Internal Enemy :: essays research papers

The Internal Enemy A good novel’s theme is often proven by the character’s actions. A novel in which this occurs is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In Lord of the Flies Golding uses various characters to portray that man is basically evil because of his violence and irresponsibility. One can see that Golding’s theme of the novel is that man is basically evil because of his violence when the savages steal Piggy’s glasses and when Roger kills Piggy. When the savages come to steal Piggy’s glasses they start a fight. Instead of peacefully stealing the glasses the savages lash out at the boys leaving them bruised and bloodied. The fight that the savages provoke is an example of their violence which helps prove that the theme of the novel is that man is basically evil. A second way in which Golding demonstrates this, is the incident where Roger kills Piggy. Roger seems to kill Piggy, not because he is a threat, but because Roger seems to experience a primitive desire to kill. When Roger kills Piggy he performs the task thoughtlessly and does not experience any remorse. The fact that Roger kills Piggy again shows man’s violence, proving that the theme of the novel is that man is basically evil. The above examples have helped prove Golding’s theme. Another way in which Golding portrays man as being basically evil is their irresponsibility when no one helps Ralph build huts and when the hunters let the fire go out. The boys voted that building huts was important and that shelter was a necessity, but none of them helped Ralph and Simon make the huts. This shows that they are not interested in living in a civilized society. When the boys are unwilling to build huts they show that they are irresponsible and that the theme of this novel is that man is basically evil. An additional way that the boys show their irresponsibility is when the hunters let the fire go out. Although they thought that it was important to be rescued they were reluctant to help with the fire, their only hope of rescue. They are more interested in killing than in being rescued. It is evident that Golding portrays man as being basically evil because the boys do