The Roots of Evil: Lord of the Flies and the nature of evil
Author William Golding wrote the book Lord of the Flies after the Second World War as an attempt to answer this question of why people can commit evil while knowing good. Golding uses the characters in Lord of the Flies to explain how different elements of human nature lead to evil.
Lord of the Flies points to one explanation for evil; each of us has an inner evil that we either control or submit to. The events in Lord of the Flies suggest that while humans can control their inner evil, it is much easier to submit and become the evil than to resist the urge to dehumanize, mistreat and inflict pain on others. Even civilized members of society who are placed in a situation where reason and justice are absent will participate in acts of cruelty that they would normally recognize as evil acts.
When humans submit to their inner desires, they commit acts of evil such as the Shoah. Golding argued that evil is a part of human nature and that if given the right circumstances, humans will act in evil ways.
When Roger is first introduced, he appears to be a mischievous boy who taunts the "littluns". At the beginning of the book, he is limited to petty cruelty as he like the other boys, has an aversion to killing. As the book progresses and the boys become more a part of the island, he begins to lose his aversion to killing and begins to inflict physical pain on the "littluns" by throwing rocks at them and other minor forms of aggression. Near the end of the book, he kills Piggy which shows that given the right circumstances, he will let his inner evil win out over his human tendency. What must be noted is that Roger represents a sadist who gradually loses his aversion to cruelty and, as time progresses, becomes more refined in his methods of torture and inflicting pain. He could be compared to the infamous Nazi Doctors of Auschwitz, such as Joseph Mengele (May his name and memory be cursed for eternity and obliterated from under the skies of Hashem and May God avenge the blood of the innocents who he tortured, brutalized and killed in his diabolical medical experiments) who performed sadistic experiments on their victims. Roger is described as a "terror" which shows that he makes no effort to fight his inner evil bur rather embraces it. Like Roger, Jack also undergoes a transformation that leads him to become capable of committing evil acts.
When Jack's character is analyzed, it is important to note that he represents a tyrant and inspired by Hitler (yimach shemo v'zechro) (may his name and memory be erased.) (I will abbreviate that expression as YSV). When he is first introduced, he is already in a position of authority and is left in that position by Ralph {to placate him} which leads to Jack taking ever growing power for himself just as Hitler (YSV) did. This parallels the peace that Neville Chamberlin made with Hitler (YSV) to try to keep him from launching a war; in the end, it failed and only served to increase Hitler (YSV's) lust for conquest.
While Jack is based on Hitler (YSV) he is also used as an analogy for losing the aversion to killing another living being. At the beginning of the book, on the first hunt, Jack is unable to kill the pig {which represents} his aversion to killing a living being. As the book progresses, he loses his aversion to killing and comes to enjoy the blood lust of the hunt. This loss of respect for human life is the manifestation of his inner evil, which like Hitler's (YSV) leads him to ascend to power as a military dictator who ruthlessly hunts down his opponents; in Jack's case, Ralph and Piggy; in Hitler's (YSV) case, it was anyone who was considered Untermensch (sub-human and therefore only for extermination and slave labor). Like Hitler (YSV) and many other ruthless tyrants and mass murderers, Jack uses fear to control his enemies and subdue them. This creates terror and fear of retribution among the ranks of the opposition preventing them from mounting an organized campaign to overthrow the tyrant. In Jack's case, his ruthless murder of Simon and the murder of Piggy at the hands of Roger leaving Ralph terrified and fearing for his life; preventing him from attempting to regain power. While Jack plays a key role in perpetrating the evil on the island, even Piggy plays a role in acts of evil.
According to Golding's theory of evil, even civilized and rational people will participate in evil activities. An example of this is Piggy. At the beginning of the book, when Ralph picks up the conch shell, it is Piggy who suggests that they use it to call everyone to a meeting; Ralph just picks it up because it looks interesting. Piggy is a logical thinker who understands how to use available resources and materials to achieve a purpose. He is also concerned about proper behavior and how adults will view their actions. Yet even Piggy the rational one has the ability to participate in evil. Later in the book, after a hunt, and during a dance, the assembled hunters go wild and end up brutally killing Simon. While Piggy tries to deny his involvement, his is on some level, aware that his actions were morally wrong. This demonstrates Golding's point that in the right circumstances, anyone, no matter how righteous or enlightened they are-- has the capacity for evil actions. While human action plays a large part in acts of evil, many acts of evil are perpetrated due to intolerant religious beliefs. In general, God's involvement falls into two categories: passive and active. A passive role would be allowing evil to occur while an active role would be condoning evil, for example acts of evil that are religiously sectioned. Over the centuries, many groups and individuals including the Crusaders, the Inquisitors of Spain, numerous Russian Czars, Osama Bin Laden, Yigal Amir, and members of the West Burro Baptist church have cited religious reasons as justification for committing acts that resulted in numerous deaths and, in some cases, prolonged reigns of terror. The above named groups and individuals would be labeled as religious fanatics. A religious fanatic is a person or group of people who will commit acts of evil because high ranking religious authority such as Pope Urban II urged them to carry out God's will which involved the killing of innocents. In the case of the Crusaders, the word of God as interpreted by a high ranking religious authority gave them a mandate to launch a military expedition to reclaim the Holy Land. The end result was that those considered enemies of faith were brutally dealt with. The Inquisition used God's will as a pretext for a reign of terror and torture that lasted nearly four hundred years during which enemies of the Church and anyone who was not Catholic were brutally persecuted. On the other hand, today's extremist terrorist groups use the word of God as a pretext for attacks against anyone who is an unbeliever and who defames Allah. While these groups differ greatly in their religious views, they all used the word of God to incite religiously fueled attacks on their enemies which were carried out by the faithful who believed that they would be rewarded for their actions. The great evils of the last generations both religiously sanctioned and government sanctioned have profoundly changed how people, especially Jews, think about the question of good and evil.
