Personal Accountability to Evil in William Golding's Lord of the Flies

Abstract

World War I & II taught the world about the ugliness of war and hatred, and the dichotomy between good and evil. We often blame the political system or the society for the evils that are being perpetrated in the world. But a close analysis will tell us that it is not the political system or the society that is responsible for the evil, but some individuals within the society or in the political system that perpetrates evil. Therefore, it is the individual who needs to bring-forth the change in oneself which leads to change in society, and not any political system however apparently rational or reputable they may be. This idea is powerfully brought out in the novels of William Golding, particularly in Lord of the Flies (1954). This paper will make an in-depth research into Lord of the Flies written by Sir William Golding and cull out the elements that trace the individual accountability to evil. Golding states in his essay Fable that "man produces evil as a bee produces honey”. Evil is a part of man's nature. In Lord of the Flies Golding shows us that this evil must be accepted, not ignored, and we can't pass the buck to the society or to anyone or anything else. No society is bad in itself, it is the defective human nature that makes the defective society.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s2p174