How Does Golding Present The Evil In Lord Of The Flies

It has been said several times throughout history that human nature is constitutionally a negative force. This is further shown in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies when numerous young boys aged twelve and under are stranded on an island after a plane crash during World War 2. These children abandon all civilization and grow more savage as the literature progresses. The main boys: Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and Jack change exponentially throughout the novel, gradually losing themselves and any culture they had. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, depicts human nature’s inherent evil and man’s inability to escape it.

Group participation can be a dangerous factor and can reveal man’s internal malice. Ralph and Piggy engage in an activity where they become engrossed in the mass activity and take part as well without considering the consequences or anything at

Simon becomes aware of his internal cruelty when it manifests itself in hallucinatory forms as “The Lord of the Flies”. Simon at first lacks the understanding and cannot comprehend what is happening until the hallucination says “‘Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you?’” (Golding 143). The manifestation of Simon’s inescapable evil directly speaks to him, and the two converse to a degree. Considering the pig’s head is speaking to him in his mind; the recognition of inner malice is truly profound. Simon’s consideration of walking away from the head is halted when the head exclaims “‘This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there—so don’t try to escape!’” (Golding 143), he understands that there is no way he can avoid his vices. Simon’s direct discussion with his evil correlates to the identical evil found in all of the