The term evil can be defined as savage behaviours followed by strong desires. In both Lord of the Flies(LOTF) by William Golding and Jekyll and Hyde(J&H) written by Robert Louis Stevenson, evil is portrayed as cruel and selfish power that can make innocent boys and a well-respected gentleman even commit violence without feeling guilt. As their pursuit for physical satisfaction overweighs moral principles, evil emerges and completely dominates some of these novel’s characters. LOTF portrays how evil transforms innocent boys into vicious savages away from civilisation, while J&H depicts how evil takes over one individual completely. This essay will explore how the authors illustrate evil by comparing and contrasting the settings, characters and how evil itself takes over the good side of human.
The settings of both LOTF and J&H reflect
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In LOTF, evil begins to take over all the boys except Ralph who survives to the end and Simon and Piggy who get killed. In chapter two, a sudden fire breaks out on the island and ‘a tree exploded(explodes)… like a bomb.’ This simile ‘like a bomb’ shows the force of explosion and reminds the reader of the war in outside world. With the fire, ‘tall swathes of creepers rose for a moment into view, agonized, and went down again.’ The author’s use of personification of tree’s feeling allows the reader to sense the pain and agony of the nature, creating a foreboding sense of what will happen to the boys. This dominance is particularly evident as ‘a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame.’(Ch 2) By personifying the forest as ‘savage’, the reader can infer that the fire is symbolic of the spread of evil and savagery on the island. Nearing the end of the story, the fire engulfs the entire island when Ralph tries to escape from Jack’s tribe. Using the fire as a symbol of evil, this shows that the boys are completely under the control of savagery, far away from
Throughout human history, evil or cruelty exist in various shapes and sizes; furthermore, it can be seen through Hitler's concentration camps and to the US Japanese internment camps. Various novels portray these situations, such as “Schindler's list” and “Farewell to Manzanar.” Some novels, however portray the evil and cruelty of human society such as the Lord of Flies, and it is a novel that detects the flaw of society to the defects of human nature. William Golding, the author of the Lord of the Flies, emphasise a person of innocence, turning into savagery due to evil within them. It emphasises that evil is a trait of humankind that cannot be destroyed.
The Evil Within “All things truly wicked start from innocence,” Ernest Hemingway, (A Movable Feast.) The nature of evil lies within all human beings whether they realize it or not. Both Lord of the Flies and A Long Way Gone have main characters who struggle with the temptation of evil, and eventually give in to their dark side. Under harsh circumstances, the evil within all people comes out as an attempt to adapt to their environment. Authority figures are one of the major components affecting the development of evil within their followers.
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding conveys using rhetorical devices that everyone has innate evil and when evoked, it overcomes one’s sense of civility and humanity. The author creates a scenario whereby he places a group of boys onto an uninhabited island and examines how the group are effected over time. Through the course of the novel there is a considerable change in mentality throughout the group. The change is due to the lack of a strict and functioning society and ultimately the boys have degenerated into primitivity. In addition, the boys are becoming more evil, embodying evil in their own ways.
Interests in math and science. Mr Hyde had developed a potion that allowed him to turn into Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll found a way to separate his good side from his darker side, by transforming himself into a monster free of consciences. But he later found that he was turning into more and more into Mr Hyde. He started turning into Mr. Hyde in random places, the transformations got worse and worse.
In ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare shows the gradual change in the protagonist Macbeth by displaying how he goes from a hero to a tyrant. Similarly, in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, Stevenson includes the downfall of his protagonist in his story by showing him as a prestigious gentleman at the start of the play, but near the end he is shown as the villainous Mr Hyde. In ‘Macbeth’ the protagonists downfall is somewhat caused by the Witches and Lady Macbeth whereas in ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ the protagonists downfall is due to his addiction to his potion. At the start of the play, Macbeth is shown as kind and brave due to his acts in the war. King Duncan says, “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”.
Beowulf the epic poem and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde both have some sort of way of portraying evil in our english literature beowulf “the hero” was created some time in the 7th and 8th century by an unknown anglo saxon poet. Beowulf background info. States “comes from the OLD ENGLISH or ANGLO-SAXON Literary and Historical period of what was then ancient Britannia. This period of Old English extends from about 450 to 066, the year of the Norman-French conquest of England led by William of Normandy or known as William the Conqueror.” According to About Education “Beowulf may have been composed as an elegy for a king who died in the seventh century, but there is little evidence to indicate whom that king may have been.”
Exploring the darkness in man’s heart is one of the main themes in Lord of the Flies. The characters in the book are all schoolboys, a concept of which Golding is very familiar with and all of them portray different personalities of Ralph. In this essay, I will examine the ways in which the symbols are written to portray darkness in the heart of man and
The conch represents society and order. However, when “the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 260), it signifies the destruction of their society and civilized manners. It indicates the demise of their civilized instincts and exposes their animalistic instincts. Without law and order, the boys can only gradually become more brutal. Soon after the destruction of the conch, Jack “viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph” (Golding 261).
Evil is Within Everyone Without thinking, the laws and social rules we abide by every day are actually a fragile barrier keeping the worst of human nature from overtaking modern society. In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a plane full of British school boys is shot down over an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They are stranded without adult supervision or means to communicate with the outside world. This creates the perfect setting for Golding to explore the best and worst of human nature. It is in this setting that Golding illustrates what can happen when laws and rules vanish and human instinct reigns.
It has been said several times throughout history that human nature is constitutionally a negative force. This is further shown in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies when numerous young boys aged twelve and under are stranded on an island after a plane crash during World War 2. These children abandon all civilization and grow more savage as the literature progresses. The main boys: Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and Jack change exponentially throughout the novel, gradually losing themselves and any culture they had. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, depicts human nature’s inherent evil and man’s inability to escape it.
Many children dream of a place where they can run wild and not have any adult supervision, but few consider the consequences like their inner evil coming out and their humanity changing. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, symbolism is a key part in communicating the theme of The Inhumanity/Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the fire, and the Lord of the Flies. The fires symbolism of evil can be shown by the boys going wild at the sight of it and starting their wild chant, often hurting people. The lord of the flies holds symbolic power because it represents the boy's inner evil, and that they are the real “beasts.” The conch is seen through the boy's destruction of the island and each other throughout the book.
LORD OF THE FLIES Golding’s Thoughts on Good and Evil Good and evil are often thought of as choices and humans think, “Which path will I choose?” In having these thoughts, they confuse themselves, for evil is an untamable force. The novel Lord of The Flies presents the idea that evil is instinctive and make humans weak in the wake of its power. The author of the book, William Golding, conveys these ideas to us through the actions of the characters he writes about.
There are a number of differences and few similarities between the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The differences between the two men are mental, physical and moral. They are two separate personalities. Dr. Jekyll is an extremely intelligent and sane man with many good friends, known for his kindness and affectionate nature. On the other hand, Mr. Hyde is less educated, detestable and a loner.
The message of inner evil is portrayed throughout the book by the destruction of the conch, terrifying beast, and character developments to establish the hidden message throughout the novel. For instance, at the beginning of the novel, the conch symbolized order and power.
Humans are complex creatures. Understanding human nature is difficult, but the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding helps to show what true human nature looks like. Humans are inherently evil, but that evil is hidden by societal dictates. Throughout the novel, the human societal mask is stripped away and true human nature can be seen. Society enforces rules and trends that people feel they must follow.