Human Nature Flashcards
-Golding’s experiences of war showed him that anyone can be capable of terrible things.
-In Lord of the Flies, the young, innocent boys quickly descend into cruelty, savagery and evil when they are given the opportunity to take control.
-The island is a microcosm of the real world but has no rules or laws.
-The boys can do what they want, without fear of consequences or repercussion.
-This allows us to see their true nature and consider what might happen if our society was not so regulated.
-Golding uses the novel to show the dangers of allowing human nature to run free with no limits or rules.
-In the novel, Golding places the boys on a deserted island, far from adult civilization and allows the reader to watch the result.
-It is almost an experiment of unconstrained human nature.
-Golding felt that if humans were to be removed from the rules, law and order of our societies, then we would naturally fall away from logic & reason and into savagery.
-At the start, the boys generally recognize their need for organization, shelter and a signal fire (so they can be rescued).
-Symbols of order and authority (Piggy’s glasses and the conch shell) are used carefully and are effective at first, but are then broken.
-Golding suggests that humans are naturally savage and driven by primal urges (such as hunger, greed, power, dominance). This is the ‘beast’ from the novel.
-Throughout the novel, Golding shows how this evil of humanity could take control and, if it did, the consequences would be catastrophic.
-Piggy says it’s just fear but Simon says ‘maybe it’s only us’.
-Representing evil inside, the beast tells Simon it cannot be hunted and destroyed.
-Golding uses the island to allow the inner evil of humanity to escape and to show us the possible consequences of releasing our inner savage impulses.
-The Lord of the Flies told Simon it could not be destroyed, just as the evil within humanity cannot be destroyed.
-Golding uses Simon, Piggy and Ralph to show that, once evil is allowed to take hold of powerful people, even the most moral, innocent, good people will fall.
-This story is a warning about power and abusing control.
-By giving the evil side of humanity a name of its own, Golding shows the reader how important and powerful this side can be.
-It is almost an entity of its own, which controls all life.
-This reinforces how dangerous humans can be.
-In Lord of the Flies, we are shown a small society which appears to be civilized at first, but Golding shows that this apparent civility is just hiding what really lurks within the hearts of people: evil.
-Golding suggests that, even while societies and civilizations thrive and grow, they’re only hiding the metaphorical evil beast that lurks within all of us.
-This ‘beast’ cannot ever be destroyed, but is just hidden.
-Sometimes, the beastly nature will rear its head, causing horrible things to happen.
-Evil is always waiting for a chance to take over.
-The boys’ appearance changes as savagery descends.
-They begin as well-dressed, nicely-groomed young men who follow rules and obey orders.
-However, as soon as they are given the chance (by Jack) to rebel against civility, they grab it and abandon their appearance of civilized young boys.
-Then, the brutality of the pig hunt excites the boys and they lose themselves in the mob.
-They then kill Simon.
-As their savage natures begin to be allowed to take hold, they drop further and further into evil, killing and hurting as they go.
