Essay | Critical Lens Essay

It has been said, "Literature opens a dark window on the soul, revealing more about what is bad in human nature that what is good." In literary works the focus is often put on the wicked side of human character rather than its more pleasant aspects. This is proven true repeatedly throughout literature, specifically in William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, and in Sophocles's play Antigone. In each of these works, disturbing events portray that humans are capable of many forms of evil.

In Lord of the Flies, a plane crash leaves young boys from England stranded on a desert island. At first, the boys make rules, elect a leader, and designate duties, such as tending the signal fire. As time goes on, however, they are seen slipping further from their morals and civilization into primitive and brutal behavior. The story "opens a dark window" on the souls...
(read more)