The Events of the novel suggest that Golding had a negative view of Humanity, How far do you agree?
Golding gives us the implication of him having a negative view of Humanity in many different ways such as savagery, fear and conflict. The boys are stranded on an island which has no human existence and we see them reaching their extremities that are caused by the nature and humanity that surrounds them leading us to believe Golding has a negative view of humanity.
Golding represents savagery in a harsh way. We see the boys slowly turn away from civilisation and towards savagery and barbarity through many ways, one being humanity. As we know in the book there civilisations vs. savagery, good vs. evil or in other words evil being a negative issue. Also Golding uses fear widely throughout the book. He does this by using the beast which symbolises fear, this gets more terrifying for the boys as it begins to believe it but also makes them even more savagery. This gets us thinking that the way Golding involves fear and savagery together that he has a negative state of mind to come up with this idea. There’s a great greed for power going on through the novel. As jack wanting to be chief and losing this opportunity at the beginning it sets off rivalry. It is this that causes Jack to be a dictator and Ralph a pleasant democratic which shows both positive and negative side of humanity and which routes they can take. As we know the Lord of the Flies has a big significance in the book. By having this represent ultimately evil, evil being negative suggest that Golding has a negative view of humanity to some extent.
This is a preview of the whole essay
Peer Reviews
Here's what a star student thought of this essay
Quality of writing
The Quality of Written Communication is fine. There are no moments during the essay where the candidate's ability to express themselves through clear writing compromises the clarity of the essay. The only issue I and the examiner would have is that the candidate needs to make sure they capitlise where necessary - "Humanity" does not require capitalisation unless it begins a sentence. Constrastingly, it reflects very badly to see "jack" rather than "Jack", as this really is Key Stage 2 stuff that should not be a problem for GCSE candidates.
Level of analysis
The Level of Analysis shown is good and sticks well to what the question asks, directly quoting the words used in the question. This is a good thing to do if candidates do not feel they are concentrating on the question enough - recycling the words in the question shows the examiner that there is a consistent focus. The candidate comments on a number of different themes and symbols in the book, showing a very well-developed understanding of the novel. They also demonstrate an ability to consider how their are positive aspects of humanity presented in the novel. Whilst surplus, this kind of extra analysis will earn marks if the candidate has commented at sufficient length on what the question asks. It must be taken head of that extra analysis must not outweigh or in some cases even balance what the question is asking, because this does not show concentration on the question, so make asure all points, in the case, that
Response to question
The answer given here is for a question that asks candidates about Golding's apparent negative view of humanity in his novel 'Lord of the Flies'. The candidate demonstrates a good level of focus on the question, and all their points are relevant to how the question should be answered. Some points made are more convincing than others, and show how the candidate's knowledge of both the novel and how to analyse it fluctuates. That is to say, the focus is consistent but the quality of analysis wavers greatly, with some very good points made but other like "This also shows us that Lord of the Flies is set during the Nuclear" - the analysis here poorly convincing and is not supported with sufficient evidence from the text. All points made must be backed up byu quotes from the text.
