Lord of the Flies - Instinct or Evil?

651 Words3 Pages
Evil or Instinct? In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the actions of the boys are not those of individuals inherently evil. Their savagery is a result of the actions of individuals reacting out of fear for their lives and following their instincts to fight for their survival. In order to survive in the wild, humans need fire in order to keep warm and cook food. It can also be used as a rescue signal to alert rescue teams of their location. Ralph convinces the rest of the boys to start a fire because “it is the most important thing on the island” (80). The boys quickly realize that there will be ships passing by the island and flagging them down may be their only chance for rescue. They are also able to cook the meat from the pigs that they kill over the fires. As the sun goes down, it keeps them warm and lightens the extreme darkness of night. Jack volunteers his hunters to watch over the fire. After they rekindle the fire for the day, one of the younger boys is killed after the fire grows out of control. The boys were shocked that this could have happened and “looked at each other fearfully, unbelieving” (47). This showed that they were remorseful. They did not intend to kill the boy or do something evil. The fire was only meant to help them survive, but it got out of control. It was just an accident, not the act of people inherently evil. In order for humans to survive, they must have both food and water. Humans can only survive eight to fourteen days without water and seven to eight weeks without food. As such, one of mans’ primal instincts is to hunt for food. When the boys in Lord of the Flies crashed onto the island, they had only a limited supply of food and water. At first, the boys ate berries and fruit that grew on the trees near the beach where they stayed. They eventually see a wild pig as they are returning back to
Open Document