True Human Nature (Criticism Of Lord Of The Flies)

Reading Lord of the Flies, one gets quite an impression of Golding's view

on human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong, true or not, is a

point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of

humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. This

opinion, in fact, is a point that many have disagreed with when reading

his work. There are many instances throughout Lord of the Flies that

state Golding's opinion suggesting an evil human nature. Each of these

instances are the bricks holding together his fortress of ideas that are

constantly under attack.

Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the

idea of human nature in the minds of his readers. Throughout the novel,

it is stated that all humans are evil. It is said that this evil is

inescapable and will turn everyone evil. At one point in the book, when

the Lord of the Flies is representing all evil, this theory is stated as,

"The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon" (Golding 130). Along

with this idea is the religious symbolism that is used for ineffectively

confronting the evil. At a point in the book, Golding has Simon, symbolic

of Jesus Christ (a Christian deity), confront the Lord of the Flies. This

is a pig's head on a stick that is imagined to talk and represent the evil

in all humans. Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil

to others but is killed. This is a direct reference to the death of

Christ, alluding to the Holy Bible.

At many points throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding writes for the

characters to become gradually more and more evil. This attribute even

reaches the symbols of goodness and order, such as Ralph. Once, when

Ralph and Piggy go to the feast on Jack's beach, they begin to meld with

the others and their evil ways. "Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the

sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly

secure society" (Golding 138). This really only proves their common

longing for a place with others, not any depth of evilness. Golding also

has all of the characters eventually participate in the hunts, his

representation of an evil ritual that humans perform. By having all of

the characters practice this, he illustrates his belief of everyone being

susceptible to turning evil. This fact is not necessarily true. Humans

develop their own dedications to their own beliefs, morals, and ethics.

Each person has the decision of acting how they wish. Many acts are

considered "bad" by the ruling body of government and are punishable.

Other acts are considered "good" and are rewarded. However, it must be

seen that each individual decides for himself what is "good" or "bad" for

him to do. Thus, most people act on what they consider good. This can

seem unusual, for a serial killer may consider brutal murder a good act

and helping a friend as an extremely evil action. One must see, that some

people also act on what they consider bad. This