PROPHETIC VISION: WILLIAM GOLDING’S PROPHETIC VISION IN LORD OF THE FLIES AND THE INHERITORS
Journal Title: International Journal of Physical and Social Sciences (IJPSS) - Year 2012, Vol 2, Issue 9
Abstract
Golding in his novels is obsessed with the Christian idea of original sin. Yet, he has firm faith in man's mental power. Like a true prophet he believes that a true man indulges in evil no doubt, and gets attracted quite easily towards vice and negative value of life, nevertheless he repents and rises like a beautiful lotus out of the stagnant, dirty and puerile water of decadence and spiritual sterility. The self recognition comes after self - examination and deep thinking. But when the man realizes his folly, then that heralds a new phase of life for him. His out look changes and he sheds the grab of selfishness and looks at the entire humanity as a harmonious whole. This is the state of superior consciousness, which Golding as prophet advocates, in his system of progressive conscience. Then only Armageddon can begin leading to the golden age of eternal happiness. Golding's novels, undoubtedly, reveal a pattern of progression march towards a stage of universal peace and brotherhood. The common hero of all the novels, 'Man' is placed in different situations in the great drama of life and through his encounters the novelist shows how the protagonist learns by mistake to lead a better life. Then a stage is reached when a spirit of universal benevolence overpower him. Under this positive influence, 'Man' undergoes such a transmutation that he sheds all evil and reaches a high level of cosmic awareness, which provides him with eternal peace, joy and tranquility. In Lord of the Flies, the title is derived from Jewish faith in which demons are believed to have a specific hierarchy. The highest order is attributed to Beelzebub who is also known as the Lord of the flies. Beelzebub is the chief representative of the false Gods. Though the novel is named after the supreme ' Devil', yet this evil power is not the protagonist of the novel. Golding does not evil in this novel but shows that man can over come evil by a conscious mental effort, as he is the supreme creation of God. The whole novel and more specifically the end have a deep significance. The boys who had a nightmarish experience at the island are rescued towards the end. Jack and his savages discover the hiding place of Ralph. They try to crush him to death by sliding rocks and doodlers and when this fails then they try to smoke him out. Ironically, the island bursts into flames which attract a passing British cutter and suddenly while, expecting to be killed any moment, Ralph found: A naval officer stood on the sand, looking down at Ralph in wary astonishment. On the beach behind him was the cutter, her bows hauled up and held by two ratings. In the stern - sheets another rating held a sub - machine gun. 1 The boys are rescued and the arrival of the naval officer for Ralph symbolizes reinstitution of order. The end shows the lamentation of the novelist on the degeneration of the values and presents his adverse comment on the rising decadence and spiritual sterility not only in England or in Europe but in the entire world, so to say. In this sense, Ralph's outburst in the end takes up allegorical significance because he wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of the man's heart 2 . The novel conveys a serious message hidden behind the superficial boyish adventure. The story shows a negative and reverse evolution of man. The boys had reached that island fresh from an ordered and civilized society but gradually they revert back to barbarism, savagery and primitive ways of life. They fall victims to the primary passion like anger, pride, fear, jealously and revenge. How easy it is for a civilized man to descend to the lowest level of inhumanity is amply shown through jack Merridew who had earlier resented, killing and loathed "the enormity" of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the "und/bearable blood", but later he advocates hunting and relished murdering his fellow beings as well as seeking to appease 'the Beast' by offering it the head of the killed sow There have been different interpretations about the boy's behavior in the island. It has been visualized as a parable of the man who suddenly finds himself free from the shackles of the customs and civilization and then he begins to worship the Lord of the Flies.
Authors and Affiliations
Rattan Singh Yadav
Keywords
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