ipl-logo

Nature Of Man In Lord Of The Flies

718 Words3 Pages

The fictional novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding uses a group of British boys stranded on a desert during a world war to demonstrate the malicious nature of mankind. Lord of the Flies deals with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding expresses his basic philosophy that man is inherently evil through different symbols such as Piggy’s glasses, the killing of pigs, and the face paint.
On the first day of exploring the island, Jack, Ralph, and Simon encounter a pig which Jack attempts to kill. After he realizes that he is unable to do so while still feeling so close to civilization’s bonds, Jack amends his hesitation by saying, "I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him (31)." This incident clearly demonstrates that along with inherent evil, man is capable of being moral. However, Jack’s mercy does not last long as his links to society slowly fade with the aid provided by his face paint. Shortly after, he manages to kill pigs in increasingly …show more content…

It is only when Jack puts on his paint, distancing himself from his cleaned-face look that was one of his only links left to civilization left, that he is able to kill the pig. "...The mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. (64)" Ralph and his tribe of still-civilized boys also recognize the power of the paint and fear it when Ralph proposes that they confront Jack and his band of barbarians. "’But they'll be painted! You know how it is.’ The others nodded. They understand only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought (172)". The paint liberates the boys into savagery, freeing them to act in a way that their past lives wouldn’t allow and represents the savage within. Indeed, the paint does not disguise the boys’ true nature, it reveals

Show More
Related

  • How Does Jack Change In Lord Of The Flies

    1218 Words  | 5 Pages

    The novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding was inspired by his time as a veteran in World War II. His goal was to portray the change in people’s morality that he witnessed because of the war. He reflected this situation-based change into his characters. The most evident of which was Jack, who, initially described as a proper, cultured choirboy, slowly transitioned into savagery. He conveyed Golding’s idea that civilization’s conditioning of right and wrong merely masks humans’ more primitive and barbaric nature.

    Read More

  • Jack Lord Of The Flies Argumentative Essay

    882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Every child comes into this world as a selfish, manipulative, cruel and stubborn being. It is the parents and society that teaches children how to function in a civilized world, and societal laws that keeps them under control. William Golding wrote this novel in the early years of the cold war and the atomic age. In William Golding's classic novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses Jack, a young savage who looks to lead a group of stranded kids on an island with no food, no rules, and no adults. The effect freedom has on Jack has turned him into a savage because he does not have to listen to anyone since there are no adults on the island.

    Read More

  • Essay On Piggy In Lord Of The Flies

    406 Words  | 2 Pages

    Author, William Golding, in his novel, "Lord of the Flies," follows a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and try to govern themselves. One of the boys, Piggy, is constantly bullied and considered a nuisance by the power-hungry boys on the island. Golding's use of an isolated setting in the midst of the other boys illustrates Piggy's struggle to liberate himself from their oppression. However the need to survive reveals Piggy's inventiveness and rational mindset.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

    1619 Words  | 7 Pages

    He goes to share his hunting story to Ralph and a boy named Piggy. On page 69, the narrator shares, “I cut the pig’s throat,’ said Jack, proudly, and yet twitched as he said it.” This quotation shows us that civilization is lost when the urge to kill takes over because it shows the stage where Jack is proudly killing animals, but still feeling a little bit uncomfortable with it. In this example, Jack proudly shares that he has killed, but still twitches after saying he did. Jack is still hanging onto the little bit of civilization that is left on their island.

