Preview

Lord of the Flies: Defects of Society Due to Nature of Individuals Essay Example

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
909 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lord of the Flies: Defects of Society Due to Nature of Individuals Essay Example
Lord of THe Flies: Defects of Society Due to Nature of Individuals

The venturesome novel, Lord of the Flies, is an enchanting, audacious account that depicts the defects of society as the incorrigible nature of individuals when they are immature and without an overlooking authority. The author of the novel, William Golding, was born in Britain, which accounts for the English, cultured characters in the novel. After studying science at Oxford
University for two years, he changed his emphasis as a major to English literature. When World War II broke out in 1939, Golding served in the Royal
Navy for five years. The atrocities he witnessed changed his view about mankind's essential nature. He came to believe that there was a very dark and evil side to man, which accounts for the savage nature of the children in the novel. He said, "The war was unlike any other fought in Europe. It taught us not fighting, politics, or the follies of nationalism, but about the given nature of man." After the war he returned to teaching and wrote his first novel,
Lord of the Flies, which was finally accepted for publication in 1954. In 1983, the novel received the Noble Prize and the statement, "[His] books are very entertaining and exciting. . . . They have aroused an unusually great interest in professional literary critics (who find) deep strata of ambiguity and complication in Golding's work. . . ." (Noble Prize committee) Some conceived the novel as bombastic and didactic. Kenneth Rexroth stated in the Atlantic,
"Golding's novels are rigged.. . . The boys never come alive as real boys. . . .
" Other critics see him as the greatest English writer of our time. In the
Critical Quarterly in 1960, C.B. Cox deemed Lord of the Flies as "probably the most important novel to be published. . . in the 1950's." The setting of the novel takes place on an island in the Pacific Ocean.
The author never actually locates the island in the real world or states the exact time

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Rosenfield, C. (1990). 'Men of a smaller growth ': A psychological analysis of William Golding 's…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through out the entire story the conch shell and the glasses have been important metaphors. The conch represents civilization and power. Whenever someone blows on the conch, the boys run toward the sound and show respect to the owner. Eventually, the power and civilization drop as the boys become more savage like. Therefore the conch loses its power. The glasses represent the key to life. They started the fire, and fire brings heat to help them survive and continue their hopes of being rescued. When they are stolen by Jack, Ralph and Piggy have nothing left to help them survive.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. After Simon is killed, the next paragraph begins, "The clouds open and let the rain down like a waterfall…" When the boys kill Simon they not only kill him and spirituality, but what they perceive to be the beast. Because the beast was created by them and embodied all of their evils, one of its interpretations can be as mankind's sin. Simon is very similar to Jesus in this book. The Roman's ruled the world during Jesus' life, and now a similar bloodthirsty society rules the island during Simon's life. Both are killed by such a society, and both sacrifice themselves so that mankind's sin can be forgiven. When Simon dies, the rain washes away not only spirituality, but also the beast and all of the sins that accompany it. Golding writes that the water bounded from the mountaintop. Because the mountain top represented the peak of society, this could be interpreted to state that all of society carries sin, even the glorious moments of it, and that Simon's sacrifice was extended to the boys' entire stay on the island and the sin that was committed during that period of time. This is also similar to Jesus' sacrifice that was for all of mankind's sins, not just the sins of the Roman society that killed him. After Simon has been killed, the figures stagger away. By referring to the boys as figures, they are no longer individuals, but the nameless men who are the vehicle that society uses to carry out its evil deeds. It is no longer of relevance who did what because it was the entire society that killed Simon. This can be related to other societies, such as Nazi Germany. Today Hitler is credited with most of the responsibility for World War II. We do not like to blame German society for it because that would mean that we are also capable of this if we had to endure the circumstances of 1940's Germany. We cannot blame the German race for these problems, as they are a characteristic of humanity. We fought World War II against the forces of racism, but we ourselves treated…

