Lord of the Flies--The Evils of Mankind
Throughout human history, the issue of power has been the source of countless wars and
violence, and so has it sparked inspiration in many philosophers to develop potentially better
systems of government. The Age of Enlightenment saw many philosophers sprout with new
ideas on forms of government to replace or refine the archaic norm of absolute monarchy; one
such controversial thinker was Thomas Hobbes. In his widely-recognized book, The Leviathan,
he claimed that, because human beings are naturally selfish and evil, one must cede his or her
rights to the absolute monarch so that peace can be established and maintained. However, if all
human beings are cruel, then monarchs are not any different from the evil of those he rules. In
William Golding’s 1954 novel The Lord of the Flies, Golding reflects Hobbes’ ideas about human
nature as he depicts the governing of a cluster of stranded boys on an island, from the lack of
cohesion of Ralph’s attempt to rationally lead them back to civilization, to Jack’s manipulation
of the children into savagery. William Golding thus qualifies Thomas Hobbes’ position,
supporting that humans are naturally selfish and evil but refuting his claim that an absolute
ruler would make “wise” decisions through his illustration of Jack’s greed for power, hostile acts
to
Ralph
and
Piggy,
and
manipulation
of
his
followers.
Thomas Hobbes, an Enlightenment philosopher, claimed that mankind is naturally evil and
selfish and will cause conflicts “if any two men desire the same thing, which they nevertheless
cannot both enjoy” or have differing opinions, in order to gain more power so that they can
freely pursue their selfish desires, especially “during the time men live without a common
power” and “in that condition which is called war, every man against every man,” and are
therefore incapable of self-governing. Hobbes’ position on human nature is easily observable;
intolerance and bigotry causes violence and general public fear, which leads to a lack of
productivity, mostly caused by “continual fear and danger of violent death.” For example,
numerous countries from ancient Rome to America have seen its own people clash violently in
civil wars rooting from controversies in which different ideas are not tolerated by one another.
The battle at the frontlines and warzones spread paranoia to citizens, who feared their lives and
property might be suddenly destroyed, and therefore were not prolific in their work. As each
country’s economy rests heavily on the productivity of its workers, this wide-spread fear caused
many economies to decline and collapse. In the American Civil War, the utter destruction of the
South’s resources, basic units of production (plantations), and cities, left over a third of America
in a state of desolation, which did not display signs of rationalism. In reality, the “rationalism”
humans have attempted to maintain is a mere, thin suppressor of the selfishness and savagery
of
human
nature.
William Golding fully reflects and supports Hobbes view on human nature in The Lord of the
Flies. In the book, the several boys try to set up a temporary “government” in which Ralph, one
of the older boys, plans rational approaches to return to civilization that incorporates
everyone’s effort but later fails due to the little kids’ selfishness and immaturity. For example,
when Ralph, for the first time, instructs the group to build a signal fire and a select few to
monitor it so that they might get rescued, the kids rush up the mountain and hastily start a fire
“like a crowd of kids,” complains Piggy, a scholarly boy who is looked down upon for his
appearance. A large portion of the group join Jack in hunting pigs with wooden sticks. Ralph
also tells some of the schoolboys to help build shelters, but with the impatient kids escaping
towards the beach to play, they achieve very little progress on them. Worse still, the unguarded
fire burns out while a ship sails by the island, signifying a missed opportunity to return to
civilization, and possibly, surviving. The self-seeking and belligerent nature of the little kids
(known as “littluns”) in leaving their temporary jobs already indicates their lack of intention to
get rescued and creates conflict with frustrated Ralph. As Jack jousts with Ralph for power, the
two become enemies, and later in the book, Jack stops at nothing to eliminate Ralph personally
and nearly slays him by setting the island ablaze, only stopped by the intervention of a naval
officer. If left unchecked, evil and savagery have no bounds. According to Hobbes, if people are
evil and self-seeking by nature, absolute monarchy is then the most effective method to
governing as a monarch can use various tactics including secret police and unquestioned laws,
with severe punishments for violations, to completely control his country and maintain peace
among the people. On the other hand, if people are naturally “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and
short *lived+,” as stated in Hobbes’ Leviathan, the citizens whom an absolute monarch rules
would be subject to a greater magnitude of cruelty and evil at his discretion. For example,
though there are numerous others similar, in the late-18th century, Louis XVI of France abused
his power and neglected even the basic needs of survival and health of the peasants which
made up over 80% of France’s population. In return, those peasants along with others in the
middle class of France started the violent French revolution full of savagery and bloodshed.
Through Jack, Golding refutes Hobbes’ proposal of an absolute monarchy. In the first half of the
novel, Ralph’s ineffectual leadership gradually declines as Jack Merridew, an arrogant and
vicious biggun (that represents an absolute monarch), gains power in promoting the violent
nature of hunting and appealing to the boys’ innate belligerence. As a leader, Jack gives his
followers approval to be savage, and even on their first successful hunt, they develop a wild,
energetic chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (69). At the same time, many
littluns experience nightmares of a “beastie” lurking in the island forests. While only one boy,
Simon, seems to understand the beast as the common fear inside all humans that causes
savagery as a group, the others let fear control them and even gradually spread to some
bigguns. Jack uses the paranoia of the littluns to his advantage and forms a tribe of his own; his
brutal pig-hunting attracts many littluns, whose savagery from shared fear excites their innate
capacity for violence, as Golding claims in his article “Why Boys Become Vicious.” Jack further
manipulates his followers into more vicious acts, and blinded by their fear, together, they hurt
themselves in insane simulations of hunting and accidentally kill wise Simon, their only hope for
an immediate exit out of savagery. Through this, Golding demonstrates the heightened
intensity
of
evil
an
absolute
ruler
can
cause
to
his
subjects.
In Golding’s perspective, Thomas Hobbes’ theory on the evils of human nature is correct and
observable, but his proposal for continuing absolute monarchy almost contradicts his own ideas
that all humans are naturally selfish and evil, as an evil and selfish monarch exacerbates the
wickedness of the people. The negative human nature can only be halted or diminished by rules
in an organized civilization.