William Golding said, “One of our faults is to believe that evil is somewhere else and inherent in another nation” (Hot Gates 89). His novel Lord of the Flies was published in 1954, less than a decade after the completion of World War II. Golding served in the navy from 1941 to 1945, and this time of service heavily impacted his view of the world and the nature of its people. It also opened his eyes to the role that evil can have and the individual people within any society throughout time. He delves into the possible defect in human nature, as seen through the internal grief caused by the visceral nature of humanity to be evil. William Golding utilizes personal experiences from his life and role in World War II to explore the inherent presence …show more content…
Golding described himself as a “non-Marxist Socialist, ‘bitterly left of centre’” (Reilly ix). This position provides insight for the allegorical nature of his novel, Lord of the Flies. While in college, Golding developed a cynicism for rationalism that transcend into his writing. His distrust and mocking of well-known rationalists is a result of his disbelief in the philosophies of rationalism. He saw “a liberal and naive belief in the perfectibility of man” within his generation; however, Golding first-handedly observed how this belief altered with the residual effects of war (Hot Gates …show more content…
Golding confessed “that he had learnt to understand the nature of small boys with ‘awful precision’ because he had introduced ‘a certain measure of experimental science’ into his teachings” (Carey 126). He restrained the adult influence in his classroom, thus removing the authority figure and allowing liberties to the point that the space becomes conducive of anything, namely chaos. Although the boys that he taught we not exact models for any specific characters in Lord of the Flies, Golding told them “they might recognize bits of” themselves in the novel (Carey 127). This real-life experimentation, although morally questionable, enlightened Golding to the manners and habits exhibited by a group of boys when given absolute freedom. This lack of restrictions allowed room for characteristics to manifest, and also for primal instincts to be
The novel “Lord of the Flies” was written by William Golding to demonstrate the problems of society and the sinful nature of man.
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys suddenly become stranded on an island, all alone, forced to form their own social system. Throughout the novel, William Golding reveals his main character 's strengths and weaknesses in their attempts to lead. The character Piggy demonstrates the benefits and limits of intelligence in maintaining civil order.
Literary devices are techniques often used by authors to portray in-depth analyses of major characters, storylines, and central themes, which take place in a story. These analyses help readers understand a message the author is trying to convey. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different literary devices in order to demonstrate the boys’ struggle against the lack of society and law on the island, as well as the consequences that have transpired due to this loss. This conflict is evident through the different instances of irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism that occurs throughout the novel.
Similar to most literary classics, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies contains allusions to the Christian Bible and character archetypes that convey universal ideas. Golding’s story focuses on a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an island and ultimately succumb to their innate savage tendencies. Literary analysts often compare components of Lord of the Flies to various aspects in the Christian Bible. For instance, the setting in Lord of the Flies is often linked to the Garden of Eden, and some characters are thought to have religious-inspired names. Critics believe Simon’s name originates from Jesus Christ’s disciple, Peter, whose name was originally Simon. Biblical allusions exist throughout the novel associated with
After World War II countries were in shambles, overran with fear that was fueled by the abundance of hate and violence that stemmed from Germany. The plentiful amounts of evil William Golding was witnessing drove him to write Lord of the Flies. Form this, we can conclude that aspects of his story are an allegory to what Golding observed throughout the war. In his story, William Golding expresses the importance of a civilization’s nature to be ethically correct and explains that without the precise guidance, the natural savageness of humans can prevent society from thriving. Golding’s statement is correct because without society’s moral compass humans would revert to their savage nature, pray on the weak, and would be driven toward aggression.
William Golding's novel "Lord of the Flies" is at first impression a dramatic adventure story about a group of boys stranded on an island, whilst being evacuated from a war-torn world. However to the perceptive reader a more meaningful level of Golding's "Lord of the Flies" emerges. The novel is designed as an allegory; to a get a warning across to mankind about what Golding called the "Essential sickness of mankind". The island acts as a microcosm for the outside world; the boys themselves convey the flaws and the evil that seems to thrive in the mind of mankind as a whole race in a more deep and abstract way.
Many philosophers believe that a correct government can make a strong society. However, these philosophers do not agree on what form of government is the most “correct”. English philosopher John Locke believed that Man is inherently moral and that the purpose for government is to grant the fundamental rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to its people. Another philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, however, held the belief that mankind is naturally evil and that society needs an absolute central authority to contain this evilness and grant its people with the common protection. Hobbes believes that in a state of nature, when there are no rules and everyone is granted equal power, the inherent evil impulses of Man are exposed. One
“The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.” (Golding) A group of boys stranded on an island must learn how to cooperate and work with others, in order to survive. As they await their rescue, their unity grows stronger but eventually degrades into savagery. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding creates a story where the main characters embody both sides of civilization and savagery.
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.
In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the innocence of youthful schoolboys deserted on an island to portray the innate evil within the most unsuspecting type of humans. The boys going through a dramatic change as the story’s conflict deals with man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself. In the beginning of the story the boys were described as scared and nervous for they have never been a situation like this. At first they manage to sustain order and a connection to civilization by coming together and forming a group using a conch shell.
Lord of the Flies was written in spite of Golding's consideration of human evil, a topic that involves an examination not only of human nature but also its causes. What causes someone to be evil? How does someone become so terrifyingly vicious? Is a person’s development affected more by their genetics or their experiences? This is the old-age controversial topic of nature vs. nurture.
William Golding explores the theme of violence throughout his novel ‘Lord of the Flies’. He believed that every individual has the potential to bring out their inner evil, and that every human being is flawed in their nature. Hence, he wrote a novel with
In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, a few dozen boys are stranded on an island after a plane crash. The six to twelve year old kids turn to savages under the lead of the older males, and ultimately cause their own deaths. However, the smaller boys, such as Piggy and Sam and Eric, are the hope and reason of the group. Golding’s purpose of writing the book was to show that the defects in society originate at the defects in human nature. Golding allows the little ones to have no identities or personalities. This is symbolically showing that in society, the ignorant and innocent children are the only hope to a humane society. Innocence is purity, and the innocent children, in which are not corrupted by the bad people and things in the
William Golding is heavily influenced by his service to the royal navy and the events of World War One. “Human beings are savage by its nature, and are moved by urges toward brutality and dominance over others”. This is a recurring issue in William Golding’s, Lord Of The Flies. Not only where characters demonstrate elements of human nature beyond civilized human beings as they were struggling in a society with no rules nor civilization, but also as the novel is Golding’s attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The world is an evil place within which living without fear would be a dream come true. The fear inside the boys had a major negative impact on the dramatic change of human nature
Lord of the Flies by William Golding was influenced strongly by his experiences as a naval officer during World War II. Golding’s wartime service gave him a darker and more realistic look on life, and contributed to the novel’s imagery. As Golding described, World War II woke him up from his falsified beliefs about human nature by showing him the true human condition (“Lord of the Flies,” Novels 175). Lord of the Flies, as Golding explained, is “an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature” (qtd. in “Lord of the Flies,” Novels 189). William Golding based much of Lord of the Flies on his World War II experiences, which provided for a more realistic and accurate