JuliaFriese

Mrs.Parrott

English1HPeriod2
9January2015

TheEvilsofMankind
ScottAlexanderoncesaid,Allgoodishard.Alleviliseasy.Dying,losing,cheating,
mediocrity,iseasy.Whilesomepeoplebelievethathumansaregood,itisinfacttheopposite
humansareinherentlyevil.Forexample,everyoneofthemhasthepotentialforviolence,tobe
selfish,ortohurtothersforthethrillofit.Inthestory
LordoftheFlies
,writtenbyWilliam
Golding,agroupofboysareseparatedontoanislandafteraplanecrash,andstrugglewithout
thelawsofeverydaysociety.Oneoftheseboys,Jack,submitstooverwhelmingpowerofevil,
andbeginstoadaptintoamoremaliciouslifestyle.Theboysfallintoevilquicklywithnolaws
ofsociety,showinghowevilmankindcanbe.Humansareinherentlyeviltheydesirepleasure
aboveallthings,poweroverothers,andviolenceisentertainmenttothem.

In
LordoftheFlies
,theboysstrugglewiththelustforpowerandtocontrolothers.For

example,JackstribestealsPiggysglassesPiggywassurroundedbeforehecouldbackaway
(Golding90).Thesecondgroupwishestohavethefireforfood,andsotheyoverthrowRalph
andPiggybytakingtheglasses.Thisisavitalpointinthestory,whenthetidesturnedinJacks
favorhisreignwasstarting.AnothersituationwaswithSimon,whenthefrenziedgroupofferal
boystriedtomaimandkillhim,eventhoughhewasinnocentandhaddonenowrong.Ralph
eventhoughtthat,Thedesiretosqueezeandhurtwasovermastering(Golding116).The
temptationofviolencewasoverwhelmingtoalltheboys
,whentheirtruenaturewasappearing

astheytorturedSimon.Humansnaturallywanttokillorhavecontroloverothers,tohavepower
oversomethingisintoxicatingtopeople.Theywanttobeabletodecidewhathappens,which
explainswhyrulersofoldertimeswerebrutalandcruel.
Humansalsodesireforhappiness,evenifitisseenasevil.OneexampleisTheMost
DangerousGame,byRichardConnell,theantagonist,GeneralCossack,huntspeopleforsport
andpleasure.TheGeneralkillspeople,butdoesntevenseethemas
humans,likemereanimals
,
asisseeninthisquote,Precisely,saidtheGeneral,ThatiswhyIusethem.Itgivesme
pleasure.Theycanreason,afterafashion,sotheyaredangerous(Connell14).Theprotagonist
Rainsfordopposeshim,endsupinkillingtheGeneral,showinghowhumanshungerafter
vengeanceandhowitpleasesthemwhentheyfeelredeemed.Alsoin
LordoftheFlies
,the
boysslaughteredasow,andaftershediedtheyreveledintheirachievement,smearingtheblood
oneachotherlikeitwasagame(Golding70).Theylaughedandplayedwithit,pleasuredbythe
deathofalivinganimal.Thisshowshowevenyoungchildrencanbecapableofsadisticevils,
andfindhappinessinviolence.Inreality,whensoldiersgotoothercountriesinwar,theyhave
thecapacitytodoevil.Forexample,ifonesoldierbeginstodosomethingevil,suchaslootinga
house,orrapingawoman,theothersmayseethatitisntgoingtobetalkedaboutamongstthe
othersoldiers,andtheirfamilywontknowbecausetheyarefaraway.Theseexamplesshow
howhumansactonimpulsefortheirownpleasures,evenifitcountsasanevildeed.
Peoplealsofindviolenceentertaining.Violenceiseverywhere,whetherisstagedornot.
Forexample,iftherewasafightataschool,studentswouldsurroundthefightersandwatch,
evenurgingthemtofight.Anotherexampleiswhentherewerepublicbeheadingsorhangings,
therewouldbeacrowdtowatchtheviolence.Intheshortstory,TheSniper,byLiam

OFlaherty,thesoldierwhowasfacinghisopponentfoundgreatentertainmentbykillinghim"
Thenwhenthesmokeclearedhepeeredacrossandutteredacryofjoy"(O'Flaherty)
.
Thisquote
showshowthesniperhadtakenalifethroughviolenceanddidntevenfocusonthefactthat
someonehaddied,onlyenjoyedthesuccessofthekill
,
hencedemonstratingtheevilinhumans
.
Also
,
inthe
LordoftheFlies
,
alloftheboysparticipatedinattackingSimonandthefirstboy
,
findingthechantingamusingonahighlevel(Golding70
,
152)
.
Humanshavefoundthat
violencesuitsthem
,
isanentertainment
,
suchasinvideogamesormovies
,
andisallaround
them
.

Althoughsomeopposethathumansareborngoodatthestartoflife
,
butchildrenneedto

betaughttoshare
,
becourteous
,
andtonothurteachother
.
Thepointremainsthathumansare
overallevil
,
eventhoughtheydohavegoodinthem
,
suchassharing
,
beingselfless
,
andtolove
others
.
Oneshouldacknowledgethattheyarecontrolling,findviolenceentertaining,andwishto
bepleasuredaboveallthings.Thereadershouldconsidertheactionsofhumanityandhowthey
impactotherswiththeirowndeeds.

WorksCited
Connell,Richard.TheMostDangerousGame.
HoltLiteratureandLanguageArts.
Austin,TX:Holt,Rinehart,Winston,1998.
Golding,William.
LordoftheFlies
.NewYork:BerkeleyGroup,1954.Print.
OFlaherty,Liam.TheSniper.
HoltLiteratureandLanguageArts.
Austin,TX:
Holt,Rinehart,Winston,1998.