Loss Of Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is classic loss of innocence novel that has been taught in schools for decades, and will continue to be taught for years to come. A group of young boys crash land on an island with no supervision and are stranded there will little hope of being found or rescued. In the book, William Golding uses a dangerous island setting, rich symbolism, and a overall extended metaphor to relate the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The island is the first part of the book and a very important one. The island is used to symbolize the world and the boys are stuck on it. It is just like the people of earth. We are stuck here for the near future and right now there are no plans of leaving it. Those boys …show more content…
When the people decide that the rules don 't matter is when democracy goes down hill. So when Jack decides not to listen Ralph as the leader is when anarchy like Jack happens. With anarchy comes the evil of human nature which is represented by Roger. And in this post world war two era when Golding was writing this he used the fact that Germany had been doing evil things to the people there and the U.S. and other countries thought that their way was the best way. This set up a power struggle in society that linked back to human nature and the way people want what they want and will go to war to show that they are …show more content…
In the book the beast starts out as this thing crawling in the shadows that none of the boys ever see but that all of them are afraid of. It’s human nature to think the worst in what we don 't know so even when the boys have never seen the beast they are certain it 's out there and ready to kill them. Only when Simon climbs up and sees the dead pilot and the reader realizes that the beast is really inside all of the boys. At the same time Simon finds this out the boys have been driven mad by the beast. Chanting “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his Blood”(Golding,152) Without the adult supervision these boys are going back to instinct thinking of the bad things to happen letting the beast take over their mind. The beast does because as they are chanting simon walks out and they kill him. Goldings extended metaphor is why it is still taught in schools today. The boys trapped on an island is how the people of earth are. We are stuck on earth for the near future and have to work with each other. Unfortunately the defects of human nature are leaking into society. Golding is saying that the defects in human nature is that all people are naturally bad on the inside. The beast is inside everyone except a few. A few like simon can see past the beast inside him and realize the truth that the devil is just inside