Good Vs. Evil: Good And Evil

Good and evil have been ever present throughout our history. In western civilization, they have been defined and redefined by greek philosophers, notably Democritus and Plato, and various cultures have used symbols of good and evil to steer their followers into the morally right direction. With their definitions, it’s easy to think about the extremes: a murderer is evil, a saint is good, but what is a normal person? In reality, good and evil are extremely hard to determine. Authors like William Golding and Kahlil Gibran allow us to grasp a better understanding of human nature through their works. Although William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Khalil Gibran’s “The Prophet” both depict people as capable of switching from good to evil, Gibran understands that there is more to human nature than the black and white connotation of those terms while Golding procures the idea that humans are all either innately good or evil. Golding emphasizes the idea that humans are either good or evil throughout his novel by juxtaposing his characters and through symbolism. He separates his characters into two distinct groups: those that are rational and those whose actions gradually become more irrational. Rationality is equated to good through the characters Simon and Piggy because they are disinterested in participating in the hunt and instead focus on the necessities needed to survive while irrationality is equated to evil in the form of Jack and his hunting group. Simon often hides in a