Hoffer 1 Josh Hoffer Ms.

O English 1B, Period 6 17 April 2012 Lord of the Flies Little kids quickly turn into evil savages in the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boys is stranded on an uninhabited island, they start out with a system of order, but it is quickly corrupted by evil. I believe that William Golding shows how people naturally evil in the book. People are shown as being evil by how the boys become savages, how social order breaks down, and that they worship the beast, who represents Satan. People are also shown to be naturally evil because they turn into savages. Jack and his hunters hunt a boar, and they wear camouflage. When they attack the boar they chant Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!(152). Also when Jack and his hunters hunt they wear paint as if they were savages. Finally, when they are being rescued the littluns bellies are distended from malnutrition which shows they do not have a form of civilization and have become savages. They are shown to be evil because they are savages. People are naturally evil because their form of social order breaks down. They choose Ralph as their chief, but Jack does not listen to Ralphs orders to make shelters, instead he goes off and hunts because he wants meat. Also in the beginning of the book they find a shell that can make a loud sound called a conch and they use this shell to organize meetings and to maintain order. The conch at first helps maintain order , but then they start to ignore the conch. When the conch breaks in the fight between the hunters and Ralph it symbolises that all order has disappeared. When they are rescued the officer says, We saw your smoke, what have you been doing? Having a War or

Hoffer 2 something?(201). There was a fight between Jack and almost everyone else against Ralph in this fight they kill Piggy. This shows that they do not have order because they do not care about the consequences of a war and killing people. They do not have a social order because they ignore the conch and the authority put in place. They are shown as being naturally evil because they worship the beast. After they kill the sow, Jack says, This head is for the beast, Its a gift.(137). They give the beast a sacrifice so that it will leave them alone. Next, they do not go to the mountain. The mountain is the best place for a rescue fire, but they believe the beast is there. This shows that they fear the beast and would rather submit to it than fight and kill it. Finally, they kill Simon, who represents Christ, and chant while they kill him which shows that they are evil because Simon would be the enemy of the beast. People are shown to be evil because they turn into savages, their social order breaks down and because the worship the beast. Firstly, they are shown to become savages, because they hunt and chant, wear camouflage and the littluns suffer from malnutrition. Next they are shown to be evil when their social order disintegrates because they ignore the conch and ignore Ralphs orders. Finally they are evil because they are worshiping the beast when they gave it the pigs head and when they kill Simon. They are proven to be evil because they turn into savages, have no order and because they worship the beast.

Works Cited

Hoffer 3 Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.