Evil Among Us

A detailed Summary of Evil Among Us

In the 1600's the enlightenment was in its infancy. Philosophers such as: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau had just published their philosophies about political, social, and economic affairs. Rousseau proposed that people are good in nature, however they are corrupted by society. Thomas Hobbes believed the antithesis, "The condition of man [in the state of nature] ... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone"(459 Ellis & Esler). William Golding took the same pessimistic outlook as Hobbes in Lord of the Flies, believing that man was innately depraved. This is demonstrated through the destructiveness, ostracizing, and biases inflicted by man unto himself.

The boys are evil by instinct, causing strife wherever they roam. According to Golding, destructiveness is not limited to savages, but also extends to the "cultured" people of the world.

"I had discovered what one man could do to another. I am not talking of one man killing another with a gun, or dropping a bomb on him or blowing him up or torpedoing him. I am thinking of the vileness beyond all words that went on, year after year, in the totalitarian states. It is bad enough to say that so many Jews were extermina

This portrays the belief that the English thought themselves to be better than others, immune to the follies that plague the rest of mankind. Golding further represents this idea in Lord of the Flies.

"Roger led the way straight through the castles, kicking them over, burying flowers, scattering the chosen stones. Maurice followed, laughing, and added to the destruction. The three liittluns paused in their game and looked up. As it happened, the particular marks in which they were interested had not been touched, so they made no protest. Only Percival began to whimper with an eyeful of sand and Maurice hurried away. In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand. Now, there was no parent to let fall a heavy hand, Maurice still felt the unease if wrongdoing. At the back of his mind formed the uncertain outlines of an excuse. He muttered something about a swim and broke into a trot.

When children are ostracized it gives a prime example of the true dark nature in reality. It proves the cruelties all are capable of committing. McEwan also went on to say that there was no apparent reason for choosing those two, showing how illogical and faulty man is. Golding uses the ostracism of the child Piggy to represent the same idea,

Golding's main idea is summed up when Simon says, "What I mean is...maybe it's only us"(89). Golding also thought that the beast was inside; the beast representing the true dark nature of man. Golding proves this through the destructive atrocities man has committed, the emotional disregard for each other, and the biases held against ourselves and others, showing that all are evil even if they blind themselves to the fact.

"One of [England's] faults is to believe that evil is somewhere else and inherent in another nation. My book was to say: you th

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Approximate Word count = 1241
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English