The Extent to Which William Golding Portrays Mankind as Being Inherently Evil :: William Golding Lord of the Flies Essays

The Extent to Which William Golding Portrays Mankind as Being Inherently Evil Although I do not think he shows humans to be completely, irrevocably evil, I think that Golding paints an increasingly dim picture of humankind. As his faith in humanity's intrinsic good fails, Golding's foresight of a dark future for man is reflected in the colour of his metaphorical oil paints as he writes this allegorical novel. Even supposedly innocent children are shown to be incredibly sinful and the rules and regulations they are brought up under fade away into insignificance. This mirrors William Golding's belief that people are born corrupt and malevolent, they are not influenced into bad ways; rather it is something about us as a species. Throughout his story, Golding demonstrates the true nature of people coming out into the open - manifesting itself more openly after being restrained by society for so long. At the start of Lord Of The Flies, there is chaos amidst horrendous storms, with panicky schoolboys unregulated and vulnerable. Together though, they set about their predicament in a very well meaning, sophisticated way - everything is orderly and civilised in true boy-scout fashion. The boys act above their ages and decide they ought to "...call the others...have a meeting"(I, p. 22), to organise themselves and to build shelters after their adult 'election'. Like in Parliament, only one person is allowed to speak at once and the conch helps to enforce this. With the well meaning and democratic Ralph in charge, even specific jobs are allocated amongst the children with Jack's choir designated the island's hunters. However, even at this early stage, the children test the limits of this new adult-less world. Jack says to Piggy, "Shut up, Fatty"(I, p. 28). Then, the name-calling continues with Ralph even, abusing Piggy's trust and revealing his former private nickname merely for a cheap laugh. Even the tiniest child joined in the resulting combined uproar of laughter - every one glad that there is no authority to discipline them. Later, when Piggy approaches Ralph about his betrayal, Ralph is caught between "...apology or further insult"(I, p. 33) as his conscience begins to falter. As the story progresses, incidences illustrating the immorality of the boys become more frequent and more prominent. Still in the first chapter, Ralph, Simon and Jack revel in the wanton destruction caused by their hands when they roll a boulder into the canopy below - they were transfixed by this "triumph"(I, p.37) and utter an excited "Wacco!"(I, p. 37). The first time the boys chance upon a pig, Jack crucially hesitates whilst considering the consequences of taking life. Though, as later on Jack renounces his social conditioning and