    Read More

  • Jack's Evilness In Lord Of The Flies

    583 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lastly, Jack is known as the rebel of the story who disagrees with the leaders, and is pure evil from middle to end. Although Jack is evil, his bad character trait ensures his survival and alliance with the boys. The first example of when Jack’s evilness is shown in the story is when Jack hunts the pig and puts its head on a stick, the line says “ Jack held the head up and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick which pierced through into the mouth. He stood back and the head hung there, a little blood dribbling down the stick” ( Golding, 150). This shows Jack’s evilness because instead of fearing the beast he is offering him the head of the pig that he just brutally murdered.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Face Paint Analysis

    539 Words  | 3 Pages

    After getting into an argument with Ralph, Jack decides to split up and forms his own group. He was chief and sat, “naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The newly beaten and untied Wilfred was sniffling noisily in the background” (Golding 160). Due to the face paint, Jack now has the authority to beat Wilfred without anyone questioning his reasoning. The face paint makes it impossible for anyone to read Jack’s feelings because it “blocks” out his facial expressions.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Conch Quotes

    467 Words  | 2 Pages

    After Jack paints his face he in a sense mimics animals and their ability to hunt, he showś this by trying smell the pigś scent and walking on all fours. When Jack brings back the dead pig from chapter 4 we see his sense of civilization wain when he not only doesn't care about what Ralph ordered, but about the rules that he had previously had been the most excited about

    Read More

  • Human Behavior In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

    836 Words  | 4 Pages

    They become different because of the extreme environment and new experiences around them. The characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph change in terms of their behavior by becoming savagely brutal, which shows the significant influence of their experience on the island. Jack changes his behavior by becoming savagely brutal. He becomes like a savage and very brutal when he kills a sow without hesitation. He is eager to hunt and willing to kill pig after the first hunting

    Read More

  • Narrative Essay About Vision Quest

    1673 Words  | 7 Pages

    But she did it, either way, the strokes and colors were losing their vividness, I remember sitting with my mother in the evenings where she was either painting new things around the teepee or repainting faded works of hers, I was always infatuated with painting, in fact, I wanted to paint for a while but I was told that the only paint that should ever touch a man's hands should be that of war, and that was an indisputable statement from my father. As I walked into the teepee I felt a cold rush come over me as I entered, I darted to the dimming fire in the center of the floor and knelt down beside it, vying for warmth but my body was failing to react, finally I gulped again and swallowed my spit, after that everything was fine, I don't know what that was but I had never experienced it before, I decided to not speak of what happened to me for I feared what the reasoning for it would be. “Chaska?” muttered a fragile voice, it was my mother's, I turned around and saw her laying on her stacked furs, her face was pale and mouth laid agape, her eyes wandering around looking for me even though I was right in front of her, she was sweating even though it was surely too cold to do so, I crawled over to her and nuzzled my head into her arms, as

    Read More

  • Is Man Inherently Evil In Lord Of The Flies

    658 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Human Nature And Evil In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

    1127 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.

    Read More

  • What Is The Significance Of Chapter Eleven Of Lord Of The Flies

    490 Words  | 2 Pages

    Putting on the paint can be compared to applying makeup on your face. The intention of makeup is to enhance physical beauty and mask any imperfections, just like the intention of the paint is to disguise the boys so they do not see the young British boys they once were. Since becoming stranded on the island, the boys have been transformed from good kids into the ugly that is within us

    Read More

  • Theme Of Appearance In Dorian Gray

    937 Words  | 4 Pages

    The reader gets the impression that Dorian will find pleasure in watching the painting being teared apart. Dorian has set all his conscience aside. He believes that the only things that truly have importance are the concepts of remaining youthful and

    Read More

  • Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

    715 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humans are complex creatures. Understanding human nature is difficult, but the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding helps to show what true human nature looks like. Humans are inherently evil, but that evil is hidden by societal dictates. Throughout the novel, the human societal mask is stripped away and true human nature can be seen. Society enforces rules and trends that people feel they must follow.

    Read More

  • Poem Analysis: The Black Boy

    1216 Words  | 5 Pages

    The boy was caged within a painting. A painting drawn from a practiced yet shaking hand. It was a painting drawn from fear, a painting drawn in order to escape. The shading was perfect, if not too perfect. The lines were neat, if not too neat.

    Read More

More about Nature Of Man In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document