The Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding
“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” (Golding 123). Golding’s words resonate with the readers all along the journey through the book and its plot. It is said that civilization is the collective reflection of the values, ethics, and evils of the society it represents. It cannot be understated that the importance of civilization is what differentiates humans from other living beings in this world. However, that is not a guarantee of safe, civilized behaviour by everyone in the society as demonstrated by the novel. The novel, Lord of the Flies, is a fictional story that is based on a group of boys from England who are stranded on an uninhabited island while a world war is taking place. The group of boys have an absence of adult presence
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It is equally true that there is evil inside every living being that may pose as a threat to mankind’s civilized and safe way of living. With the lack of civilized controls, this evil manifests itself in humans. This then is the core idea explored in the novel, Lord of the Flies, that will be examined. The theme of the importance of civilization and the evil that is present in every human being can be explored through many characters and symbols in the novel. The themes that relate to this are civilization versus savagery and the loss of innocence. Golding has used many literary devices and themes to illustrate what the human race is capable of doing and the presence of the good verses the presence of the evil. However, there are three significant symbols and characters that successfully convey the theme across to the readers, they are Jack, the conch, and the …show more content…
The boys are the imaginary beast that they fear, they fear themselves. The idea of an imaginary beast existing on the island was prompted by the occasional sighting of curious physical forms. This is an expression of internal struggle of the evil inside and the imposed civilized manner. Any occasion that allows the fear and brutality to emerge from within will result in such visions of the beast manifested in physical form. However, one of the boys, Simon believed that a beast did not exist on the island but in the boys, themselves. "What I mean is... maybe it's only us" (Golding 120). Simon has offered a counterargument in terms of why the urge to be evil is inside every being and is not an external
It is equally true that there is evil inside every living being that may pose as a threat to mankind’s civilized and safe way of living. With the lack of civilized controls, this evil manifests itself in humans. This then is the core idea explored in the novel, Lord of the Flies, that will be examined. The theme of the importance of civilization and the evil that is present in every human being can be explored through many characters and symbols in the novel. The themes that relate to this are civilization versus savagery and the loss of innocence. Golding has used many literary devices and themes to illustrate what the human race is capable of doing and the presence of the good verses the presence of the evil. However, there are three significant symbols and characters that successfully convey the theme across to the readers, they are Jack, the conch, and the …show more content…
The boys are the imaginary beast that they fear, they fear themselves. The idea of an imaginary beast existing on the island was prompted by the occasional sighting of curious physical forms. This is an expression of internal struggle of the evil inside and the imposed civilized manner. Any occasion that allows the fear and brutality to emerge from within will result in such visions of the beast manifested in physical form. However, one of the boys, Simon believed that a beast did not exist on the island but in the boys, themselves. "What I mean is... maybe it's only us" (Golding 120). Simon has offered a counterargument in terms of why the urge to be evil is inside every being and is not an external