In William Golding’s Lord Of the Flies, Golding argues that by nature humans are not civilized through the use of his characters and their character development. Instead, once given the opportunity to commit wrongdoings they will act upon these emotions once they are no longer held back by their old “civilized” society. Once they do so, Golding argues that they won’t be able to forget the wrongdoings they’ve committed. Through the characterization of Jack, Roger, and even Ralph, Golding exhibits the changes that human go through once they are far enough from human civilization.
Golding believes that naturally humans are savages and seek power. Through the initial description of the characters Jack and Roger, Golding foreshadows that by nature humans will inherently act like savages. At the beginning of the book, Jack believes he should become chief “because he’s chapter chorister and head boy… he can sing C sharp” (1.22). By characterizing Jack as arrogant and his need for power Golding establishes that Jack’s power-hungry behavior has been there from the start and isn’t anything new. In addition, Golding creates a description of Roger that is menacing and creepy describing “a shadow creeping beneath the swarthiness of his skin” (4.62). By describing Roger as a “shadow creeping” it helps readers realize that Roger’s physical description is eerie.
Golding portrays as Jack more power hungry meanwhile, Roger has evils that seem to lurk within him. By describing the boys this way Golding is able to solidify his argument that humans are naturally evil. Golding argues that these characteristics didn’t pop up on the island out of nowhere. They have been prevalent in these boys since the beginning.
