Good And Evil In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper
“The battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of every [person].”
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. At a certain point in one’s lifetime, they are faced with the choice of following their good side or their evil side. Although this is true, not everyone has the strength to deny their evil side. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author explores the concept of people starting off good and letting their evil side win. Several main conflicts between characters in the novel demonstrate that the evil in humankind is brought out by fear. Various symbols in the novel illustrate that the evil in humankind is triggered when the boys are in fear. When under the influence of fear, the evil within the characters is brought out. Fear brings …show more content…
out the innate evil in humankind.
Several main conflicts between characters in the novel demonstrate that their innate evil is brought out when they are in fear. Shortly after the death of Piggy, Jack jumps out from behind his tribe screaming, “[That is] what [you will] get!” (201). Jack is afraid of losing power to Ralph. His fear of Ralph winning causes him to threaten Ralph, and later try to kill him. This is something that Jack would not do if he were not scared. After Ralph gets mad at Jack for returning with no meat, Jack yells, “But I shall, next time!” (52). Jack is referring to killing a pig next time he goes hunting. In fear of Ralph thinking badly of him, Jack is driven to kill a pig in order to prove himself. Just before the island boys kill Simon in the novel, Golding writes that “out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind.” (168). This shows that the boys’ fear has molded into bloodlust, which drives them to kill Simon. This proves that their fear has brought out the evil inside of them.
Various symbols in the novel illustrate that the evil in humankind is brought out when the characters are in fear.
During one of Simon’s epileptic episodes, the Lord of the Flies speaks to him, saying that he is “part of [them].” (158). This means that if the boys are afraid of the Lord of the Flies, they are afraid of themselves. The Lord of the Flies, or the beast, represents the evil inside of humankind. Fear of the beast brings out the true beast within, which is the evil in humankind. After the island boys murder Simon, Golding writes that “Simon’s dead body moves out towards the open sea.” (170). The water represents the subconscious, where the beast comes from. Simon’s dead body washing into the water shows that after Simon is killed, he disappears into the subconscious and is forgotten about. The other boys’ intense fear of Simon, who they think is the beast, causes them to completely forget about his existence and the fact that they murder him. Shortly after the Lord of the Flies finishes speaking to Simon, Golding writes that “Simon fell down and lost consciousness.” (159). This shows that Simon fainted, due to his epilepsy. Epilepsy is often seen as a religious condition because of the theory that seizures and blackouts as a result of the condition are visions of God or the Devil. Simon represents Christ and is having visions of the Devil. In the bible, Jesus was crucified because he had sinned and deserved to be punished. The boys on the island believed Simon to …show more content…
be the beast, and that the beast deserved to be punished. The boys’ fear of Simon’s sins caused them to kill him.
The evil in humankind is brought out when the characters in Lord of the Flies act under the influence of fear. When he comes back from hunting, Jack proudly states that he “cut the pig’s throat,” (73). This shows that Jack has already lost his sense of humanity because of his fear that Ralph would be mad at him.
The morning after the boys kill Simon, Piggy says that “[they were] scared...anything might have happened.” (173). Piggy states that their actions are justified because they are scared. Piggy’s fear of the beast is so overpowering that he does not feel guilty for killing another human. After Piggy is killed, Golding states that “Samneric [are] part of the tribe now.” (207). Saying that Samneric are part of the tribe now suggests that they were not always. Roger and Jack had already tied up a young boy from the island, and Samneric do not want to be next. Samneric became part of the evil side because of their fear of what Roger and Jack would do to
them. Evil inside of humankind is triggered by fear. Various main conflicts between characters illustrate that when the characters are in fear, the evil within humankind is brought out. Several symbols in the novel demonstrate that when in fear, the evil is brought out in the island boys. When characters in Lord of the Flies act under the influence of fear, the evil within humankind is brought out. All in all, if one is not strong enough their fear can go radically out of control and end in savagery. Although William Golding makes it clear that everyone has a dark side, the question he poses is whether or not one should choose to embrace it.
-Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. At a certain point in one’s lifetime, they are faced with the choice of following their good side or their evil side. Although this is true, not everyone has the strength to deny their evil side. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author explores the concept of people starting off good and letting their evil side win. Several main conflicts between characters in the novel demonstrate that the evil in humankind is brought out by fear. Various symbols in the novel illustrate that the evil in humankind is triggered when the boys are in fear. When under the influence of fear, the evil within the characters is brought out. Fear brings …show more content…
out the innate evil in humankind.
Several main conflicts between characters in the novel demonstrate that their innate evil is brought out when they are in fear. Shortly after the death of Piggy, Jack jumps out from behind his tribe screaming, “[That is] what [you will] get!” (201). Jack is afraid of losing power to Ralph. His fear of Ralph winning causes him to threaten Ralph, and later try to kill him. This is something that Jack would not do if he were not scared. After Ralph gets mad at Jack for returning with no meat, Jack yells, “But I shall, next time!” (52). Jack is referring to killing a pig next time he goes hunting. In fear of Ralph thinking badly of him, Jack is driven to kill a pig in order to prove himself. Just before the island boys kill Simon in the novel, Golding writes that “out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind.” (168). This shows that the boys’ fear has molded into bloodlust, which drives them to kill Simon. This proves that their fear has brought out the evil inside of them.
Various symbols in the novel illustrate that the evil in humankind is brought out when the characters are in fear.
During one of Simon’s epileptic episodes, the Lord of the Flies speaks to him, saying that he is “part of [them].” (158). This means that if the boys are afraid of the Lord of the Flies, they are afraid of themselves. The Lord of the Flies, or the beast, represents the evil inside of humankind. Fear of the beast brings out the true beast within, which is the evil in humankind. After the island boys murder Simon, Golding writes that “Simon’s dead body moves out towards the open sea.” (170). The water represents the subconscious, where the beast comes from. Simon’s dead body washing into the water shows that after Simon is killed, he disappears into the subconscious and is forgotten about. The other boys’ intense fear of Simon, who they think is the beast, causes them to completely forget about his existence and the fact that they murder him. Shortly after the Lord of the Flies finishes speaking to Simon, Golding writes that “Simon fell down and lost consciousness.” (159). This shows that Simon fainted, due to his epilepsy. Epilepsy is often seen as a religious condition because of the theory that seizures and blackouts as a result of the condition are visions of God or the Devil. Simon represents Christ and is having visions of the Devil. In the bible, Jesus was crucified because he had sinned and deserved to be punished. The boys on the island believed Simon to …show more content…
be the beast, and that the beast deserved to be punished. The boys’ fear of Simon’s sins caused them to kill him.
The evil in humankind is brought out when the characters in Lord of the Flies act under the influence of fear. When he comes back from hunting, Jack proudly states that he “cut the pig’s throat,” (73). This shows that Jack has already lost his sense of humanity because of his fear that Ralph would be mad at him.
The morning after the boys kill Simon, Piggy says that “[they were] scared...anything might have happened.” (173). Piggy states that their actions are justified because they are scared. Piggy’s fear of the beast is so overpowering that he does not feel guilty for killing another human. After Piggy is killed, Golding states that “Samneric [are] part of the tribe now.” (207). Saying that Samneric are part of the tribe now suggests that they were not always. Roger and Jack had already tied up a young boy from the island, and Samneric do not want to be next. Samneric became part of the evil side because of their fear of what Roger and Jack would do to
them. Evil inside of humankind is triggered by fear. Various main conflicts between characters illustrate that when the characters are in fear, the evil within humankind is brought out. Several symbols in the novel demonstrate that when in fear, the evil is brought out in the island boys. When characters in Lord of the Flies act under the influence of fear, the evil within humankind is brought out. All in all, if one is not strong enough their fear can go radically out of control and end in savagery. Although William Golding makes it clear that everyone has a dark side, the question he poses is whether or not one should choose to embrace it.