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William Golding, born on September 19th 1911, was a British Novelist and won the Novel Prize for Literature in 1983 before dying on June 19th 1993. Goldings' mother fought as a suffragette in order to gain women the right to vote and his father was a schoolmaster. He attended Oxford University and majored in English literature and, with his degree, taught at Bishop Wordsworth's School and his experience gave him the inspiration for his award winning novel Lord of the Flies. Not only did this influence Lord of the Flies, but so did his role in the Royal Navy in World War II. Golding explains, “I began to see what people were capable of doing. Anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wrong in the head". He expresses this in Lord of the Flies by showing how when the boys are put in the situation, true evil and chaos are released. Unfortunately, after having a heart attack, his life came to an end.

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William Goldings' novel Lord of the Flies primarily takes place on an isolated tropical island. Lord of the Flies is set around 1950 and is heavily influenced by the fictional World War III that is occurring. Boys ranging from ages 6 to 12 are stranded alone on the island after having their plane shot down. The island is introduced as scorching, hazardous, and unknown, but the boys come to enjoy swimming in the gorgeous lagoon as time passes. The fun only lasts for a short period of time as the island starts to turn on them and they start to turn on each other. A big storm takes place foreshadowing the tragic events that are about to take place. The young civilized British boys are forced to find shelter, food, and a government that they can all agree on. By the end, the island is in flames and the boys have destroyed the beauty and mystique of the previously uninhabited island. The war greatly resembles their behavior as the boys start out civilized and use communication, but at the end the island is in flames and many have died.

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In Lord of the Flies the boys were originally civilized and considered good people, but put under the circumstances they did horrific, unimaginable, evil things. So the question above asks under what circumstances can a good person do evil things and remain good. There is a lot of debate around the ethicality of animal testing becuase people question whether the scientific benefits and advancement outweigh the harm done to the animals. Philosophical morality plays an important role in this; Utilitarianism, a school of thought founded by Jeremy Bentham, states that “a morally good action is one that helps, or makes happy, the greatest number of people”. In regards to animal ethics, any experimentation must provide the greatest benefit to society and the most positive consequences. Bentham proposed that all punishment entails agony, so for it to be moral it must expel a greater consequence. This philosopher's sole moral foundation when it came to the treatment of animals was that their suffering must be minimized. A lot of controversy around his idea arose as people asked if painlessly killing an innocent animal due to experimentation was morally justified. People argued that animals have a right to naturally live out their life regardless if they are killed painlessly. Adding on to the driving question, can a good person experiment on innocent animals and remain a good person? Although it is wrong to experiment on animals, the person can be contributing to scientific research that can save hundreds of lives so according to Bentham the person is making the morally good choice.

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Lord of the Flies was heavily influenced by Golding's experience in the war and there is an ongoing struggle of self evaluation of morals when participating in war. As known, people do not go to war and come back the same due to the horrific things they are forced to do and witness just as the boys are not the same after their time on the island. In the opening of the song, the narrator is innocent, proud, and has the intent to be a hero of war with the promise of greatness. His initial experience is friendly as he meets people, learns to fight, and marches. As the song progresses, he is put in a situation where he is forced to dehumanize a prisoner. When the narrator goes home at the end of the war, he is considered a hero but deep down inside he doesn’t feel right. “A hero of war/Is that what they see/Just medals and scars/So damn proud of me”. In this circumstance he was a good person who was put in a situation to do evil, yet is still considered a honorable person in the eyes of society. But in Lord of the Flies, the boys were good civilized people but did wrong in the given circumstances, and were looked at as a disappointment from the officer because they showed such savagery. While the narrator was honored for his actions, the boys were condemned for theirs.

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In the painting above, by Al Molina, it is depicted that once a person does something evil, it is a permanent scar and you cannot go back to being a good person. This is symbolized by the scar left on the island by the plane crash because that piece of land will never be the exact same. After analyzing Lord of the Flies, a common question asked by the reader is what will happen to the boys once they return to civilization? They will not be able to considered good people, even under the circumstances because of the murders that were committed on the island. They will forever carry that in their heart, just as the evil will forever be a part of this person. This painting doesn’t tell the viewer what the person did, it states that once something evil is done, there is no going back, it doesn't look at the circumstance. Another interpretation is that even if someone commits an act of evil, there is still a good moral part to the person. It is the psychology of a glass half full, glass half empty situation. The person did something evil, but it doesn’t mean that they are a bad person because there is still good that the person does. This shows the neutral point of view to the question of whether a good person can do something evil and remain good. In this interpretation, the person is neither good nor bad.

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Kulani Abendroth-Dias: Why Good People Do Bad Things    

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Kulani Abendroth-Dias: Why Good People Do Bad Things    

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In the Ted Talk, Kulani combines psychology and morality to help the viewer understand “Why Good People Do Bad Things”. In her research she found that people attempt to justify their bad actions with cognitive dissonance. This means that they are aware it is wrong, but do not want to live with themselves knowing they did a bad thing, so they justify it. An example of this is in Lord of the Flies at the end of the novel when the officer asks the boys who is in charge. Jack doesn’t step up for his actions; he uses “displacement of responsibility” in order to remain a good person. Another point Kulani makes is that humans are social animals and that it is human nature to belong to a group in order for survival, even if the group isn’t good for oneself. It is also important to note that group norms strongly influence a person’s behavior. But is that justifiable in saying that the person remains good because they can justify it? It is better to admit that wrong has been done and regret it in order to remain a good person rather than blame others for the actions.

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Behavioral psychologist Kulani gives a researched based talk on understanding why Good People do bad things and outlines how we could identify the triggers as well as measures to prevent it.

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Behavioral psychologist Kulani gives a researched based talk on understanding why Good People do bad things and outlines how we could identify the triggers as well as measures to prevent it.

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Kulani Abendroth-Dias: Why Good People Do Bad Things - And What We Can Do About It

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Behavioral psychologist Kulani gives a researched based talk on understanding why Good People do bad things and outlines how we could identify the triggers as well as measures to prevent it.

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In this situation, a good person in a good relationship does something evil. Something the speaker struggles with is whether the person can be redeemed and revert to being trustworthy. In a circumstance like this, it is extremely difficult to believe that they can still be a good person because they can be forgiven but their actions will not be forgotten. Ralph and Jack can forgive each other but they will never let go of the atrocious acts of war they committed. Once there is betrayal, it is a seed of doubt planted in a person because it is one of the hardest feelings to cope with. In this example, a good person can do something evil but will not remain a good person. That does not mean you don’t still love them or care about them, it means that they have changed and are unable to go back.

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Fredericks, Sarah, and William Golding. Lord of the Flies. Salem Press, a Division of EBSCO Information Services, Inc., 2017.

“Hero of War.” Spotify, Rise against , 2008, www.google.com/url sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiwu8v8ju73AhWDpIkEHU2tAs0QFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Ftrack%2F2JLTnhDtn8iEAUpK8U9LNw&usg=AOvVaw3GjtrmkT_bsAXwzaxUDEsn.

“The Only Morality in a Cruel World Is Chance Greeting Card by Al Molina.” Fine Art America, fineartamerica.com/featured/the-only-morality-in-a-cruel-world-is-chance-al-molina.html?product=greeting-card.

Team, by: Content. “Definition of Utilitarianism - Definition, with Examples.” Legal Dictionary, 28 Oct. 2016, legaldictionary.net/utilitarianism/.

“William Golding.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 26 May 2021, www.biography.com/writer/william-golding.