Lord Of The Flies Good Vs Evil Analysis

Improved Essays
“Evil comes from the abuse of free will”- CS Lewis. Lord of the Flies is a tale with undeniable themes of savagery and good vs. evil. William Golding’s belief was that all men contain evil within, and his portrayal of Lord of the Flies painted that picture for his audience. He created an underlying theme that symbolized a “Jesus vs. Satan” theme, which also ties directly with good vs. evil; however, he took a unique approach. He emphasized that without rules, there is no reason or foundation for morality, so the tendency is to conform to savagery. In fact, if there are no rules, would morality exist at all? This question can easily be compared to the idea that if there were no commandments, where is the initial foundation of morality? Golding depicted many different characters to play an either blunt or subtle change from good to savagery. To outline this idea, he used some …show more content…
He was the ideal religious and established young boy. Simon had his eyes focused on truth. Simon was different from the group. He was frail and typically weak, unless it came to rightness. He was one who stood up for Piggy. Simon decided to set out on a very courageous quest to determine what the beast actually was. Simon takes the journey and realizes what the beast really is, a man. Simon is wise enough to realize that the boys are not in their right mind and are not ready to accept the revelation he has come to. Simon dies shortly after his revelation and it is nothing less than symbolic. Golding created Simon’s carry off in a very specific way. The sun, moon, and the earth were represented within Simon because he had the knowledge of all of these elements. Simon does not challenge the idea that evil does not live within everyone, but challenges the ideal of the necessity of morality. Simon never strayed from structure. He remained loyal to Ralph and the rules he created within his leadership, even when Ralph himself did not remain loyal to his

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Good vs. Evil in Lord of the Flies Does evil always prevail? Some say yes, some say no, but no was nearly the case in William Golding Lord of the Flies. “Good” and “evil” are very broad terms, but easily distinguishable in general. Good can be nearly anything with a positive connotation, but in the case of Lord of the Flies, it typically is anything that sticks to typical morals and values, whereas evil is immoral and barbaric acts that symbolize a regression to a primal nature. The conflict between this type of good and evil can be seen everywhere, religious texts, novels, nearly anything involving a protagonist against a person, force, or themselves.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The dead parachutist shows that evil and savagery leads to the fall of man. In chapter six, the boys are hoping for a sign from civilization that would be helpful. However, the sign is “a figure that h[angs] with dangling limbs.” (95) He falls because of a “bright explosion” (95) in the sky, which indicates that war is still going on.…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is our environment that affects the choices that we make as human beings. The argument is, are we as humans, born with the intent of doing evil and we learn manners as we get older, or, are we as humans naturally trying to do good and what is right, but it can vary depending on your environment. William Golding, author of “Lord Of The Flies”, believes that we humans naturally do evil. While on the other side, Jean-Jacques Rousseau believes that it all depends on what kind of environment you are in. There was an experiment held based on Stanley Milgram’s views on how humans reacted when a high position of authority commanded you to do something.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Simon’s actions, thoughts, and dialogue parallel Jesus in a multitude of ways. To begin, Simon’s behaviors connect him to being both a prophet and a Jesus figure. Simon cares for Piggy and the littluns, and, in fact, he “shoved a piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy” and in doing so enrages Jack (Golding 74). Simon, sensitive to the needs of others, generously helps Piggy after he is denied meat. In addition to aiding Piggy, Simon looks out for the…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Simon has always been the good boy of the group. He shares the fruit with the little boys and gives up his meat for Piggy. Simon is absolutely too perfect to be considered human and Golding knows that. Since the beginning of the novel Simon was always a little bit different than the other boys. One example is that Simon faints at the beginning of the book.…

    • 1788 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The characterization of Simon represents the Christ-like figure, the one who is willing to help others in need and who knows the difference between right and wrong. According to Golding, Simon helps Ralph to build the shelters while everyone else was playing on the beach (45). Golding also says “… Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it…” (62)…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ever since the introduction of sin onto the Earth, all of mankind eventually commit sins. Romans 3:23 states, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Our inevitable crimes come to pass due to various stimuli. Many characters and symbols in Lord of the Flies by William Golding are shown to be capable of both good and evil. Golding offers the idea that society’s beast is innate in all of us (143).…

