Rodriguez 1
Michael Phillips
Mr. Hiett
English 11 Period 6
11/9/09
The Innate Evil of Mankind
At a primordial level William Golding explores the
depths of evilness that exists within mankind through his
novel The Lord of the Flies. Golding’s novel critiques the
Cold War and the threat of nuclear holocaust that the
world faced in the aftermath of World War II; with a
parabolic tale of the descent from stability and order into
pandemonium, the novel portrays the darkest of man’s
fantasies and nightmares. The parable comes across
through vivid symbols. One of these is the conch, which
Rodriguez 2
represents civilization and the law, and whose destruction
culminates the end of that civility. Golding also conveys
a symbol through the character Piggy, whose wisdom
guides the equanimity of the boys’ existence on the island,
and whose glasses provide wisdom and conjure
illumination for the boys, and whose death brings an end
to that beneficence. A third symbol appears at the end of
the novel where Jack and the other savages set the island
ablaze in order to catch and kill Ralph, and destroy the
island as a result. The Lord of the Flies allegorically
reveals the innate evilness within mankind that can lead to
his demise under such circumstances as the Cold War
with the symbols of the loss of the conch, the death of
Piggy, and the burning of the island.
Rodriguez 3
With Roger’s destruction of the conch, Golding
manifests the demise of human civilization and points to
the congenital iniquity of man.
Paragraph on the conch
In addition to the destruction of the conch Golding also
utilizes Piggy’s bitter end symbolically.
Piggy represents wisdom and reason and his death
indicates the loss of these necessities for civilization and
furthers the case for the existence of mankind’s innate
evilness.
Paragraph on Piggy
Rodriguez 4
Subsequent to Piggy’s death the annihilation of the island
unfolds.
The boys’ debauchery finalizes with their burning of
the island in order to kill Ralph, which symbolizes the
nuclear holocaust that humanity faced in the Cold War
and strikes at the heart of man’s wickedness.
Paragraph on the island burning
Conclusion