| British novelist William Golding is most famous for his keen insights into human nature. His masterpiece Lord of the Flies should not be read as merely an adventure story for children but as a moral allegory on humanity. The evolution of the island society corresponds to that of human history. In the novel, the main characters are exemplifications of abstract concepts. While Ralph and Jack are the representatives of Democracy and Dictatorship respectively, Piggy is the epitome of Science and Simon Religion.The major issue of the novel is the evil of human nature, a point which has already provoked wide discussion. From a new perspective, i.e. the ethical literary perspective, this thesis attempts to examine the issues of good and evil reflected in the novel by applying mainly Aristotelian virtue ethics and Christian ethics as support so as to provide a new dimension for the interpretation of the novel. To certain extent, Lord of the Flies is a retrospection of WWII. On the basis of his wartime experience, Golding creates this novel with the intention to investigate the root cause of human suffering and the possible ways to turn the situation.In the novel Golding holds that if reason is overwhelmed by instinct, the ethical axis of a given society will turn accordingly. Without any supervision, the evil latent in human psyche will be released, resulting in the possible destruction of humankind himself. Devoid of spiritual dimension, both democracy and science are unable to defeat the evil of human nature. Religion can help rebuild a rich spiritual world for human beings, pointing them the way to redemption. Studied against the historical background of post WWII western world, Lord of the Flies has profound ethical significance. Not only does it fulfill the function of moral education, but sheds light of hope on mankind's redemption as well.
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