    • 1417 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Simon finally figures out the identity of the mysterious Beast, which happens to be just a dead pilot. He continues to say that the Beast is the reality within everyone but he is shot down and murdered. Piggy makes a comment about Simon is a fool living in a dream world and that he brought death upon himself, (Boyd 203-204) but that is not the case. Simon is compared to Jesus or a Prophet, being that he wanted to save others from evil by making man realize their sins and predicting the future (Boyd 203-204). Green also adds that Simon symbolizes a Saint, for he sees what the other boys are afraid of: the Beast and the Lord of the Flies…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Simon attempts to understand the complexity of the beast while Jack and Ralph simply use instinctual knowledge and reasoning to disregard the threat. However, ironically, before Simon can explain the truth to the boys, he is murdered by them after being mistaken as the beast. Even though Simon never gets the opportunity to share his insight with the boys, Golding shows the reader that he had the best leadership qualities and if brought to power could have avoided the violence that would take place. Simon’s insight suggests he could have been a very intellectual and complex…

    • 1019 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The novel is thus an allegory or a fable intended to convey Golding’s view that evil is a powerful instinct in human beings and needs only a favourable environment to grow and flourish and to attain formidable proportions. In the novel, evil seems to have triumphed over good, but Golding has himself expressed the view that the novel does not depict the triumph of evil over good, but good rescued from the clutches of evil. The rescue comes, of course, in the shape of naval officer at the end. The title Lord of the Flies clearly shows that the novel was intended to have an allegorical purpose.…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Conch: The conch symbolizes order and civilization. The boys use the conch to form and keep order at meetings. Because of the rule that whoever has the conch has a right to speak, everyone has an opportunity to express their voices and be heard. However, the conch starts to lose its powers as the boys become more savage. When Ralph blew the conch at Jack’s camp, the boys ignore Ralph and does not listen to him.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If humans believed the world would run peacefully without laws and law enforcers, there would not be a government. However, there is a government which helps people think twice before committing a crime. William Golding, a famous author, supports the idea that society keeps humans’ evil nature in line. In Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies, a plane carrying British boys crashes, killing all adults on the plane and leaving the boys alone in an unknown uninhabited island. In the beginning, the boys create their own civilization.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Fight between Good and Evil The fight between good and evil, a topic discussed in many books, movies, plays and even in the bible, but none portray it in the way that the Lord of the Flies does. In William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies he showcases just how bad human nature can be through Jack and Rogers savage behaviour, but he also shows the good side of human nature through Simon, who is a shining light on the island, and Ralph and Piggy, who are rational thinking and stick to their morals. So the question still stands; are humans inherently good or evil? After their arrival on the island, the separation from adults instantly took its toll on the boys.…

    • 1123 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is the thing that is holding us back from becoming savages, is it possibly just civilization and maturity? The “Lord of the Flies” is a great book about a group of schoolboys who struggle on an island to survive and deal with their situation, quickly resulting to foolish violence and savagery. First, I will give some of my interpretations and thoughts of the symbolism in the book, examples are how the fire, piggy, conch and so on affect the meaning behind the story. I will then talk about the characters and the affects their environment and other things had on them, for instance how Jack treating piggy badly and Roger and other characters encouraging that lead to some of the violence, and so forth.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In a time when every aspect of life was questioned such as government, religion, and personal liberty, philosophers questioned one aspect that had no definite answer, and this was human nature. Thomas Hobbes theorizes that humans are born evil, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that humans are naturally good. However, John Locke declared that humans are not innately good or evil. William Golding came back to the of innate human behavior during the 20th century when wrote the novel Lord of the Flies, where he displayed his unique and nuanced view of innateness of good and evil. His complex view is implied through his complex characterization of Ralph and Piggy.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays