Preview

English Essay

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1258 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
English Essay
Are people inherently evil or good?
“He stumbled over a root and the cry that pursued him rose even higher. He saw a shelter burst into flames and the fire flapped at his right shoulder and there was the glitter of water…” Here, Golding describes the transformation from civilization to savagery as a manhunt. Jack’s tribe strives to kill Ralph, the last surviving member of the rival faction on the island. William Golding portrays the inherent evil, goodness, and fearfulness and that there is balance between these three characteristics which is evident in “Lord of the Flies”.
The novel “Lord of the Flies” is based on one significant question that philosophers have been puzzled by for centuries- are humans inherently good or evil? Many say human kind is inherently evil, that there is evil in all of us. William Golding strongly confirms this point in his novel “The Lord of the Flies”. The Lord of the Flies expresses what can happen to man when there is not structure and little mean of survival. “You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?”1. In this short excerpt, Golding imposes the idea of inherent evil within humans by portraying it through an illusion. The words “I’m part of you?” clearly suggest that the evil within is taking over the island inch by inch, starting with Simon. Golding utilizes a very interesting set of words: “Why things are what they are?” This means that the Lord of the Flies is the one to blame for all the misfortune that has happened over the course of the book. The passage is used to make the reader experience the fear that Simon was feeling inside of him, as well as to get a sense for the Lord of the Flies, which means the literary feature would be characterization.
“He’s going to beat Wilfred….he didn’t say what for. He got angry and made us tie him up.” This quote shows how Jack has taken over control by making the boys tie up and help beat Wilfred. The



Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York, NY: Putnam Publishing Group, 1954. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. (Golding 1954, Ch.8, p.143). [ 2 ]. (Golding 1954, Ch., p. [ 3 ]. (Golding 1954, Ch.7, p.111). 4 (Golding 1954, Ch. 9, p.154)

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    English Essay

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The audience gains a greater understanding and appreciation of the consequences and societal issues presented through the author’s texts of changing perspectives. This greater understanding is represented by a wide range of language techniques showing the quality of a change of perspective in life. In the short story ‘Forgotten Jelly’ by Megan Jacobson, it demonstrates how an individual understands the consequences and issues while time progresses, which in turn leads to a change of perspective. Likewise, in the poem ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost, we observe how, as the characters develop, they understand and gradually learn more about the perspective of others and eventually leading to a change of their previous views.…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    English Essay

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “To David, About his Education” by Howard Nemerov, explains that education isn’t always as important as you think. Nemerov supports the fact that outside knowledge and experience are far greater amenities then education alone. Nemerov advocates his theme by using literary devices such as verbal irony and tone. Nemerov mocks the way children are traditionally taught by using the devices for sarcasm to balance the pretend seriousness he conveys in the poem. For example Nemerov states, “The world is full of mostly invisible things… to find them out, things like how many times Byron goes into Texas… you have to go to school and study books.”…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies, an emblematic novel written by William Golding in 1954, is often interpreted as an allegory of the human psyche. For example, in a literary criticism of Golding’s Lord of the Flies Diane Andrews Henningfield, a professor at Adrian College, states: “According to Freud the id works always to gratify its own impulses…Golding seems to be saying that without the reinforcement of social norms, the id will control the psyche.” (Novels for Students 188) In Lord of the Flies Jack, the conch shell, and Piggy’s glasses descend into savagery when detached from the manacles of civilization because they are dominated by selfish desires and desperately seek to gratify them without considering the well-being of anyone else.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    English Essay

    • 1809 Words
    • 8 Pages

    ‘Is year of wonders primarily a study of grief and loss, or does it offer the reader an uplifting, optimistic message?…

