“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding
Show how Golding presents his views about human nature by examining the
boys’ descent from civilised to savage.
“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding is a thought provoking novel that questions
established views on human nature; Golding challenges the view that human beings are
innately good. He shows this through a plot involving a group of boys who are
marooned on a desert island following their plane being shot down during an
evacuation. We see the boys become increasingly savage as they spend more time on
the island. This suggests that a dark side to human nature exists and it only emerges
when the aspects of society that civilise us are taken away. Tracing the boys’ descent
from civilised to savage underlines Golding’s perspective.
At the start we see the boys introduce democracy to the island. Ralph and Piggy are
responsible for this as they introduce the conch. The conch is found when Ralph is
swimming in a pool to cool off and Piggy spots the shell and recognises that ‘its ever
so valuable’. Indeed, this proves true as the conch comes to represent democracy and
who is to speak. It is also a symbol of leadership in the democratic society the boys are
creating; Ralph is the one who blew the conch to call the first meeting so he is
appointed chief. At the start the boys seem keen to give each other roles and to work
together but later on we see this enthusiasm deteriorate as Jack begins to question
Ralph’s leadership.
We also see the boys’ civilised nature as they work together to create a signal fire.
Ralph is keen to be rescued and so he suggests that they can ‘help them find us…we
must make a fire’. This helps to highlight the boys’ civilised values as they work
together to build the fire but we wouldn’t see them work as a team when their savage
nature takes hold later on. Also, the very fact that they want to return to the civilised
world suggests that they feel at home in an environment in which they are encouraged
to be good. However, Jack and the choir, the first ones charged with looking after it, let
the fire go out as they opt to hunt instead. This shows that the group are not concerned
about being rescued; we may see this as indicative of a savage nature that lies within
the boys.
Equally, descriptions of the hunting help to suggest that a darker side to man’s nature
exists. Jack seems particularly thrilled with hunting and he is triumphant after the first
killing of a pig. He is described as ‘laughing and shuddering’ as he exclaimed about
the ‘lashings of blood’. This highlights the savage instincts within Jack as he seems
thrilled by the sight of blood, a sight many would associate with pain. Similarly,
stressing the amount of blood to Ralph and shouting that ‘you should have seen it’
shows a boy who delights in killing and the horrible sights it brings. Clearly, this
indicates a nature that is not often shown in the civilised world.
The other boys’ savage instincts also seem to take over and they enjoy hunting.
Golding stresses the boys delight as the boys invent and repeat chants ‘Kill the pig!
Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!’. This shows their enthusiasm to hunt.
They also re-enact the killing of the pig by using a ‘littlun’. The fact that they do this
implies that they wouldn’t mind killing a little one for real. Thus, the re-enactment
foreshadows the tragedies of later in the novel where we see two boys die at the hands
of their peers and one boy hunted like no more than an animal.
A major incident in showing the emergence of savage instincts is the death of Simon.
This occurs when Simon comes back during a feast in celebration of having killed a
sow. Simon plans to reveal to the boys that ‘the beast’ is not real and it is merely a
manifestation of the evil that lies in them. However, the boys mistake him for the beast
and attack:
“The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed.
The beast was on its knees in the centre, its arms folded over its face…the
crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast,
screamed, struck, bit, tore’
This emphasises the savage nature of the boys as Golding lists the extreme behaviour
of them to highlights the violence of the attack. Golding makes the group of boys
sound like a giant animal whose mouth is able to devour Simon. This incident is
effective in showing that darkness lies in man’s heart as the thought of devouring a
young boy is something that would imply savage behaviour.
A much more savage side is shown when one of the boys decides to murder Piggy.
This happens when Piggy and Ralph go to castle rock to get Piggy’s glasses back.
Unfortunately Rodger, a character who seems to represent evil, purposely rolls a
boulder down the rock face to hit Piggy. This kills Piggy and destroys the conch. Ralph
seems helpless as he sees the civilised world that they created at the start fade. Ralph
stands alone and acknowledges the fact that Jack now dominates the island:
“He was chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear.
From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses.”
The fact that Jack is now seen as chief shows how the island has changed as Ralph, the
good character, was chief when all was well. Now, Jack is chief when savagery has
taken over. He now has power as he is the new holder of Piggy’s glasses. Clearly, Jack
is a symbol for the darkness that lies in man.
The boys’ decent into savagery is shown strongly at the end as they hunt Ralph just as
they did with the pigs at the start of the novel. During this attack, the boys act like
barbaric savages. We hear that Eric ‘achieved a faint ululation by beating his open
mouth’. This relates to the Indians preparing for battle, the sound suggests a warning
and is meant to intimidate enemies this shows that the boys are ready to fight. We are
also told that a ‘stick sharpened at both ends’ acts as the weapon. The choice of
weapon is the same one used earlier in the novel to kill the Sow. This shows that the
want to do damage to Ralph. To sum up, this all serves to show that there is a darker
side to the boys.
Finally, the ending of the novel is important in conveying Golding’s message as it is at
the point of rescue that Ralph recognises not only the horror of his experience but also
the horror that evil lies within man:
“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and
the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”
The fact that Ralph is crying for the loss of innocence on the island shows that evil
and darkness within the boys has completely taken over. This also highlights the fact
that Ralph is the only one left with a pure conscious and has not turned to savage
behaviour as he cries for the loss of his friend Piggy. The darkness referred to is the
darkness that Golding believes lies within mans heart and thinks darkness and evil are
all apart of human nature.
In conclusion, ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding shows that darkness and evil lie
within mans heart and is a part of human nature. He presents this idea well by showing
a group of boys change from civilised human beings working together to get rescued to
savage human beings, willing to murder each other.