Consumed by Evil
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, evil selfishness is something that pulls the boys apart and pits them against each other. Although Roger started out as a minor character, as the novel progresses, he is later established as Jack’s sadistic right-hand man. His natural tendencies for violence and a disregard for the consequences of his actions ultimately lead him to fall from the arms of civilization.
As a young child, the morals and ethics that come with civilization had not yet been fully engrained in Roger’s character. He had been taught by society to hide his evil desires and thusly became a “slight furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy” (Golding 18). Roger had learned what morals were correct but had not fully understood why, causing him to only be motivated by the fear of material consequences or the fear of judgement from his peers, initially leaving him in the ego stage instead of being motivated by a sense of what is right and wrong, something that comes from experience and requires maturity that most boys don’t have at age twelve. The standards and rules that Roger followed were ultimately there for his safety and were generated from what the general population of his society deemed correct and identified as socially acceptable but were not Roger’s personal moral standards. On the island, what is socially acceptable has shifted. With Jack as chief, the moral standards of the entire tribe have changed to match those of their leader and the “threat of violence” he brought with him (Golding 117). With the violence becoming acceptable, Roger isn’t forced to conceal his inner darkness and follow the moral standards that he learned back home. In fact, he is silently encouraged to turn to savagery to ensure his safety and satisfy his thirst for violence. This not only places him in the id stage but also shows how fragile his ego stage was. Although it may be selfish to do so, Roger begins to look only at the immediate consequences for himself (that he may be killed) rather than concerning himself with the effects his actions may have on the other boys. Without the immediate consequences that he might’ve faced at home, Roger allowed his evil to consume him and drive him to savagery. Roger disregarded the safety of the other boys, “sharpened a stick …show more content…
However, our society still has just as much of a dog-eat-dog culture as the island the boys crashed into. The “savagery” that Roger fell to is much like the “civilized” culture that we’ve created through governments, businesses, and other institutions. Wars are fought between countries, religions, families, football teams, brothers and sisters because of clashing ideas and evil that has been allowed to consume our actions. We so often push away the needs of others to fulfill our own needs for approval, money, and dominance that we find ourselves tearing others down. This kind of savagery has become socially acceptable in today’s world. As Golding experienced this through the World Wars, he began to realize “the darkness of man’s heart” and the kind of destruction our evil can do (Golding 238). Golding created Roger to symbolize this darkness and the selfish, short-sighted nature that Golding believes all humans
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, evil selfishness is something that pulls the boys apart and pits them against each other. Although Roger started out as a minor character, as the novel progresses, he is later established as Jack’s sadistic right-hand man. His natural tendencies for violence and a disregard for the consequences of his actions ultimately lead him to fall from the arms of civilization.
As a young child, the morals and ethics that come with civilization had not yet been fully engrained in Roger’s character. He had been taught by society to hide his evil desires and thusly became a “slight furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy” (Golding 18). Roger had learned what morals were correct but had not fully understood why, causing him to only be motivated by the fear of material consequences or the fear of judgement from his peers, initially leaving him in the ego stage instead of being motivated by a sense of what is right and wrong, something that comes from experience and requires maturity that most boys don’t have at age twelve. The standards and rules that Roger followed were ultimately there for his safety and were generated from what the general population of his society deemed correct and identified as socially acceptable but were not Roger’s personal moral standards. On the island, what is socially acceptable has shifted. With Jack as chief, the moral standards of the entire tribe have changed to match those of their leader and the “threat of violence” he brought with him (Golding 117). With the violence becoming acceptable, Roger isn’t forced to conceal his inner darkness and follow the moral standards that he learned back home. In fact, he is silently encouraged to turn to savagery to ensure his safety and satisfy his thirst for violence. This not only places him in the id stage but also shows how fragile his ego stage was. Although it may be selfish to do so, Roger begins to look only at the immediate consequences for himself (that he may be killed) rather than concerning himself with the effects his actions may have on the other boys. Without the immediate consequences that he might’ve faced at home, Roger allowed his evil to consume him and drive him to savagery. Roger disregarded the safety of the other boys, “sharpened a stick …show more content…
However, our society still has just as much of a dog-eat-dog culture as the island the boys crashed into. The “savagery” that Roger fell to is much like the “civilized” culture that we’ve created through governments, businesses, and other institutions. Wars are fought between countries, religions, families, football teams, brothers and sisters because of clashing ideas and evil that has been allowed to consume our actions. We so often push away the needs of others to fulfill our own needs for approval, money, and dominance that we find ourselves tearing others down. This kind of savagery has become socially acceptable in today’s world. As Golding experienced this through the World Wars, he began to realize “the darkness of man’s heart” and the kind of destruction our evil can do (Golding 238). Golding created Roger to symbolize this darkness and the selfish, short-sighted nature that Golding believes all humans