I wrote an essay for english about how none of the main characters were completely good or evil so i have it if you wanna read it!
btw it was a timed essay, so some things like my thesis, quote integration, and word choice might be a bit weird or off, so please cut me some slack as i only had 40 minutes to do this :)
Is there anybody out there who is truly evil or completely good? In William Goldingâs Lord of the Flies, the main characters are often associated with evil or goodness initially. But is this truly the case? None of the characters in the novel are completely bad or good, and these moral ideas people impose on them are based in how the boys themselves view each other. Jack believes Ralph is bad, Ralph thinks Jack is a murderous villain, but Simon is the only character who takes the boys for who they are and how they are affected by fear.
Firstly, Jack thinks that Ralph is a bad person since Ralph does not conform to his standard of savagery. On the island, Jack assumes the role of a dictator over the Biguns, but Ralph is one of the few that refuses to join his tribe. Because of this, Jack sees him as a threat towards his style of ruling using the beast, for Ralph knows that it is not real; Jack realizes that that could lead to the downfall, thus making him want to paint Ralph in a negative light to his tribe. Also, Jack is very insecure about himself, to the extent that âhumiliating tears [run] from the corner of each eyeâ when he is not immediately followed or obeyed (127). Because Ralph does not submit to Jack, he feels further threatened by him. Jack does not want to be viewed as a coward by his tribe, therefore providing another reason for him to present Ralph as the real villain to his group of savages. Overall, Jack is aware that Ralph could expose him for what he truly is, thus he perceives Ralph to be evil.
Next, Ralph thinks that Jack is the enemy since Jack keeps on sabotaging his hopes for rescue. Towards the beginning, Ralph has an idea of making a fire so that âif a ship comes near the island, it [will] notice [them]â (38). Jack initially agrees with Ralph, and he says that he and his hunters will keep the fire lit. They soon however become bored with it, and they âgo off hunting and let out the fireâ (71). This infuriates Ralph since the fire represents their only hope at rescue. At this moment, the thought of eventually returning to civilization is all that Ralph has, and that is crushed by Jack when he does not tend to the fire as he promised he would. Plus, Jack often does not obey the conch, one of the few reminders of society on the island. Not only does this demonstrate how Jack becomes a savage, it makes Ralph heartbroken because Jack is going against the very thing Ralph values the most: order. Ralph, valuing routine and civilization, portrays Jack as evil in his mind and to the reader, since Jack goes against he believes in.
Thirdly, Simon is the only one on the island who is open-minded enough to understand that neither Jack nor Ralph nor any of the other Biguns are truly good or evil entirely. Simon is able to take each of them for who they are, and he does things of both of them. With Jack, Simon is able to feel more included and can get food, but with Ralph, he holds better hopes of being rescued. Simon is also the only boy who has the traumatic experience with the Lord of the Flies; as scary as it is, Simon does learn even more deeply that fear is not âsomething he could hunt and kill,â that it is âthe reason why itâs no go,â and that it explains âwhy things are what they areâ (143). Simon is able to comprehend exactly what is going through each of the boysâ heads after this experience, for he now understands how terror affects different people. He realizes how each of them have their own faults, and that the ways in which they may (or may not have) regressed is all in how they reacted to the beast within themselves. This stark realization after this encounter with the pigâs head and his wisdom from the beginning of the book make Simon the only non-biased character on the island.
Some people believe that everybody can be sorted into dichotomous groups of being a good person or bad person. However, it is actually much more complicated than that. William Golding shows the complexity of human nature with the ways in which his characters behave in Lord of the Flies. No main character is 100% evil or good, and their moral assignments people give to them are based in the boysâ perspectives of each other. Jack feels threatened by Ralph, whom he thinks to be evil, Ralph believes Jack is bad since he ruins his attempts at rescue, but Simon is the only one who understands but neither of them are perfect. In times of fear, some people go back to their primitive ways, while others seek the means necessary to get out of the situation. Either way, neither is entirely rooted in good or evil.
wow that took a long time to type out
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