HUMAN INSTINCTS AND SOCIAL ORDER: A STUDY OF CIVILIZATION VS. PRIMITIVISM IN GOLDING’S LITERATURE

Abstract

Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding is known for illustrating how an individual's sophistication and instincts can pull them in different directions. The research paper primarily looks at the relationship between orderliness in society and basic human behavior by examining these three works by Golding: Lord of the Flies, The Inheritors and Pincher Martin. By analyzing the novel closely, this paper seeks to know how Golding uses storytelling, symbols and characters to portray what can happen to civilization when people have basic human feelings. The study will analyze how society breaks apart, human nature turns primal and the author reflects on how acts of kindness and cruelty exist in everyone. Also, the paper will highlight how Golding’s works are still relevant today, discussing the ongoing problem of maintaining social order as people are not always reliable and animal instincts are still strong. Finally, it explores what limits there are to this research and what can be expected in the future, together with the unique problems and opportunities of studying Golding’s take on life and mankind.