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Long glorified as a writer of humanity, Golding devotes his
energy and talent to scrutinizing the relationship between
mother nature and human nature and how it influences our life.
Lord of the Flies, the most typical of his novels, suggests to
us the world as a state of nature, which includes the macro
state of war caused by the adults, and a micro one caused by
children. Adopting a Hobbesian (philosophical and political)
approach, this study examines how Golding works the complexity
of human nature and political power into the story. The first
chapter of this study introduces the plan and strategy of the
thesis: it gives a brief interpretation of Hobbes's pessimistic
tendency and Golding's concern with humanity, and roughly
indicates the relationship between Hobbesianism and Golding's
story. The second chapter discusses human nature, which is
parallel to Hobbes's political theory, and involves the problem
of human selfishness, the Hobbesian laws of nature and rights
of nature, and the analysis of the Hobbesian state of nature in
Lord of the Flies. The third chapter, which contains a study
of the social contract and Hobbesian absolute sovereignty,
discusses the power structure the boys construct on the desert
island they settle. The conclusion is a summary and a
concluding view of Lord of the Flies as Golding's warning to
his contemporary world.
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