Good And Evil In Lord Of The Flies

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Evil and good are common themes in literature that writers and readers have been discussing for centuries. Even through countless novels, the struggle between evil and good is a topic that keeps readers coming back. Good is synonymous with light and morality, while evil is associated with darkness and violence. The lines between evil and good are often blurred and criss-crossed, so how is it possible to distinguish the good from the bad, and vice-versa? Evil is hard to unveil, and even harder to recognize. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the boys fail to recognize the evil that builds as their civilization starts to crumble.

Evil is first shown in the form of fear, and more specifically, the beast. For example, “ ‘He wants to know …show more content…
Simon is the first who is killed in an attack by Jack and his hunters trying to kill “the beast” crawling out of the jungle. “A thing was crawling out of the forest. ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!’...leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. Only the beast lay still...its blood was staining the sand”(152-153). When Jack and his tribe murder Simon, that is when their party turns from destructive to sinful. Their evil nature is shown by their inability to register that they had killed Simon, not the beast. Jack insists that the beast may come again, saying “No! How could we-kill-it?”(160). Their complete obliviousness to their acts conveys to the reader that they have accepted the violence, and have cast out their old thinking for malevolence and cruelty. Even Ralph and Piggy are in denial of Simon’s murder, as they try to convince themselves otherwise of his death. Civilization as the boys knew it broke when they murdered Simon; a classic savior figure and symbol of purity. Piggy is the second murdered, his death the last connection to logic and reasoning. “The rock struck Piggy...the conch exploded...Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back...the body of Piggy was gone”(181). Piggy’s death is the death of logic and higher thinking, the last moral compass to guide Ralph. The destruction of the conch also symbolizes the ruins of control and order for the boys. With the last righteous elements from their society destroyed, evil prospers. The hunters were invigorated by their actions, turning to murder Ralph as well, their last remaining hope of survival. “ ‘We're going to spread out in a line across the island-’ ‘-until we find you’...smoke was seeping through the branches”(189 and 195). Jack and his hunters are destructive, bent only on killing Ralph. The chase symbolizes that evil has finally taken over the entire
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