The Nameless Authority
In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Golding aimed to stress the fact that evil is within every type of human being, even children. The novel proves that the evil is unleashed in convenient circumstances. Once the evil is unleashed, violence increases rapidly. The increase of violence is observed through the character of Roger as he is obviously the most malicious boy on the island. Although at first Roger felt some restraints caused by the morals that he was weakly attached to, his character developed to be the most sadistic one.
The first introduction made to Roger is when Piggy is trying to list the names of the kids that are on the island. Golding describes Roger as, “a slight, furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy”(18). From this description the reader perceives that Roger is not much into social interaction and the word “furtive” alarms the reader about his dark character. Not much later in the novel, the reader is given a wider insight on Roger’s character. When Roger is throwing rocks at Henry, aiming to miss; Golding describes his actions in the following quotation: “Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins”(65). Through these sentences, Golding reveals how civilization has an impact on Roger’s actions. In the world he comes from, hurting another human being has certain consequences and these consequences are guaranteed by the forces of civilization, such as; school, policemen and law. The fact that Roger is throwing stones at a boy that does nothing to him, is enough to shape the character of Roger: potentially destructive. Roger at this point has no reason for throwing stones at Henry and he aims to miss due to the restraints of his old life.
