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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
1Context
2Story Analysis
2.2Chapter 2
2.3Chapter 3
2.4Chapter 4
2.6Chapter 6
2.7Chapter 7
2.9Chapter 9
2.10Chapter 10
2.11Chapter 11
2.12Chapter 12
3Key Characters
4Key Concepts
5Writing Techniques
6Recap: Main Quotes
6.1Characters Quotes
6.2Text Structure - Quotes
6.2.1The Sound of the Shell - Quotations6.2.2Fire on the Mountain - Quotations6.2.3Huts on the Beach - Quotations6.2.4Painted Faces & Long Hair - Quotations6.2.5Beast from the Water - Quotations6.2.6Beast From the Air - Quotations6.2.7Shadows & Tall Trees - Quotations6.2.8Gift for the Darkness - Quotations6.2.9Gift for the Darkness - Quotations 26.2.10A View to a Death - Quotations6.2.11The Shell & the Glasses - Quotations6.2.12Castle Rock - Quotations6.2.13Cry of the Hunters - Quotations
Jump to other topics
1Context
2Story Analysis
2.2Chapter 2
2.3Chapter 3
2.4Chapter 4
2.6Chapter 6
2.7Chapter 7
2.9Chapter 9
2.10Chapter 10
2.11Chapter 11
2.12Chapter 12
3Key Characters
4Key Concepts
5Writing Techniques
6Recap: Main Quotes
6.1Characters Quotes
6.2Text Structure - Quotes
6.2.1The Sound of the Shell - Quotations6.2.2Fire on the Mountain - Quotations6.2.3Huts on the Beach - Quotations6.2.4Painted Faces & Long Hair - Quotations6.2.5Beast from the Water - Quotations6.2.6Beast From the Air - Quotations6.2.7Shadows & Tall Trees - Quotations6.2.8Gift for the Darkness - Quotations6.2.9Gift for the Darkness - Quotations 26.2.10A View to a Death - Quotations6.2.11The Shell & the Glasses - Quotations6.2.12Castle Rock - Quotations6.2.13Cry of the Hunters - Quotations
Practice questions on Human Nature
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