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There is a beast in everyone; no matter how big or small, hidden or rather the image of the human itself, the beast is there. Beneath the layers of skin and flesh and muscle and bone, we are all hosts to a beast deep within our souls. Stephen Crane and William Golding have both illustrated an intriguing depiction of the beast of human nature. Both The Lord of the Flies by William Golding and
“I Stood Upon a High Place” by Stephen Crane, present a similar insight on humanity.
It is that some people believe that they are better than others, and they look down on others, yet it is hypocritical since we are all “carousing in sin” (Crane, 4) and we are all human. We are all devils at heart, and the “devils” that are referred to in “I Stood Upon a High Place” are our brothers. Hence the last line of the poem in which the devil looked up to the speaker and said, “Comrade! Brother!”
There are many examples of the human nature’s inner devil (taking over) throughout The Lord of the
Flies. Even the phrase, “The Lord of the Flies” is a “suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria, and panic and who therefore fits in very well with Golding’s theme.” (Golding 205). In the novel, the inner devils of the stranded schoolboys emerge and their moral compasses, consciences, and knowledge of order are essentially destroyed. The Lord of the Flies is about a group of young British schoolboys that are stranded on a deserted tropical island. At first the boys enjoy life without the company and rule of adults, but not long after, they begin to lose sight of their morals and life becomes chaos. Ralph, the most civilized and charismatic of the boys is elected as chief, and he appoints Jack, leader of the choir, as leader of the hunters who will hunt food for the group. Piggy is the laughingstock of the group, yet he is the most intelligent and also provides his spectacles which are
“I Stood Upon a High Place” by Stephen Crane, present a similar insight on humanity.
It is that some people believe that they are better than others, and they look down on others, yet it is hypocritical since we are all “carousing in sin” (Crane, 4) and we are all human. We are all devils at heart, and the “devils” that are referred to in “I Stood Upon a High Place” are our brothers. Hence the last line of the poem in which the devil looked up to the speaker and said, “Comrade! Brother!”
There are many examples of the human nature’s inner devil (taking over) throughout The Lord of the
Flies. Even the phrase, “The Lord of the Flies” is a “suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria, and panic and who therefore fits in very well with Golding’s theme.” (Golding 205). In the novel, the inner devils of the stranded schoolboys emerge and their moral compasses, consciences, and knowledge of order are essentially destroyed. The Lord of the Flies is about a group of young British schoolboys that are stranded on a deserted tropical island. At first the boys enjoy life without the company and rule of adults, but not long after, they begin to lose sight of their morals and life becomes chaos. Ralph, the most civilized and charismatic of the boys is elected as chief, and he appoints Jack, leader of the choir, as leader of the hunters who will hunt food for the group. Piggy is the laughingstock of the group, yet he is the most intelligent and also provides his spectacles which are