The Beast In Golding's Lord Of The Flies
An Analysis of the Beast in Golding’s The Lord of the Flies
The Anglo American poet, W.H. Auden, once claimed that “evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our table.” The British author William Golding expresses this idea of inner, or innate, evil in his novel The Lord of the Flies. In The Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys, who have recently crashed onto a deserted but Eden-like island, to govern themselves, uses their pubescent knowledge of their former democratic civilization to horrendously unfruitful results. Throughout the novel, Golding regularly points out, sometimes explicitly and sometimes through symbolism, that the reason for their descent into bloodthirsty savages is attributed to his belief …show more content…
This is illustrated during the few lines of his appearance, in which “the ululation faltered and died away”(200). The appearance of this adult figure is enough to bring order back to the boys, silencing them in a way the conch did at the beginning of the novel. Even Jack, who is the leader of the savages, is silenced by the appearance of the officer, as he “started forward, then changed his mind and stood still.”(201) Jack, who has tried to take control and establish a tyrannical rule, is seen willingly allowing Ralph, who is a symbol of a democratic and orderly government, to take the position of leader. While the savagery on the island has died down with the appearance of the naval officer, the power of the beast is only suppressed with the image of the “trim cruiser in the distance”(202), a symbol …show more content…
The beast of Golding’s island is an argument by Golding about the deadly effects of the absence of a proper civilization, which provides necessities such as authorities, order, and most importantly rules. Without these benefits, man will begin to fear the forces that are outside of their control, the unknown, eventually resorting to irrational thinking and paranoia. It is this demonstration of irrational thinking in the boys that exposes what Golding claims to be the true beast, an absolute evil force that is rotten and corrupt to the core. As the boys’ belief in the beast is slowly solidified, this absolute evil inside of them festers, turning into savages that are merely shells of their former civilized selfs. Golding believes, however, that this beast that dwells within us can be contained by the reintroduction of society and authority, as shown by Golding’s
The Anglo American poet, W.H. Auden, once claimed that “evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our table.” The British author William Golding expresses this idea of inner, or innate, evil in his novel The Lord of the Flies. In The Lord of the Flies, a group of British boys, who have recently crashed onto a deserted but Eden-like island, to govern themselves, uses their pubescent knowledge of their former democratic civilization to horrendously unfruitful results. Throughout the novel, Golding regularly points out, sometimes explicitly and sometimes through symbolism, that the reason for their descent into bloodthirsty savages is attributed to his belief …show more content…
This is illustrated during the few lines of his appearance, in which “the ululation faltered and died away”(200). The appearance of this adult figure is enough to bring order back to the boys, silencing them in a way the conch did at the beginning of the novel. Even Jack, who is the leader of the savages, is silenced by the appearance of the officer, as he “started forward, then changed his mind and stood still.”(201) Jack, who has tried to take control and establish a tyrannical rule, is seen willingly allowing Ralph, who is a symbol of a democratic and orderly government, to take the position of leader. While the savagery on the island has died down with the appearance of the naval officer, the power of the beast is only suppressed with the image of the “trim cruiser in the distance”(202), a symbol …show more content…
The beast of Golding’s island is an argument by Golding about the deadly effects of the absence of a proper civilization, which provides necessities such as authorities, order, and most importantly rules. Without these benefits, man will begin to fear the forces that are outside of their control, the unknown, eventually resorting to irrational thinking and paranoia. It is this demonstration of irrational thinking in the boys that exposes what Golding claims to be the true beast, an absolute evil force that is rotten and corrupt to the core. As the boys’ belief in the beast is slowly solidified, this absolute evil inside of them festers, turning into savages that are merely shells of their former civilized selfs. Golding believes, however, that this beast that dwells within us can be contained by the reintroduction of society and authority, as shown by Golding’s