    • 1809 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    English Essay

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Distinctive voices are created for different purposes. How is this shown in you prescribed text and at least one other text of your own choosing?…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The English author William Golding was a former Navy Officer, who as the conflict of good and evil throughout his service. He used that experience to create the classic novel Lord of the Flies. The novel focuses on human nature’s way of civilization and society through children. The characteristics of three important characters show the sides of human nature. Jack represents the evil, Piggy the innocent, and Ralph the good. Golding takes a closer in depth look at whether evil is in everyone or not. These 3 children in the Golding’s novel symbolize the picture of humanity on a larger scale then the microcosm of the small tropical island in Carol Sea.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies is based on human nature and how evil is upon every human. William Golding believed that no matter how good a person is, there’s always an evil side. In the Lord of the Flies, children are tested if they could keep their insanity or not.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human nature is a double-sided coin. On one side there is the incredible capacity to love and care for others, the willingness to put one’s own needs aside and lay down for the good of his fellow man. But on the other. On the other side, there always remain the horrendous capacity for destruction despite any attempt to bury it within. William Golding exemplifies the darker aspects of human nature in his book Lord of The Flies. He accomplishes this by using characters like Jack, Ralph, and Simon as tools to convey deeper symbolic messages. Golding uses his characters allegorically consistently throughout his novel. Through them he conveys viewpoints on the political viewpoints, as well as the physical representation of many of mankind’s inherent…

    • 2497 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    english essay

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The author Tina Fanning in the newspaper article “cars no longer sustainable”, which was written in July 2007, contents the effect of car usage on global warming and the effect on the future of our children that proves the high level of harmfulness that global warming causes. The audience in this article is aiming at car users and state governors.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    english essay

    • 1510 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Society often expects certain type of behavior from everyone. But in the big picture, this behavior is only based on what type of sex you are and what your responsibility according to your sex. In today’s society, we have discrimination; high expectations and a set of norms that in a lot of cases only apply or are strictly apply in one gender only. So all of this leads us to the question: Are gender expectations still prevalent in this present day?…

    • 1510 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, Simon states “Maybe there is a beast... maybe it's only us.” An effective theme that Golding demonstrates throughout the book is whether people are essentially good or essentially bad. He creates this theme by involving the death of Simon, Ralph's adrenaline rush to hunting the boar for the first time, and the war that Jack had started with his tribe in order to kill Ralph at the very end of the novel. Golding includes these incidences to show us that people are essentially bad over the fact that people are essentially good.…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    James Oliver Curwood once said, “In every man’s heart there is a devil, but we do not know the man is bad until the devil is roused.” In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of schoolboys are stranded on an island after their plane crashes. Ralph becomes the leader of the boys and tries to maintain civilization on the island. In order to maintain a civilization there must be authority, hope, and intelligence. On the island, these aspects begin to break down and disintegrate quickly when human nature takes over causing civilization to fail. Consequently, many of the boys become savages and fight amongst themselves. The Lord of the Flies implies that all humans are born evil, but clearly not everyone acts in an evil manner. Golding suggests that the laws and norms of society restrain humans’ innate evil, and, if these laws are not reinforced, then man’s evil nature emerges.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jack and Ralph are the biggest boys on the island. Ralph is elected leader, which angers Jack. After being elected leader Ralph suggests “‘Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be- what do you want them to be?’ ‘Hunters’” Ralph sets up to be a good leader as he takes into account the needs and desire of his group. Because of Jack’s thirst for power, he starts persuading the others that Ralph is not a suitable leader so he can become Chief. He says, “‘Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can’t hunt, you can’t sing-’ ‘I’m chief. I was chosen.’ ‘Why should choosing make any difference? Just giving orders that don’t make sense-’” Golding creates an allegory symbolising Ralph as a democrat who is given power and Jack as an autocrat who takes power. Ralph became a true leader by taking responsibility for the survival and rescue of the boys. Jack, on the other hand, offers fun and meat to get his power but is willing to harm or kill to keep it. Jack’s desire for power develops into evil actions against the other boys. When Jack is in power, he leads the brutal slaughter of a pig and then Simon. He fosters rebellion. He throws a spear at Ralph “with full intention” and later holds a group hunt to kill him. Jack is plainly committing evil to show his authority. Since evil is an act that harms, Jack brings…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Inborn Evil of Mankind

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding’s pessimistic view that evil is an inborn trait of mankind is valid. Firstly, what seems like a little vacation for the boys is quickly erased by the brutal savage-like behavior that many of the boys on the island possess. Secondly, the death of Simon or goodness on the island shows that evil has completely taken over the boys’ minds. Lastly, the fact that the beast lies within mankind symbolizes the evil that is present in humanity. Therefore, the boys on the island express the innate evil in mankind that can possibly be released when there is no structure and very little means of survival.…

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Human nature isn’t perfect and has many negative aspects to it. The novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding includes many negative aspects like greed, ill treatment, and jealousy that are portrayed through the outcome of the characters. These negative views of humanity are shown through the outcome of the characters Jack, Simon and Ralph.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays