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Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

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The Truth About Human Nature
My perspective on the goodness of humanity was completely altered after not only reading Lord of the Flies, but also from personal experiences in my own life. Recently I was shopping at DSW with my brother, a 12-year-old who made it clear that he would rather be doing anything but shoe shopping. He was complaining and insisting that we go home, but my mom was in need of a new pair of shoes for work. I was killing time browsing for shoes when my brother kicked me in the shin and hit me for no reason. Where did that come from? Why did he become violent without being provoked?
Before I read the Lord of the Flies, I believed in the inherent goodness of all humans. After completing the novel my view had changed. Rather …show more content…

He was never exposed to violence as a child. Babies and toddlers are always instructed by their parents and peers to be good, yet they still misbehave and do fairly ill-mannered things. At that age, they’re too naive to know the difference yet they usually turn to evil rather than good. As these children grow up, society teaches them to hide their dark instincts and act good.
The children on the island in Lord of the Flies were well-behaved British boys. When they arrive on the island, the topic of leaders is brought up by Ralph: “‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things,’” (22). Although the boys were excited about having no adults on the island to boss them around, they still selected a leader because they knew that is what is typically done in society. They’re trained to know what should and should not be done because that’s what they have been taught since birth, even if it’s not natural …show more content…

In 1971, a famous experiment took place in the psychology department of Stanford University. College students were randomly divided into the roles of either prisoners or guards and put into a prison-like environment. There were no clocks or any other people in the prison. The only rule was the guards were not allowed to physically hurt the prisoners.
The situation got out of hand. After only a few days of interaction, the guards began to treat the group of “prisoners” as real criminals. They would hit, kick, punch, and verbally abuse these prisoners, even though their imprisonment was simply part of an experiment. Like the boys in Lord of the Flies, these college students quickly descended into savagery when isolated from the rest of society.
Before I read Lord of the Flies, I carried a pristine image of humanity. How could humans possibly be born evil? Babies are born innocent and free of corruption. I’ve witnessed people go out of their way to do generous things for their peers. However, my eyes were opened to the darkness that truly lies within human nature. Evil isn’t learned, it’s part of who we

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