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Curiosity In Lord Of The Flies

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau, an Eighteenth-century philosopher, theorized that the human was born with a blank state of mind, which he referred to as the tabula rosa. He believed humans were born pure, which was a revolutionary thought for the Eighteenth-century time period, as the general belief was that all humans were evil and inhabited by the devil. This idea led to the practice of beating children in order to literally beat the devil out of them, but unfortunately, human nature does not work that way. This born-into desire for evil leads to the controversy into whether or not the human being is born with an internal savage, innately evil and malevolent. Some believe the savage character is instilled within human nature due to environment and …show more content…

An inner, unexplained impulse can drive a person to do something they never would have consciously done, especially when it is an action or even a thought they would have morally considered to be wrong. This concept of sub-moral curiosity is best exemplified in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies in which the children are seen slowly abandoning society’s standard and exploring their wild, savage side. When Roger was tossing stones toward a younger boy, Henry, “there was a space around [the boy]...into which he dare not throw” (Golding 62). Roger experienced an inner urge to hurt Henry but because he still had ties to his moral, civilized side of his life, he gave himself a limit to which he would go away from his integrity. His inner curiosity drove his body to unconsciously threaten to harm the life of another human, his actions speaking for the savage possessed in him. Biblically, it is taught to “not let sin reign...so that [one obeys] its evil desires” (Romans 6:12 ESV). Because human nature is such that it can be manipulated by its wicked desires, there has to be guidance in the Bible in order to help humans overcome their evil nature and follow a life of godliness. The human has to be taught how to repent of their evil desires and turn away from them in an attempt to ignore their impulse to respond to their inner

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