The positive significance of the conch gradually begins to disintegrate, mainly due to Jack’s resistance towards it. He claims, “the conch doesn’t count on the mountain,” which immediately begins to diminish the conch’s power. The well ordered idea of building shelters is put forward and at first is looked upon with enthusiasm. However, as the boy’s need for a civilised society decreases their interest in the shelters runs low and they “keep running off”. Golding is now presenting us with a torn situation, Ralph, Piggy and Simon are so eager to preserve their old life style, however as time wears on more boys begin to lose hope of rescue. This presents a view of pessimism towards humanity, for the boys are no longer keen for an ordered society and they have lost their drive to keep going. This portrays how pathetic Golding views humanity as. He believes humans are feeble and are not capable of living in a civil way.
The mention of the “beastie” is very relevant, for as we see later this is a significant contribution to the breakdown of the society. The evil in human beings is personified in the beast, and this is what makes it so feared by the boys. Fear generally plays a large part in the Lord of the Flies. It is fear that causes the boys to “scream” at night and fear that causes most boys to come under Jack’s dictatorship. Golding illustrates through fear and the beast how the human nature is driven by it. This cynical allegory corresponds to humanity in the real world and therefore lays an emphasis on Golding’s pessimism towards humanity.
The fire is also an important stage in the book. The fire reveals to the boys and especially Jack how much power they have. The amount of destruction that is accidentally unleashed by the boys shocks and scares them. Through this “awful sight” Golding symbolises the extent of destruction human kind causes in the real world. He demonstrates the careless and destructive nature of humanity through the boy’s irresponsible actions. Using this event Golding proclaims his disapproval with humanity.
Savagery and primitive behaviour become very popular with Jack. At one point he is described as “dog-like…on all fours”, which illustrates how far he has strayed from being a civilised individual. As Jack’s obsession with hunting develops he goes to new extremes and covers his face in “dazzle paint”. The fact that Jack has gone from being an orderly choirboy to an animal-like savage, displays humans inability to create and abide by an organised regime. Golding elucidates his pessimistic view of humanity through the hopeless position Jack and the others find themselves in.
Ralph’s authority over the boys also becomes limited. The fact that Ralph and Jack’s order of priorities are so different, Ralph’s being the “fire” and Jack’s being “hunting”, at once results in a division within the group. This division eventually results in Jack’s dictatorship over a majority of the boys. Jack’s style of leadership is based on domination and fear. What he can’t control he seeks to destroy, which contributes to downfall of the island. This demonstrates how Golding observes the world as in discord. He sees humanity as incapable of living in amity, which reveals his view of pessimism.
Simon is a significant character in The Lord of the Flies. He is seen as pure and unaffected by the evil of the island. He is part of neither Jack’s or Ralph’s tribe, which immediately alienates him from the group. Simon sees beyond the surface of things and it is for this reason that he was able to confront the “beastie” and find out the truth. Golding said that Simon represented the good of all mankind. Therefore the act of rejection towards him from the other boys illustrates how in the real world humanity discards goodness. This idea formed by Golding confirms his negativity towards human kind.
After his encounter with the “the Lord of the Flies”, Simon makes his way to the others. At this stage in the novel, Simon is the only person who has resisted savagery, for at this very moment Ralph and Piggy are participation in the “demented” tribal dance. The sacrificial murder of Simon is more then the taking of life; it is the symbol of death to goodness. Goodness is all of what Simon represented and he was the only hope left for the island. By killing him, the boys validated that goodness and even hope of goodness could not survive within their society. Thus, the killing of Simon symbolises that goodness and purity cannot and does not stand within humanity in the real world. This symbolism from Golding is clearly significant and can only be perceived as extremely pessimistic.
Towards the end of the book we see that the island is in utter turmoil. Piggy is killed, Samneric are tortured and Ralph is forced to flee for his life. Piggy’s death is significant for along with his life, the conch also is destroyed. The conch represented the values of democracy, responsibility and order, ideas that Piggy steadfastly upheld. The destruction of the conch and Piggy signify the end of order and consequently the little hope that remained abruptly vanishes from existence. Through this symbolism Golding is demonstrating that not even order and democracy can be maintained within humanity. This again shows us that Golding views humanity with an air of pessimism.
Due to the conversion to savagery and the face paint, Jack no longer feels accountable for his actions. He has become ruthless and will only be satisfied when Ralph’s head sits upon the “sharpened…stick” prepared for him. In the dying stages of the book Ralph comes face to face with the beast. However, unlike Simon, he cannot see the beast for what it really is. As a result of this, a wave of “rage swept him” and he “fiercely” hits the “filthy” skull. This shows us that Ralph cannot accept what it stands for, as he cannot accept that evil is present in all of them. This symbolism suggests that humanity cannot recognize that everyone possesses some evil, whether it small or little. The fact that Golding claims that everyone contains evil, determines that he indeed views humanity with pessimism.
At the end of the book we witness the unthinkable; Ralph and the boys are rescued. The Naval officer arrives just at the right time, for any later could of resulted in Ralph’s death. At first glance the situation seems positive, however when looked upon more closely you become aware of the horrible irony. Throughout the Lord of the Flies Golding has illuminated the fact that he believes the real world to be no better then the life on the island. Although the boys will be “take [n] off” the island, they will only be taken to another world identical in many ways to the one they have just persevered through. The “revolver” the officer carries is a symbol of the world they are about to commence into. This indicates that their new lives will be ones of war, terror and destruction and therefore lives no different from the ones they followed whilst being on the island. Thus, when looking at the circumstance from Golding’s pessimistic view, we come to realise with reluctance that the purpose of being rescued is now merely pointless.
During the Lord of the Flies we are taken through many stages of the boy’s lives on the island, each of which end in disaster as a result of “the darkness of man”. We observe the rise of dictatorship and the fall of democracy, as the boy’s personal relationships break apart. We witness the development of savagery and primitive behaviour, eventually resulting in the death of Simon and Piggy, who together powerfully represented goodness and order. Finally we watch as the boy’s pitiful fear, develops into the breakdown of the society. The evilness of the beast was only a manifestation of the boy’s fears alone, so ultimately it was the boy’s fears that led to the downfall in their civilization. Like Golding said, the defects of society are due to the defects in the human nature. From this statement we can draw a parallel between the evil in the world and the essential flaws within man. Therefore we can understand from the Lord of the Flies that William Golding believes humanity to be completely defective. We can gather that he considers even the traces of goodness and order among humanity unable to stand against the wickedness and hostility of man. Thus we can conclude that William Golding’s view of humanity is entirely pessimistic.
Angela Stride 11C
