4.1.1

Human Nature

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Human Nature (in a society without rules)

Golding uses Lord of the Flies to show the dangers of allowing human nature to run free with no limits or rules.

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Savagery

  • 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.
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Microcosm

  • 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.
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Regulations

  • 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.
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Human nature

  • In the novel, Golding places the boys on a deserted island, far from adult civilisation, 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 and reason, and into savagery.
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Symbols

  • At the start, the boys generally recognise their need for organisation, 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.
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The beast

  • Golding suggests that humans are naturally savage, driven by primal urges (such as hunger, greed, power, dominance, etc.) – this is the “beast” from the novel.
  • Throughout the novel, Golding shows how this inner evil of humanity could take control and, if it did, the consequences would be catastrophic.

The Beast

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.

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The beast

  • Piggy says it’s just fear but Simon knows “maybe it’s only us”.
  • Representing evil inside, the beast tells Simon it cannot be hunted and destroyed.
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Inner evil of humanity

  • 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.
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A warning about power

  • 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.
  • The story is a warning about power and abusing control.
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Danger

  • 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.

Savagery

Golding uses the novel to show that people are basically savage creatures.

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Evil

  • In Lord of the Flies, we are shown a small society which appears to be civilised at first, but Golding shows that this apparent civility is just hiding what really lurks within the hearts of people: evil.
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Metaphor

  • Golding suggests that, even while societies and civilisations thrive and grow, they are only hiding the metaphorical evil beast that lurks within all of us.
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The beast

  • 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.
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Appearance

  • 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 civilised young boys.
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Savage nature

  • 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.

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