Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

Submitted By Mandy-Le
Words: 541
Pages: 3

Human nature is unavoidable and can be a source of evil. It is one’s nature to do whatever it takes in order to survive. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding aims to trace society's flaws back to their source in human nature by leaving a group of English schoolboys by themselves on a deserted island. Golding choses a specific setting, uses symbolism, and character development to demonstrate his views on the flaws of human nature. Golding believes there is a natural evil inside every human being, which is suppressed in an organized society through laws, rules, and punishment. His motive for choosing the island setting was to have all the characters isolated, where the laws of their government could not reach them. Society keeps everybody calmed and civilized; people need rules and principles to live by. If there is no punishment for their actions, that allows that evil to come out of most of the boys. Jack and his hunters showed most evil after the first pig was killed. They cannot be punished for throwing rocks or pushing a boulder and most of all killing someone. Both Simon and Piggy’s deaths illustrate the true human nature that these boys developed while on the island. Golding uses a great deal of symbolism throughout the novel. The conch shell represents civilization and order. To Ralph and the group the conch represents power and the leader, He possesses the conch shell and only lends it to people when they want to speak. This shows that Ralph partially sharing the power. Jack prefers a more like a dictator and tries to order people around. The Beast shows the evil and it evokes the beast within each human being. The Beast messes with the boys’ mind; it confuses them and makes them realize there are more things to be cautious of. The fear makes them turn into savages and kill to survive, brings out their true human nature. Golding choses children because they have not yet fitted in with the society, they don’t understand what is right from wrong. They are guided by