Kai Hooper Lord of the Flies Essay English 11

Are Humans Inherently Evil or is it Our Actions That Shape Us

Although there is a clear distinction between the formal views of civilization and

savagery, it is sometimes hard to see who the real savages are. William Golding’s The Lord of

the Flies prove to us that savagery can be found in everyone. Our world operates on the belief

that we are righteous but often are thrilled by many traditional ideas of savagery and evil.

Humans have developed systems where we are controlled and have rules and order with people

of authority. These systems have been successful but do not prevent our “inherent evil”

according to William Golding. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding believes that the boys need an

authoritative figure to prevent them from forgetting their old lives and transitioning into savages,

but this is not fully accurate. It was said that the boys needed an authoritative figure, but people

have begun to take their life into their own hands. Humans are one of the smartest animals on

earth and have had the ability to think for themselves all through history resulting in engrained

morals.

In the beginning of the book, the boys search for a person of authority. At first Ralph and

Piggy looked for an Adult whose example they could follow; Piggy exclaimed “where is the man

with the megaphone? there was a pilot, but he wasn’t in the passenger tube” (Golding 2). But

they found that there were no adults on the island only many boys. They started to create a

system of authority within their group, with a strong focus on democracy as Ralph was elected

leader, all the children had “Given him the same simple obedience as they had given the men

with the megaphones” (Golding 14). Each boy was appointed jobs that had to be done, such as

collecting water, hunting, building shelters, and keeping the fire going. Their system for the short

term was effective until some of the boys abandoned their jobs to play and have fun and quickly
Kai Hooper Lord of the Flies Essay English 11

the order went to chaos.

Furthermore, many of the boys started forgetting about their old lives which was

dangerous because they disobeyed the rules put in place by their leaders. Jack felt that he

deserved the leader role more than Ralph because he wanted power and thought he had the boy’s

best interest at heart. “Ralph sighed, Sensing the rising antagonism, understanding that this was

how Jack felt as soon as he ceased to lead.” (Golding 129), Ralph noticed that Jack wanted his

position and would do anything to get it even while Ralph was trying his best to maintain the

rules and help all the boys get rescued. Jack left the group “I’m not going to be part of Ralph’s

lot” (Golding 140) and a couple of boys went with him but as hours passed many others left.

Eventually all the boys except the twins, Piggy, Ralph and a few littluns stayed trying to keep

their fire alight. Jack’s new tribe descended into savagery, they were obsessed with hunting and

killing animals, not caring if they were rescued or not. They also started to fight with Ralph’s

small group, stealing fire and tormenting Piggy. Eventually the tribe forgot who they had been in

their previous lives and the boys killed Piggy and hunted down Ralph.

On the other hand, in today’s society humans would have a much harder time forgetting

about one’s life and personal values. William Golding leads you to believe that humans are

inherently evil but that is not fully the case; there may be a few people who are driven by the

thrill of savagery but for the most part we would stick to our morals because ever since birth you

develop your beliefs and ways of life. There are similarities between how to boy’s act in Lord of

the Flies and boys in real life, most humans are power hungry and want to be in the controlling

position just like Jack, and although humans may not be evil at heart, we are still naturally

greedy. People do not necessarily need someone there all the time for guidance because we still

all rely on our morals, although it is helpful when there is a person of authority to look up to.
Kai Hooper Lord of the Flies Essay English 11

Elon Musk is an example of someone who has been able to take control to prevent catastrophic

situations. He is helping to world move to a cleaner and safer way of life and has had the

leadership capabilities to move towards a better future. Society is moving towards more

independence which is causing people to think for themselves and pursue their own path.

Because of the time that Lord of the Flies was written Golding had a belief that humans

needed a leader which was the case during and after the wars, but this idea is not as prevalent

today. It is helpful for humans to have another to follow but not necessary in preventing

savagery. Although the ideas of savagery written in the book are very traditional our society still

acts aggressively towards each other. It is sometimes hard to distinguish between what we view

as savagery and what actions are savage, but it is important that we do to better ourselves and the

world around us.

Kai Hooper Lord of the Flies Essay English 11

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Faber and Faber, 1954.

Vance, Ashlee. Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. HarperCollins,
2015.