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The "Lord of the Flies" and "Dr. Jekyll and M

Uploaded by spootyhead on Apr 18, 2007

Human Nature in The Lord of the Flies and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


With reference to the title, this essay will attempt to demonstrate Golding’s philosophy, that evil is a natural part of every human being. The origins of his work will be examined, such as his schoolteacher background, and the influences of his war time service. Similarly, Stevenson’s accusation that society is to blame for man’s evil will be discussed. The influences on this author will be shown to include his own Calvinist upbringing, his own past experiences, such as his observations of Victorian society, and his own fascination with duplicity. Detailed analysis of characters, language, symbolism, location, and the historical and social context in which both stories take place, will be also shown to reflect both authors’ philosophy and point of view.

When Golding wrote “Lord of the Flies” the world was in the grip of the “Cold War”. This was a war of words and propaganda, a fear of the spread of communism, and nuclear threat between the two great super powers of the Soviet Union and the United States of America (USA). The fear of a repeat of the atrocities of World War II, and the publication of Hitler’s evilness (“Mein Kampf”), such as his plan to exterminate a whole race, the Jewish people, had been greeted with denial and disbelief. Although he never succeeded in exterminating the whole race, the holocaust had claimed the lives of six million people. This act of barbaric depravity had shocked the world, leaving these supposedly developed countries disgusted at how this act could have happened in a “civilized” world. Hitler, a well educated and therefore, “civilized” man, illustrates Golding’s view that evil is innate, and may be the reason why the children in the text turn from civilized schoolboys to barbaric savages. Golding’s position as Navy commander also allowed him to see at first hand how the war acted as a trigger to unleash soldiers’ darker sides. His service took in the sinking of the “Bismarck” and the D Day Normandy landings, and caused him to say that only “original sin” could be the reason. He was appalled that one race of humans could so easily annihilate another.

The war, although a strong aspect, was not the only influence on Golding. His experience...

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Uploaded by:   spootyhead

Date:   04/18/2007

Category:   Literature

Length:   21 pages (4,646 words)

Views:   3807

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