Humanity comes with several advantages; the ability to think for ourselves, having two thumbs and the knowledge we’ve been given access to. We also have the side effects, the sicknesses and the imperfections. In William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies he stated that “the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.” Humanity is far from perfect, and it’s has a great amount of disfigurements. This disease eventually began to take over the boys turning them into irrational and savage people. Despite our several flaws, we’ve become more advanced in technology and learn more every day, but the problems we faced in the past still remain with us today.
Emotions and reactions are natural habits we all posses, they shape our choices and tune our vision. Engrossed by our pride, arrogance, greed, jealousy, we forget about the simple acts of kindness that keep society intact. All these things mold us into the the greatest disease known; the Disease of Humanity. The quote about the boys suffering from this terrible disease was referring to Jack. Unlike Ralph, Jack is proud and finds a need for control, he doesn’t analyze things or think things through the way Ralph does. The savagery in their civilization is portrayed through the character of Jack Merridew, he was the first one to show a hint of his inner evil, and he’s the one who let the downfall of their society begin. Back in World War II, about the same time the story was set, a major event took place. The genocide of the Jews, more commonly known as the holocaust. This mass murder was triggered by the same issues we still face today... jealousy, greed, prejudice, judgement, irrational thinking and power lust. One man’s inner evil brought out the savagery of an entire nation resulting in a historical disaster.
Everyone makes choices, some not as rational as others. We often make decisions without rationally thinking of the consequences, we let our impulsivity act without forcing our brains to think. Jack manipulated the boys by inviting them to a feast where he could take advantage of them and get them in his tribe. The boys’ irrational thinking and lack of control brought out too much excitement in them resulting in Simon’s murder. At first, it was a misunderstanding... the boys thought they were killing the Beast. Eventually they realized that they were killing Simon, but with their minds being in the frame of a party, the boys continued their savage behaviour and took part in slaughtering their friend.
Civilization is at risk and our inner evil is slowly beginning to shine. Our inner evil is triggered by poor qualities such as jealousy and fear. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m a part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?” (pg.128) Simon was speaking to the Lord of the Flies when he unveiled the truth, that the only beast on the island was the one within themselves. The beast, in this story, symbolizes their fear and vulnerability. This beast haunted the boys, especially the littluns, and brought out their inner evil causing savage reactions and slowly began to tear apart the structure of their society.
In some ways, Humanity is a gift, because there is still hope for us. By controlling our greed, the savagery in us and our pride...progression could become a possibility once again. We could stop the world from digressing and create a cure for this fatal disease. Everyday, proof of evil is witnessed, but enough of us don’t put our feet down together. Watching bad happen and letting it be is evil in it’s purest form. And so now disease of humanity has become the cancer of our world, and step by step our faults will destroy it all.
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