Good And Evil In Lord Of The Flies Essay
The Choice: Good or Evil
Every child is capable of the greatest evil, just as they all have the potential to be kind and good. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of English boys are stranded on an island after a plane crash. At first, the boys act civilized, forming rules and focusing on being rescued. But, as time progresses and no one comes to save them, the boys begin acting savagely, killing animals and each other. In the end, the boy’s situation, combined with their fear, take them down an evil path of destruction and death. Evil isn’t necessarily the exercise of power, but the use of it to exploit one's self through immoral and malicious actions.
A person’s choices really show who they are, and how they see others. Ralph, the protagonist in the book, is a prime example of how a person’s decisions can determine if …show more content…
Ralph is the first boy to gain power by using a conch shell to call the boys together. As chief, Ralph is the first to notice that “there's no signal showing. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.”(Golding 36). Ralph uses his power to create rules and helps the boys realize that instead of being stranded on the island, that they can make themselves useful by trying to gain the attention of ships. Even though Ralph has power, he doesn’t use it to harm others, instead, he chooses it to help the good of all of the boys by focusing most of their efforts on a rescue. This tactic also brings hope to many of the boys, who are scared and afraid. Wielding power doesn’t always make a person evil, it is the choices that that person makes when in power that determines whether they are truly evil. Jack, another English boy who crashed on the island with Ralph, is the complete opposite. This can be seen through his thoughts and actions. As Jack becomes less focused on becoming rescued
Every child is capable of the greatest evil, just as they all have the potential to be kind and good. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of English boys are stranded on an island after a plane crash. At first, the boys act civilized, forming rules and focusing on being rescued. But, as time progresses and no one comes to save them, the boys begin acting savagely, killing animals and each other. In the end, the boy’s situation, combined with their fear, take them down an evil path of destruction and death. Evil isn’t necessarily the exercise of power, but the use of it to exploit one's self through immoral and malicious actions.
A person’s choices really show who they are, and how they see others. Ralph, the protagonist in the book, is a prime example of how a person’s decisions can determine if …show more content…
Ralph is the first boy to gain power by using a conch shell to call the boys together. As chief, Ralph is the first to notice that “there's no signal showing. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.”(Golding 36). Ralph uses his power to create rules and helps the boys realize that instead of being stranded on the island, that they can make themselves useful by trying to gain the attention of ships. Even though Ralph has power, he doesn’t use it to harm others, instead, he chooses it to help the good of all of the boys by focusing most of their efforts on a rescue. This tactic also brings hope to many of the boys, who are scared and afraid. Wielding power doesn’t always make a person evil, it is the choices that that person makes when in power that determines whether they are truly evil. Jack, another English boy who crashed on the island with Ralph, is the complete opposite. This can be seen through his thoughts and actions. As Jack becomes less focused on becoming rescued