Good Vs Evil In Lord Of The Flies

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Evil is defined as profoundly immoral or wicked forces, or the opposite of good. All humans have the capacity to do evil, and whether or not they succumb to that dark temptation is entirely their own choice. Some people spend their entire lives fighting to overcome their darkness, while others will never escape the black abyss they have created for themselves. Life is a constant struggle between good and evil, and according to Golding, evil almost always triumphs over good. In the novel, “Lord of the Flies,” Golding believes that since humans have the capacity to resort to savagery and evil, they will inevitably choose to do the wrong thing, and this trait will singlehandedly lead to their demise; only a few humans can escape these instinctive…show more content…
Piggy is one of the main characters of the novel, and opposes the savage behavior and lack of rules on the island. He is later killed by Roger, “with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever…the rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee…His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it had been killed” (Golding 167). Piggy and Roger are like opposites, and when Piggy is killed by Roger, it symbolizes the triumph of evil over good. It suggests the end of rational thinking and logic, and civilization altogether. At this point, no one attempts to keep up the façade of being civilized. Piggy’s death marks the collapse of society and the beginning of complete chaos that replaces it. When he dies, the conch he holds “explode[s] into a thousand white fragments and cease[s] to exist” (Golding 167). The destruction of the conch, which represented law and order, further proves the end of civilization and order. Simon meets the sow’s head, and “his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition” (Golding 128). Simon immediately recognizes the sow’s head for what it truly is. The sow’s head represents Beelzebub, or “Lord of the Flies.” It also symbolizes the boys’ cruelty towards living things.. He has a conversation with the…show more content…
At the last scene, Ralph and the other boys are saved by the naval officer. Without the intervention of an adult, the boys would have slowly died. Because of the fire, the whole island is “scorched up like dead wood” (Golding 186), meaning that the food is gone and the water is contaminated by the ashes and remains. Had the officer not found them, they would have completely destroyed themselves and the island. In return for being rescued, they managed to burn down the island and destroy all of the animals and plants that lived there. That is the curse of humanity, to destroy itself and everything in its path. The naval officer himself, with his “white drill, epaulettes, a revolver,” and on the ship, “a sub-machine gun” came to rescue them, but he is on a hunt of his own to destroy men, because they are at war. He is no different from the boys. This shows that even the adult world is full of war and conflict, and the boys cannot escape from it. The ending seems hopeful, but in reality, they will leave the island only to face a bigger war. They will always have to struggle. Coincidentally, the boys who were acting savages only minutes before, all stopped when they were in the naval officer’s presence. Perhaps the presence of
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