Lord of the Flies - How does Golding show mankind’s inner evil?
Uploaded by hi_flier on Mar 05, 2006
‘How does Golding show mankind’s inner evil? Do you agree with his assumption that man is basically evil?
The creation of a world where nothing seems a utopia, where everything will go wrong isn’t a creation too hard to believe. This intended creation was the creation of our world. The human race in which we live in, is the world where delusions of grandeur are placed on those who conjure up ideas, which they truly believe in, that civilisation, is beyond doubt our true nature. But there are those who oppose these optimists and are degraded as pessimists.
Pessimists have been assumed as cynical, unenthusiastic people with a depressive outlook upon life. But what hasn’t occurred to the optimists and idealists is that maybe, pessimists just accept the truth about humanity.
The author of Lord of the Flies, Golding, believes that civilisation is merely a veneer, and if we were to let go of the self-control that which we harbour, gradually our innermost temperaments will start to show.
The existence of civilisation allows man to remain innocent or ignorant about his true nature. Although man needs civilisation, it is important that he also be aware of his more primitive instincts. Only in this way we can reach true maturity.
Golding implies that the loss of innocence has little to do with age but is related to a person's understanding of human nature. Painful though it may be, this loss of innocence by coming to terms with reality is necessary if humanity is to survive.
William Golding’s claims that even the most suitable environmental conditions will not suffice to overcome man’s innate cruelty. He placed a group of highly educated British schoolboys, the oldest being 12 and the youngest 6, on an island. Almost immediately battles for supremacy takes place. Violence and death follow. Although the boys begin by electing a leader, Ralph, and call frequent meetings, using a conch shell as a symbol of authority, their attempts at recreating civilisation quickly disintegrate. Their story begins with the innocent sound of the shell and ends with the evil cry of the hunters. The boys try to organise their lives on the island, but they fail. Their circle of rituals and traditions is broken, and therefore they are unable to control the development of their society. They do not have anything to limit their evil natures, such as laws and rules. They try to...