William Golding 's Lord Of The Flies Essay

Connecting “The Stanford Prison Experiment” to Lord of the Flies “but look out the evil is in us all” (Goulding 208) stated William Golding in his novel Lord of the Flies. This quote implies that even the best us have the ability to do great evil. Dropping questions such as, how much of your “good conduct” is dependant on someone watching you? Are we more a product of our environment (Nurture) or DNA (Nature). Lord of the Flies and The Stanford Prison Experiment illustrate that when left unmonitored in primal situations of survival, human civility is often replaced by savagery. Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a fictional novel that supplies deeper insight into the more cynical side of humanity. In the midst of a raging war, an evacuation plane full of British schoolboys crash lands on an island, instantly killing the pilot. Left alone with the forces of nature the boys join together to attempt survival. The realization of no adults, or supervision grows to be a powerful theme for the boys and their actions. Within a short time social roles are developed and efforts for rescue begin. The boys struggle and patience amongst the group dwindles without sufficient leadership. Fear grows and hope vanishes as pressure morphs the boys conception of right and wrong. Violence and savagery begin to consume their primitive society, quickly escalating. Homicide is “reasonably” justified and these once civilized boys are now murderers. “The Stanford Prison Experiment” was a…