William Golding once said “no human endeavor can ever be wholly good… it must always have a cost”. When it comes to his novel, Lord of the Flies, this certainly can apply to the theme and the book’s ending. In Lord of the Flies Golding uses deus ex machina to create a conclusion that yields specific characterization of the officer, as well as an implication of the boys’ fate, which accentuates the theme and leaves the reader thinking. This makes the ending the most effective it could be in relation to the rest of the book. The very end of the book, particularly the last 3 pages, introduces a new character, the naval officer. On the surface, this officer seems to represent rescue, the outside world, even civilization, but after analysis it
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With this technique, Golding sends a message: there is no rescue from the flaws of human nature. This is stated when Ralph weeps at the end of the book, when he “wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart” (Golding 202). This small line delivers the intent of the book, Golding’s theme, perfectly. As described on this last page, man’s heart is dark, and because of that, there can never be true salvation from war, savagery, and evil. The boys on the island, over the course of the novel, show this through their behavior. They are a contained example of mankind without control, and their natural, inherent tendencies reveal themselves as a result of this. The boys on the island are a reflection of mankind, as well as a reflection of the entire world, as the theme describes. Deus ex machina also serves as a warning from Golding. Though miraculous salvation may come, there is never truly an escape from our own personal hell, since we, as humans, must change ourselves first to permanently move on. This change will never happen because of our humanity. This message is told through deus ex machina, as the ending of the novel is not the result that the boys are left with. Additionally, deus ex machina in Lord of the Flies brings an element of civilization to the island, which is done to make the boys civil themselves, but as shown by Percival, when he “sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away”, the boys can never return to the way they were before (Golding 201). That is, before the corruption of each other’s humanity destroyed along with
With this technique, Golding sends a message: there is no rescue from the flaws of human nature. This is stated when Ralph weeps at the end of the book, when he “wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart” (Golding 202). This small line delivers the intent of the book, Golding’s theme, perfectly. As described on this last page, man’s heart is dark, and because of that, there can never be true salvation from war, savagery, and evil. The boys on the island, over the course of the novel, show this through their behavior. They are a contained example of mankind without control, and their natural, inherent tendencies reveal themselves as a result of this. The boys on the island are a reflection of mankind, as well as a reflection of the entire world, as the theme describes. Deus ex machina also serves as a warning from Golding. Though miraculous salvation may come, there is never truly an escape from our own personal hell, since we, as humans, must change ourselves first to permanently move on. This change will never happen because of our humanity. This message is told through deus ex machina, as the ending of the novel is not the result that the boys are left with. Additionally, deus ex machina in Lord of the Flies brings an element of civilization to the island, which is done to make the boys civil themselves, but as shown by Percival, when he “sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away”, the boys can never return to the way they were before (Golding 201). That is, before the corruption of each other’s humanity destroyed along with