Lord of the Flies :: essays research papers

"It is a mans own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to worthless ways." (Buddha) Is man basically good or is man basically evil? In the popular novel, Lord of the Flies, William Goldings shows that man is basically evil, but that man can overcome those instincts if he tries. Simon, Ralph, and Piggy are prime examples of retention their good character. In each of them there is a desire to do good. They show throughout the novel that it is possible, even when surrounded by evil, to put asunder desires and keep good morals.Simon is the morally good boy. His selflessness and goodness comes from within. He is kind to the little boys, and helps the outcasts. For example, when none of the boys want to give Piggy meat from the world-class pig, Simon steps up and takes him meat. "Simonwiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy"(p.74) While everyone else is cruel to the young ones, he helps the "liluns" grab meat from the trees w hen they cant reach. "Simon found for them the production they could not reach, pulled off the choicestpassed them back to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.56) Simon helps those whom no one else is kind to, perhaps remembering that he was looked down upon once. He realizes what its like to be detested and to be the "little one", so he tries to make it less miserable for the outcasts by being kind to them. He wants to always help others, so when he discovers the beast is inside of everyone, not external, as they had imagined, he instantly runs down the mountain to tell him. He helps others even to the point of death. Simon is not the besides one to demonstrate selflessness in the book. Ralph is the shows his kindness and goodness at the very beginning of the book. As leader, he desires for all of the boys to be safely save and for them to be taken care of. "If this isnt an island we might get rescued straight awayeveryone must stay around here and wait and not go away." (p. 22) He starts out with the best intentions in mind, and wants to have the best for everyone. As the novel continues, and evil intensifies, Ralph wont participate in the wickedness of others. He keeps away from evil by having quiet times by himself and keeping his goal, to be rescued, in front of himself.