The ethical void or the parody of western modernity in gelding’s lord of the flies

Abstract EN

This paper examines the issue of ethics in Lord of the Flies by the English Postmodern writer, William Golding.

Ethics is here broadly understood as man's ability to act well, to adopt codes of conduct so as to maintain order without which life in society would be impossible.

The study concludes that from an ethical point of view, human being, as described in the novel, seems to be an empty being.

He is naturally inclined to do harm, specifically in the ence of true references that could guide his actions.

More importantly however, the article demonstrates that, as opposed to the commonly held idea, the evil portrayed in Lord of the Flies is not exclusively linked to human nature.

It is rather the product of society.

More precisely, it results from Western modernity, an ideology that fostered free-thinking, individualism and total freedom, after calling into question the ethical foundation of the world, that is, the traditional values that guided the human conduct over time.

As such, Lord of the Flies satirically represents the ethical void or chaos in which the modernist project tragically introduced humanity.