William Golding's Lord Of The Flies Essay

Words: 1021
Pages: 5

“I am reminded of the query made about man’s inhumanity to man in the concentration camps. The question was asked: ‘At Auschwitz, tell me, where was God?’ And the answer came: ‘Where was man?’”- Glenn Meade (The Last Witness). For, it was not God which had forsaken and murdered millions of humans, it was humans who had massacred millions of humans, behind every gun sight was a man, and truly illustrated to the world, the extent of the evil within humans. In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, boys crash land on an uninhabited island, and eventually discover the true evil in humanity. Golding uses the symbols of why the boys bully Piggy, stealing the signal fire, and the need for an army to illustrate that underneath the thin layer of veneer …show more content…
The island they crash land on is a utopia, a perfect island; there is nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, they still create an army, supposedly for protection. Golding illustrates that the boys represent humanity, and establish an army not for protection but because of greed. Jack envies Ralph's power(the main leader), as he once was the leader. When a Ralph suggested that they are safe on the island, Jack quickly blurts out, "you need an army - for hunting. Hunting pigs-"(Golding 31). This shows Jack is insecure as he answers immediately, to a question that was never asked. He is insecure and envies Ralph, because before they crash landed, he was in charge, and he now has lost that power. He wants to regain power and control, by making an army that is under his control. Golding uses Jack's greed and envy of Ralph to portray mankind's inner evil. Jack is willing to lie and do anything to regain stability, and the creation of the army symbolises humanity's inclination towards aggression. By examining the course of action exhibited by Jack, one can see that humans are intentionally perform evil, hide their true intentions and nature, and that humanity is insecure, and