Marta Zapała-Kraj 
William Golding. The Novelist of British Post-War Era 
Evil nature of human, religious symbolism and ever-present pessimism

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2018 in the subject Didactics for the subject English – Literature, Works, grade: 5.0 (PL-System), Jan Kochanowski University of Humanities and Sciences in Kielce (UJK), language: English, abstract: The title of my project: William Golding – the Novelist of British Post-war Era allowed me to present one of the most imaginative writers of 1950’s of England from a several different perspectives. The decision behind choosing such topic was dictated by the previous interests which emerged as a result of my earlier contacts with the British culture.

Various British novelists and playwrights who emerged in the 1950’s expressed disaffection with the established socio-political order of their country. Their impatience and resentment were especially aroused by what they perceived as the hypocrisy of the upper and middle classes. They were called Angry Young Men – a journalistic catchphrase originally used by British newspapers after the success of the play Look Back in Anger by the playwright John Osborne.

Evil nature of human, religious symbolism and ever-present pessimism. Few novels as brief as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies raise so many fascinating questions. Are human beings evil and how does evil arise? What is the nature of isolation? Why and how do we choose our leaders and what are a leader’s responsibilities? The list could continue for several pages and still barely touch the peak of the mountain, yet each is a significant one worthy to be considerate.

Lord of the Flies, full of Christian imagery and symbolism, in the end has a very humanistic lesson – if the beast is within us we can cope with it. Rather than being under the influence of a supernatural devil – which in fact Golding claimed not to be the force present on the island – we are confronted with our own original sin and depravity. Once removed from the bounds and rules of civilization we have a strong tendency to revert to brutality and savagery. As Golding illustrates with Simon, though, there is goodness within people as well. If that goodness is reinforced, we have hope of overcoming the evil.