Lord of the Flies Nature of Man

Lord of the Flies: The Nature of Man William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a gritty allegory of adolescence, innocence, and the unspoken side of human nature. Countless social issues are portrayed, however one of the most reoccurring is the nature of man. Throughout the novel there is an ever-present focus on the loss of innocence amongst the boys, shown by the deterioration of social skills and their retrogression into a barbaric form of society. Also portrayed is the juxtaposition of a cruel, evil main character and a more classically good counterpart, and their eternal rivalry for power and authority over their younger subjects. Does society or the lack thereof create evil in human nature, or simply magnify a pre-existing condition? The protagonists of the novel are all boys no older than preteens, all from presumably wealthy backgrounds. When they first arrive on the island, they have a youthful innocence and naivety that wears thin as their isolation continues, turning trust into doubt and ultimately pitting them against each other. As they begin to realize that there is no longer anyone enforcing the rules they lived by for so long, they begin to break what is left of society’s hold on them and search for ways to alienate themselves from conformity: “Denied the sustaining and repressing authority of parents, church, and state, they form a new culture the development of which reflects that of the genuine primitive society, evolving its gods and demons (its myths), its rituals and taboos (its social norms).” (Rosenfield 1). They accomplish this through disrespecting their newly appointed authority figure, Ralph, along with other obscenities such as defecating where they please and participating in violent rituals to release built up rage. As the savagery of their once playful hunts increases, so does their disillusionment with their former ways, drawing them further from the schoolboy demeanor they once had. The prospect of killing a living

Cited: Boyd, S.J. “The Nature of the Beast: Lord of the Flies (1954).” In The Novels of William Golding, 1-23, 200. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. quoted as “The Nature of the Beast: Lord of the Flies” in Bloom, Harold, ed. Lord of the Flies, New Edition, Bloom’s Mordern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Schoene-Harwood, Berthold. "Boys Armed with Sticks: William Golding 's Lord of the Flies." From Writing Men: Literary Masculinities from Frankenstein to the New Man. Edinburgh University Press, 2000. Quoted as "Boys Armed with Sticks: William Golding 's Lord of the Flies" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Lord of the Flies, New Edition, Bloom 's Guides. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. Rosenfield, Claire. "Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding 's Lord of the Flies." Quoted as "Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding 's Lord of the Flies" in Bloom, Harold, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Johnston, Arnold. "Lord of the Flies: Fable, Myth, and Fiction." In Of Earth and Darkness: The Novels of William Golding. St. Louis: University of Missouri Press, 1980. Quoted as "Lord of the Flies: Fable, Myth, and Fiction" in Bloom, Harold, ed. Death and Dying, Bloom 's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea House, 2009. Bloom 's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. USA: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1970