Mrs. Pompilio
Lord of the Flies
19 November, 2012
Good or Evil Humans are born both good and evil. Some believe humans are born evil and some think it depends on your morals. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies believes humans are born evil but society keeps us from showing it. He believes all humans are born innately evil. Golding shows the reader this through examples in Lord of the Flies. Jeffery Kluger, the author of Time magazine article “What Makes Us Moral” believes it depends on how you are raised. William Golding and Jeffery Kluger have different opinions on if people are born innately good or innately evil.
William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, believes humans are born innately evil through Lord of the Flies. Golding shows humans are evil through this quote "Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry-threw it to miss" (Golding 62). This shows humans are evil because Roger is devolving from civilization and society is the only thing keeping him from Henry. Roger’s arm is controlled by civilization which is stopping him from throwing the rock at Henry. Another example is when the boys kill Simon. "A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe." (Golding 152). This shows humans are evil because the boys kill Simon even though they know he will be the only one to emerge from the forest. Simon’s death is showing the boys are devolving from civilization to somewhat of bad humans in their own microcosm on the island. Another example is when the boys kill the female pig. "Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her. This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic; she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood