"However Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sickÃÂ(Golding 128). This quote from William GoldingÃÂs novel, Lord of the Flies, effectively suggests that human beings are evil; which is also the main theme of the novel. In the novel, the major characters at the ending reinforce GoldingÃÂs negative view of human nature.
Golding provides his view of human nature very early in the novel. The island on which the boys land is described as a paradise with a variety of flora and fauna. Upon the boysÃÂ landing, the tube carrying the boys causes a scar on the island. The intensity of the destruction caused by the scar is described: ÃÂAll round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heatÃÂ(Golding 11). However, the destruction does not stop there. Later, the boys burn down a large part of the island as a result of their carelessness.
Lord of the Flies
English: Cottages, The Green, Marlborough William ...
William Golding medal in his former school, Salisb...Here, Golding shows that humans cause destruction even if they did not mean to. He is almost suggesting that causing destruction is second nature to us humans. At the end of the novel, the destruction comes full circle when JackÃÂs tribe burns down the entire island. The presence of the boys has completely changed the island from a beautiful paradise to a charred wreckage.
GoldingÃÂs pessimistic view of human nature is further expanded with the issue of hunting. As the novel progresses, JackÃÂs level of obsession with hunting continues to escalate until the very end of the novel. It is interesting to note that although the island has an abundance of fruits and the boys can easily catch fish and crabs at the beach, Jack insists on hunting to get meat. Later on, he enjoys hunting as if...