are continuously faced with numerous fears. Subsequently there is nothing on the island which they fear more than the beast. The beast is not a tangible object that can be killed or destroyed by conventional means, but an idea symbolizing the primal savage instincts within all people. Its Golding’s intention to illustrate the innate evil inside man through his view of human nature, the actions of the Jack and his tribe, and the relationship between the beast and the school boys.

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.

Beast? “Kill it! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” WIlliam Golding’s Lord of the FLies is one ofthe most powerful and popular novels of the 20th century, but no one truly knows what the “beast” is, except for Golding himself. The novel begins just after a plane evacuating a group of English schoolboys has been shot down over an unnamed deserted island in the Pacific Ocean.When the boys first land, there is an air of adventure and even celebration at their newfound freedom from grownups, but what the children don’t know is that there is something there with them. As the book goes on, there are many different thought of what this thing is, or some would say what the “beast” is.

A crashing plane comes down hard after being shot down during WWII and leaves a band of school boys stranded on a untouched, tropical island and the story of Lord Of The Flies begins to unfold as the terrified children recuperate from the crash. As the boys explore the island, fear from the unknown, and anger from the reoccurring conflict and disagreement, begins to rear its ugly head. Much of these fearful and evil feelings are beginning to create the beast itself. The mindset of there being a beast changed the boys for the worst throughout the novel. The children soon overcame their fears and became savages of war and conflict. From this fear and conflict, they became the beast themselves.

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.

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.

Nature clearly plays a significant role in the presentation of many themes in Lord of the Flies. The story itself is set on an uninhabited island that has plenty of food and water as well as beautiful scenery. At first, the characters' situation appears to be an opportunity to have fun and indulge themselves in survival make-believe games until they are rescued. The false impression the island gives is demonstrated when Ralph gives one of his first meetings as the leader: “‘But this is a good island...there’s food and drink, and-’ ‘rocks-’ ‘blue flowers’”(Golding 34). The boys assume that they will have fun on the island simply because of its attractive outward appearance, which, especially in the day, exemplifies pleasure and hope.

Lord of the Flies is a book that takes place during World War II, and is about a group of English school boys who crashed in a plane on an island without any adult survivors. Throughout the story, the boys struggle to keep a mindset based on rescue and survival, and instead think more about hunting and having fun, while avoiding any responsibility. During this, the boys also struggle with fear of a "beastie" - what is the beast? To the author, the beast began as war, then it became the externalized form of the boys' fear, and ended as savagery.

Within a single day, the lives of a group of young boys, aged six to twelve, changed forever. After a plane wreck, the British children were trapped on a deserted island without adult supervision for months during World War II. The author of this story specifically chose to use young boys instead of girls because he felt boys better represented the savagery of mankind. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the beast first represents the boys’ imagination and fear, then a physical entity, and finally, the evil within everyone.

The setting of the novel takes place on a peaceful, life giving island. However, once the boys came to the island, the island slowly became consumed in darkness as the boys became more savage like. Towards the beginning of the novel, Golding emphasizes the light hearted mood by describing the brightness and beauty of the island,” The palms that stood made a green roof, covered on the underside with a quivering tangle of the reflection from the lagoon.”(pg 12). Just like the island, the boys start out as peaceful boys when they first arrive on the island. However, as the boys became more corrupted by savagery, so does the island and Golding effectively uses this in the scene where the boys lose control of themselves and in their bloodlust, kill Simon,”The clouds opened and let down the rain like a waterfall…” (pg 153). Golding’s use of the setting shows the evil in humans by giving the reader a mental illustration of the progression of the island turning from paradise to despair, much like how Jack starts out as a normal boy, but progresses into savagery.

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

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. After having created everything on Earth, He made man. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”(NIV Genesis 2:15). Thus, He made Eve from the rib of Adam. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge but the evil serpent, who was craftier than them, tricked Eve into eating the fruit. Eve later convinced Adam after having argued with him and he gave in. Both were punished by God for having gone against His word and would suffer the consequences of it. “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After He drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden a cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:23-24).

William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change

“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!