Filed in archive Literature on June 18, 2010

Lord of the Flies: A Moral Fable

© jonathan229

William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" listed among the top 100 fiction books is the study of Evil in the contemporary society, which is generalized by the interweaving of an adventurous tale with the fabulous structure of the novel. Eventually this seemingly adventure book touches upon the Conradian theme of the darkness of the human heart. Golding uses the behavior of a group of young British school boys, Jack, Roger, Ralph and others to show how each succumbs to the evil within. According to the book reviews, the rendering of "a human interest" to the fiction lends a moralistic attribute and fabulous to the novel. The "Lord of the Flies" is concerned with the primal loss of innocence which is well depicted through the transformation which Jack- the symbol of Goodness- undergoes during the course of events. His failure to satisfy his hunger for power (by becoming chief of the boys) causes him to lose decency and indulge in the immoral act of killing. The binary confrontation between Good and Evil is presented in the novel and also illuminates the human condition in the world of today.