Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a book about a group of boys stuck on a deserted island who try to organize their own society which results in a series of events and disasters. This book portrays many different personalities and characters that are important parts of the book. One of the protagonists, Simon, has a plethora of fine qualities such as kindness, intuition, thoughtfulness, and virtue. These qualities shape Simon into a Christ-like figure. Simon is shown to be an image of Christ through his tender-hearted nature, prophetic-like qualities, and understanding of the beast within the boys.
No one else.’” (p.70) Good is mentioned, but not without the equivalent mention of evil, as shown through how the other boys abandoned the project to have fun. Throughout all of this, Simon, the most pure of the boys, is physically affected by evil through a disorder, presumed to be epilepsy. In chapter eight, the Lord of the Flies cause him to have a seizure and blackout because the personification of evil is too strong for Simon to handle.
But although humans do contain this goodness, it is usually not strong enough to overpower the evil. Forty years after writing “Lord of the Flies” the author explains this exact concept. He states, “We are born with evil in us and cruelty is part of this. Though there is also a capacity for selflessness and love: otherwise we are denying part of our human nature” (Golding, “Why”).
William Golding 's allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, investigates two important themes; the importance of civilization and the dangers of the evil that lurks inside all of us. In the beginning of the novel, the boys were stranded on the island with no parental guardians, and the exploration begins with how they will survive. Ralph believed that if they kept a fire going, they could have a chance of being rescued. Insecurities lead to the boys believing that there was a beast. The beast symbolizes the instinct of being savage, which Simon later stated that “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only in us.”
In life good can conquer evil, but evil can also conquer good. Does William Golding show the forces of evil overtaking the forces of good in majority of the characters in the book Lord of the Flies? In William Golding’s novel a group of adolescence boys crash land on an island while they were trying to escape nuclear war. As the story unfolds, the boys try to keep order in what they do in hopes of being rescued. But, the natural instincts of man make them do things they normally would not have thought of if it were not for their new environment.
This quote is a great example of how the lord of the flies symbolizes the theme of Inhumanity/ Inherent Evil of man. The beast explains it cannot be killed and that the boys are ridiculous for thinking so, and the forest “laughs” as in agreeance to the beast. At this point Simon realizes that they are the real beasts and all the evil inside of them. The beast explains things are the way they are because they let their evil consume them and lost their humanity, turning them into beasts. The boys all have to know that they are truly the evil ones, since they hallucinate up what the lord of the flies is saying.
LORD OF THE FLIES Golding’s Thoughts on Good and Evil Good and evil are often thought of as choices and humans think, “Which path will I choose?” In having these thoughts, they confuse themselves, for evil is an untamable force. The novel Lord of The Flies presents the idea that evil is instinctive and make humans weak in the wake of its power. The author of the book, William Golding, conveys these ideas to us through the actions of the characters he writes about.
Humans are though to be the most developed living species on the planet Earth. However, throughout life, one can also see humans can be so evil and illogical during moments of desperation that the ability of reason is cannot be found. In the book Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Golding depicts many examples of human nature with the use of characters he placed in the story. One of these characters is a boy named Simon. Golding uses Simon to describe compassion, wisdom and insight, and a Christ-like figure.
This attack on Simon demonstrates how the fear of the beast that the boys are experiencing is affecting their better judgment, and pushes their morals to the side, just so that they can feel safe. In chapter 9 of Lord of the Flies, William Golding employs repetition, animal imagery, and natural imagery to convey the theme that fear can corrupt humans, which pushes them to engage in unspeakable acts. During chapter nine, one of the primary examples of a rhetorical strategy is animal imagery, which allows people to picture this sense of inner beast that fear brings out. Simon is often referred to as the beast during this chapter, showing how the boys are only
The quote “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head.” (Golding 164) expresses that the Lord of the Flies is divulging to Simon that the evil is not something that can be hunted or killed but is within the boys. Simon also learns that the beast of evilness was in the boys all along. The theme Inherent Evil of Man is displayed through Simon learning that evil is within the boys and that this was the beast. This shows how the evil action appears as a beast and the understanding of evilness by
Simon’s role in Lord of the Flies is to resemble a Christ-like figure, when he eventually dies, the buried savagery in the boys is revealed. Simon is killed in a gruesome matter, which at the time the boys had “leapt on to beast, screamed, bit, struck, tore” (Golding 153). A group of children had decided to take it upon themselves to have a wonderful time tearing up another boy in the name of fun. The way in which the boys had killed Simon shows that they did not care whether or not they had weapons, the group had shown no mercy to the exhausted Simon. After Simon’s demise, two of the most innocent boys have a conversation of the previous night, that “‘It was an accident…
The Evil Within The quote, “It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways” said by Buddha can relate to both Lord of the Flies and Harry Potter. Jack Merridew, a twelve year old boy, was stranded on an island with other boys his age and wanted to be leader, but instead was overruled by a boy named Ralph. However later in the book, he was made chief and Jack let the evil take over, caused by his obsession with hunting and his need for power. Voldemort, a powerful wizard formerly known as Tom Riddle, was obsessed with the dark arts and realized he wanted more power.
Man is Inherently Evil In Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, there are several themes expressed through the boys from the beginning to the end. The main theme conveys that man is inherently evil. This can be understood from most aspects of the book. Golding conveys that man is inherently evil through the boys need to undermine each other and the loss of morality in their decent to chaos.
During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”
Evil has always been evident, throughout the history of man examples of evil are apparent, so why would our literature be any different? Written in 1959 William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is no different, as its theme explores the natural evils of man through the plot. The book tells of the events that occur after a group of young boys are marooned on an island, the main characters Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon, grapple with finding food and water while they struggle with the return of more animalistic instincts without the guiding hand of civilization. The intrinsic evil and unavoidable sins of man are are exposed through William Golding’s characterization and overlying themes in Lord of the Flies. Man as an individual carries evil