Although Lord of the Flies is a novel which explores some of the darker.
aspects of human nature, I think there are many positive aspects of human.
nature presented here too: Look closely at the characters and roles of Ralph.
and Piggy, for example. Ralph displays qualities of leadership, wisdom,.
compassion, courage and determination. Piggy is intelligent and loyal, and.
although some of the other characters see him as a coward, he is actually.
very courageous in the way he speaks out against Jack and his savagery: Look.
at what he says in "Castle Rock" just before his death; his death makes him.
into a kind of tragic hero.
The Lord of the Flies" was published in 1954 - shortly after the end of the Second World War. During the war, which lasted for six years, millions had died and, it might be claimed, the darker sides of mankind"s nature had been revealed.
Golding"s novel shows a group of schoolboys who are stranded on an island, and most of them turn into savages, as the controls of civilisation have been removed. Many would prefer not to see children in this light (notice how the naval officer reacts at the end of the story), but perhaps Golding was trying to suggest that mankind has a very primitive and violent core, and that the children simply behave in a way that comes naturally to us.
Beelzebub is a name for the devil. In the New Testament, Beelzebub is the "prince of demons". This comes from the Arabic word "Baal-Zebub", which means "the fly lord". Of course, we react to flies as being dirty, unpleasant and spreading disease.
In the novel, the pig"s head is the Lord of the Flies, because it is the most powerful influence upon the flies which are its subjects, just as the beast which is the evil within the boys is the thing which commands their actions.
The head is a symbol of the decay which ferments evil; and evil grows amongst the boys. It is, therefore, a symbol of what is happening on the island.
