Lord of the Flies

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   ms-mcgregor Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

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   Golding does not believe humans are entirely evil. It just that they have an intrinsic part of them that is evil and must be controlled. In the novel this part of mankind is personified as the beast. The evidence for his belief can be found in the plot,symbols and dialogue in the novel. At the beginning of the novel, the boys decide to follow democratic procedures. However, without strong leadership, by the end of the book they are little savages. Simon, the real thinker of the group is the first to recognize the problem when he says, " Maybe it's [the beast] is us." When Simon talks to the "Lord of the Flies" it says "I'm part of you." That's why the boys cannot defeat it on their own. Finally, when Simon finally goes to take a look at "the beast" he finds it is human, a dead parachutist. This confirms the idea that "the beast", is human. At the end of the novel, Golding destroys all the symbols of democracy as the boys become little savages. The conch, Piggy glasses and Piggy are all destroyed and if it weren't for the British navy, Ralph, the last holdout for democracy, would also have been killed.

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   Posted by ms-mcgregor on Sunday October 12, 2008 at 10:05 PM
   
   

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