Lord of the Flies Essay
The Evil Within
Children are traditionally portrayed as innocent and pure. However, in the novel Lord of the Flies, the boys stranded on the island turn from a group of proper, English school boys to uncivilized savages. Adults place a nonexistent innocence on children; all humans are born with evil tendencies. Throughout the novel, William Golding reveals that not even children are purely innocent. William Golding reveals this through the controllability and power that fear has over humans, the lust for violence that humans are born with and the natural desire for power that humans have. First of all, Golding demonstrates that adults place a nonexistent innocence on children through the controllability and power that fear has over humans. Fear is an impulse that all humans are born with. It lives inside of us and we can either choose to tame it or let it control us. However, if not tamed, fear can take over reason and take control. Golding demonstrates this in Lord of the Flies through Jack and Ralph’s characters. This is shown through Jack’s character because his fear of the beast takes control over him. During the feast on the beach, Jack begins chanting “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood” (Golding 168). The chanting grows louder and louder and later results in Simons death. When the littluns scream in fear because they see the beast coming from the jungle, the boys’ violent impulse is immediately revealed. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (Golding 169). Their fear of the beast takes control over them and without thinking, their first instinct is to kill the beast. Golding also demonstrates this through Ralph’s character. This is because although Ralph has control over fear in the beginning, he slowly lets it consume him. This is proven when the boys are reenacting the mock hunt. Ralph starts off as playing and pretending that Robert is the boar, however gets too
Children are traditionally portrayed as innocent and pure. However, in the novel Lord of the Flies, the boys stranded on the island turn from a group of proper, English school boys to uncivilized savages. Adults place a nonexistent innocence on children; all humans are born with evil tendencies. Throughout the novel, William Golding reveals that not even children are purely innocent. William Golding reveals this through the controllability and power that fear has over humans, the lust for violence that humans are born with and the natural desire for power that humans have. First of all, Golding demonstrates that adults place a nonexistent innocence on children through the controllability and power that fear has over humans. Fear is an impulse that all humans are born with. It lives inside of us and we can either choose to tame it or let it control us. However, if not tamed, fear can take over reason and take control. Golding demonstrates this in Lord of the Flies through Jack and Ralph’s characters. This is shown through Jack’s character because his fear of the beast takes control over him. During the feast on the beach, Jack begins chanting “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood” (Golding 168). The chanting grows louder and louder and later results in Simons death. When the littluns scream in fear because they see the beast coming from the jungle, the boys’ violent impulse is immediately revealed. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (Golding 169). Their fear of the beast takes control over them and without thinking, their first instinct is to kill the beast. Golding also demonstrates this through Ralph’s character. This is because although Ralph has control over fear in the beginning, he slowly lets it consume him. This is proven when the boys are reenacting the mock hunt. Ralph starts off as playing and pretending that Robert is the boar, however gets too