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Human nature is a strongly debated topic. People have different views about human nature. Golding believes that humans are inherently evil and when they lose touch with civilization they revert to their savage ways. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols to show his view about human nature.
Three symbols that show his view about human nature are the conch, the specs, and the fire. The conch is a symbol that shows Golding's view about human nature. The conch symbolizes unity and order. In the beginning of the novel Ralph blew the conch and all the kids came out of the forest, Meanwhile Ralph continued to blow till voices shouted in the forest (18). By bringing the boys together the conch symbolizes unity. The conch also symbolizes order.
When the boys are in a meeting only the boy with the conch can speak. Ill give the conch to the next person to speak (33). The conch symbolizes order by helping keep order during the meetings. As the novel progresses the conch starts to fade and is later destroyed.
Exposure to the air had bleached the yellow and pink to near white, and transparency (78). The fading of the conch is parallel to the deterioration of the boys society. At the near end of the novel, Roger rolls a boulder on Piggy, who is holding the conch, and the conch is destroyed. The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist (181). When the conch exploded, civilization had crumbled and the boys had reverted to their savage instincts.
Unity and order are a part of civilization. Without unity and order civilization cannot exist. The specs are another symbol that shows Golding's view about human nature. The specs symbolize technology and civilization. The specs are used by the boys to light the fire on top of the mountain. His specs-use them as burning specs (40).
Technology is part of civilization. Without it, civilization cant develop. Piggy constantly tries to clean his specs in difficult situations. In one of these cases the rest of the boys are making fun of Piggy and he is trying to clean his specs. For the moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside: he went very pink, bowed his head and cleaned his specs again (21).
The boys loose sight of civilization but Piggy doesnt and tries to keep the specs clear. At the end of the novel, Piggy's specs were broken at the confrontation of Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and Samneric with Jack and the rest of his followers. From his left hand dangled Piggy's broken specs (168). When Piggy's specs broke, civilization had crumbled and chaos took over. Another symbol that shows Golding's view about human nature is the fire. When the fire is used for good it symbolizes hope.
We can help them find us We must make smoke on top of the mountain (38). By making smoke on the mountain the boys had hope that a ship would see the smoke and save them. At the beginning of the novel the boys hope is very high but as the novel progresses their hope fades. When the fire is used for evil it symbolizes destruction. At the end of the novel Jack sets the whole island on fire. They had smoked him out and set the whole island on fire (197).
When the fire is controlled it can be used for good but when it is out of control it causes destruction and chaos. When our savage instincts are controlled by civilization it leads to good but when they are out of control it leads to evil. Human nature is a heavily disputed topic. In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding believes that humans are inherently evil and when they lose touch with civilization they revert to their savage ways. Golding shows his view about human nature using the conch, the specs, and the fire. The conch symbolized unity and order.
As the novel progresses the conch fades and is destroyed. The fading of the conch is parallel to the deterioration of the boys society. When the conch is destroyed, civilization is ravished. The specs symbolized technology and civilization. At the end of the novel the specs were broken. Without technology, civilization cannot develop.
The fire symbolizes hope when it is used for good but destruction when it is used for evil. When our savage instincts are controlled by civilization it leads to good but when they are out of control it leads to evil. Without unity, order, technology, and hope, civilization cannot exist.
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Research essay sample on Savage Instincts Inherently Evil