My beliefs on evil stem from the Jewish doctrine on evil which, due to the many layers of Jewish traditions, is inherently disorganized and not systematically presented as is the case in Lord of the flies. (Apple)
One explanation for evil with which I completely disagree comes from an article by Ron Rosenbaum called "Staring into the heart of the heart of darkness." The explanation is that people commit evil deeds because they believe their actions are in reality good deeds. The article brings the case of Susan Smith who murdered her two children and later told investigators that, "I wanted the best for my kids," implying that she would send them to the Garden of Eden and into the hands of God by murdering them. Or alternatively, God wanted to brighten up the Garden of Eden and therefore orchestrated the murder of the two boys (Susan Smith's two children) so He could plant them in His Garden. (Rosenbaum) I find this explanation absolutely contrary to a traditional Jewish view of God since it directly contradicts my belief that God is merciful and plentiful in showing kindness and that Adonai is a God of Truth, and a True and Righteous Judge. How can it be that a merciful God would have orchestrated the death of two innocent boys to brighten up the Garden of Eden?! In Judaism, God has thirteen attributes (Midoth) which go as follows and are taken from Exodus 34:6-7. "The Lord! The Lord! God, Compassionate and Gracious, Slow to anger and Abundant in Kindness and Truth, Preserver of kindness for thousands of generations, Forgiver of iniquity, willful sin, and error, and who Cleanses (Sin)"
(JPS Tanach). The explanations for evil with which I agree are based on key concepts of Jewish thought and philosophy that can be traced to biblical sources in Genesis.
One explanation for evil I agree with is the basis for Golding's explanation in Lord of the Flies; a concept in Judaism known as Yetzer Ha'tov (the good inclination) and Yetzer Ha'ra (Evil inclination). Judaism teaches that God is the source of all that exists in this universe and that all things both good and evil come from God (Isa. 45:7, JPS Tanach, Apple).
God gave humans free will and the ability to choose as we are told in Deuteronomy, "Behold for I have placed before you this day a blessing and a curse." (Deut. 11:26, 30:19, JPS Tanach).
This is proof that God gave humans free will and the ability to choose good over evil; after all, how can a person choose evil if they only have the option to choose good. Humanity's mission is to choose good when presented with the opportunity to do evil and by doing so; humanity has the opportunity to repair the world. Ultimately, I believe that evil exists to be overcome and so that humanity will be challenged to do good and repair the world. However, this answer does not allow us to come to terms with why great crimes such as the Shoah were perpetrated and forces us to reexamine the question of good and evil and our individual views on this subject.
For untold generations, philosophers and great religious thinkers have struggled with the unanswerable questions of good and evil. Like these philosophers, Gedolai Ha'dorot (Great thinkers and teachers of the generations), and erudite scholars, I too struggle with this question which is a highly complex and central element of Jewish thought and mysticism. My struggle with this question has shown me that my beliefs and as yet unclear since I have not studied this topic in depth from a religious perspective with a learned teacher. Currently, my beliefs are unclear and confusing reflecting the confusing and unorganized nature of Judaism's teachings on good and evil. If the teachings on good and evil are so unclear and complex, then why struggle with them in the first place? My answer is that the concept of good and evil is one that must be struggled with since it is the essence of human existence. However, we may never arrive at an answer that is satisfying due to the fact that acts of evil are inexplicable due to their horrific nature. It may be best that evil is inexplicable since the answer to why evil acts are committed is just as unfathomable as the existence of evil itself. The question of how can one know good yet at the same time commit acts of unspeakable evil is essential to the human experience and one which has been struggled with and forever will be struggled with.
Works Cited
Apple, Raymond. "OzTorah » Blog Archive » Evil in Man: The Jewish Point of View." OzTorah. 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://www.oztorah.com/2011/01/evil-in-man-the-jewish-point-of-view/>.
Eisenberg, Ronald L. "The 13 Attributes of Mercy Asking God for Forgiveness." My Jewish Learning. Web. 20 march 2011. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah/High_Holidays/Selichot/13attributesofmercy.shtml
JPS Hebrew English Tanakh. Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society, 2003.
Jewish Publication Society, 2003.
Rosenbaum, Ron. "STARING INTO THE HEART OF THE HEART OF DARKNESS - New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. 18 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/04/magazine/staring-into-the-heart-of-the-heart-of-darkness.html>.
