Abstract

William Golding, the Nobel Prize Winner, was obviously one of the great novelists after Word WarⅡ. Lord of the Flies is his most remarkable novel. Through telling a story of a group of young children stranded on an isolated island degraded into savagery from the original civilized, it reveals that evil roots in human nature and the ill nature of human beings will arise without the control of civilization and the rationality will be beaten by brutality.

This thesis focuses on the analysis of good and evil in Lord of the Flies. It first analyzes the main characters from the perspective of good and evil, and exposits the development and change between good and evil. And then it analyzes that good and evil reflect in objects. Through the above analysis, the author of this thesis makes a conclusion that when the might of civilization and democracy is weak, it’s necessary for people to be conscious of self-examination and caution to the evilness, thus possible to find a way of salvation.

Key words: William Golding; Lord of the Flies; humanity; good and evil

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 A Brief Introduction to William Golding and His Works-1

1.2 Literature Review-1

1.3 Purpose of the Thesis-2

2. Good and Evil in Main Characters-3

2.1 Ralph-3

2.2 Jack-4

2.3 Piggy-5

2.4 Simon-6

2.5 The Development and Change of Humanity-6

3. Good and Evil Reflected in Important Objects-7

3.1 Beast: Instinct of Savagery-7

3.2 Conch: Order and Law-8

3.3 Fire: Hope and Destruction-9

3.4 Glasses: Science and Rationality-10

4. Conclusion-11

References-12