    • 2202 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The second character trait Simon possesses is that he is devotedly faithful. He is an enormous believer of God and loves sharing his faith with other people. This is proven during various conversations with Reverend Russell and his best friend, Joe Wenteworth. When Simon is talking to the reverend, he suggests that God made him the way he is for a reason and says, “I think I'm God's instrument - that he's gonna use me to carry out his plan.” The last occurrence when Simon is faithful happens when is continually encouraging Joe to be joyful. Simon claims, “Your problem is that you have no faith.” Joe responds, “I got faith. I just need proof to back it up.” Joe is more of a pessimist and practical person therefore Simon is there hence he can cause Joe be further positive.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A well-known American author, Mark Twain, once said; “Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.” This proves that one’s human nature has a seed, growing inside, consisting of both good and evil. In the novel Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, as the novel progresses, the nature of hunting changes. This persuades the boys to abandon the values of civilization, leading them to self-indulge themselves with savagery. At first, the main purpose of hunting is for meat. It is evident that the innocence within Jack and the hunters is present when they have a hard time adjusting to their new lifestyle. This can be seen when they fail to follow through with the killing of the piglet. As the novel advances, innocence begins to fade and savagery comes to light. Now that hunting is no longer being utilized for survival, Jack and the hunters exhilaration and enjoyment to kill shows when they murder the sow. The hunters excitement explains how…

    • 1673 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    "He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger… He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling… The face of red and white and black swung through the air…"…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They begin to hunt, explore and build shelter knowing they may be there awhile. Without the adults to guide the children, they begin to wreak havoc. For example,"Kill the pig!Cut his throat!Kill the pig!Bash him in!"(Golding 101).Humans inherit evil, but it takes a certain even to let it out.When the boys kill pigs for food, they let out their evil. Boys turn to savages and mad men, disrupting the entire system of civilization. A person's environment is irrelevant, it is the events that lead to it that will create rage. For example,"There are, for instance, conditions in which cruelty seems to flourish, which is different from saying that it has clear causes. What are these conditions? Chaos is one, fear is another."(Why Boys Become Vicious).There are certain instances or events that bring this evil.This shows it doesn't matter what environment you are in, it is the…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Lord of the Flies William Golding has a group of schoolboys crash on an island and become barbaric. The reason why the boys turn wild is because of their innate primal instinct to hurt others. This innate behavior is inherited from early ancestors killing to stay alive. Mans innate tendency towards violence, how people take sides and divide into groups, and the struggle for power are three ways mans behavior will generally occur. Each of these suggests that violence is a key factor to getting what they want.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    His wartime experiences formed the basis for his very personal account of the Pacific Theater, Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War. (He later wrote of WWII in a number of his other books, including his second of a planned three part biography of Winston Churchill, and a biography of Gen. Douglas MacArthur.)…

    • 2034 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    group of adolescent boys. The boys are forced to learn how to live on the land…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This essay aims to explain why and how the move from civilized children to savagery occurred on the island in Lord of the Flies. It also looks at the reasons the term “savage” is used in the novel, as well as the abuse of authority in it. It suggests that the move to savagery is caused by one person, Jack Merridew, who acts as a catalyst for the rest of the boys on the island.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For an author to clasp on its reader, he or she must use figurative language to captivate…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What does it take for a group of civilized boys to be turned into inhumane, bloodthirsty savages? In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Jack is able to exploit the innermost evil in others through the means of psychological manipulation. With these tactics, he gains the support of his newfound tribe, and chaos breaks out on the island as a result. Jack manipulates the boys and turns them into a supportive tribe of savages by defying the conch, giving them the thrill of hunting, and using their fear of the beast against them.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The plot of William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies suggests that Golding supports the biblical idea that every human is born tainted with evil, and that men are born savage, driven by their instincts.…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    a shocking accident

    • 3710 Words
    • 9 Pages

    n an extensive amount about war and politics. All his experiences would eventually be incorporated…

    • 3710 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays