Lord of the Flies by William Golding is famous among the readers for its theme centered on civilization and savagery. One of the most important concepts that relate to the theme is the “essential illness of the mankind.” The essential illness is not an actual physical illness, but is a part of the mind of a human. In the novel, the essential illness is described as the natural evilness, which comes from human nature. Also, the illness is possessed by all humans, no matter their backgrounds. Most importantly, it is described to contribute to the fall of civilization without the supervision of super ego. First, according to the novel, mankind's essential illness is the evil which is part of human nature. This argument is indirectly introduced …show more content…
As mentioned in the first sentence of this essay, the entire novel is heavily centered on this idea. However, perhaps one of the most important quotes that support this is the one following right after the quote introduced in the first body paragraph of this essay, where the Lord of the Flies continues to talk, “‘Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” Again, the Beast clearly and directly states out the facts of himself. In this case, the word “things” means the situation in which super ego is fading away and the roots of civilization is shaking. At the very last moment of the novel, Golding puts together the relationship between the Beast and the fall of civilization along with Ralph’s cry. It states, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” The three words listed have symbolic meanings. “Innocence” represents good, “darkness of man’s heart” represents the essential illness, and “Piggy” represents civilization. This indicates that the essential illness and the fall of civilization are closely tied