William Goldings The Lord of the Flies” is an exploration...

William Golding’s novel â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† is an exploration into the idea of the savage natural instinct of human evil. It is suggested that Golding’s novel is partly based upon his real life experiences with the violence and brutality of World War II. The novel defines the struggle within all humans to differentiate between the learned civilized instinct and the human savage instinct. The civilized instinct is the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully. The savage instinct is the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, forget morals, and indulge in violence. Early on in the novel the boys elect Ralph as the leader who has a strong civilized instinct. He quickly tries to restore order and†¦show more content†¦As the novel progresses the Jack soon becomes more in touch with his natural savage instincts and his urge for bloodlust. The feud between Ralph and Jack continues to escalate when the hunters are so consumed with hunting and killing that they forget to keep the signal fire lit and the group missing the opportunity to be rescued by a passing ship. The hunters fall deeper into the grip of the savage instinct and are so consumed with the pig they killed that they barley acknowledge the fact that they let the fire go out, and let an opportunity to be rescued slip away. Ralph, Simon, and Piggy represent the idea of the civilizing instinct and that power should be used for good and to help the group. Jack, and Roger represent the savage instinct, and the idea that power should enable those who hold it to act on their own impulses and desires and treat the lesser children badly for their own amusement. The main theme that all humans will revert to their natural savage instinct comes to fruition when Ralph joins the hunt for a large boar. During the hunt Ralph’s savage instincts take over and he gets caught up in the exhilarating chase. The boys then reenact the chase and get so caught up in their savage instinct that they almost kill a boy named Robert who was playing the part of the boar. The fact that even the very civilized and moral Ralph gets caught up in the bloodlust andShow MoreRelatedLord Of The Flies By William Golding869 Words   |  4 PagesLord of the Flies Psychology Sometimes people wear fake personas like a cloak over their shoulders, used to hide what is really underneath. This harsh reality is witnessed in William Golding’s classic Lord of the Flies, a novel that is famous for not only its sickening plot, but also for the emotional breakdowns all of its characters experience. These issues are akin to those shown in certain real-world psychological experiments. 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