Primal instinct
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In the Lord of the Flies William Golding has a group of schoolboys crash on an
island and become barbaric. The reason why the boys turn wild is because of their
primal instinct to hurt others. This behavior is inherited from early ancestors killing to
stay alive. Mans tendency towards violence, how people take sides and divide into
groups, and the struggle for power are three ways mans behavior will generally occur.
Each of these suggests that violence is a key factor to getting what they want.
Mans primal instinct towards violence really shows when they are living without
rules or realize that there are no authority figures to enforce any rules. Without having
consequences for any actions that might be taken then they primal instinct of the boys
begins to take over. Even though the fact of no punishments may be known in the back
of ones mind there is still the thought of what's right. "Roger stooped, picked up a stone,
aimed, and threw it at Henry and back again." (Page 67) This is an example of how
Roger knows it is wrong to hit someone with a rock but also knows that there are no
punishments for anything...