Moral Ambiguity In William Golding's Darkness Visible And Rites Of Passage

In his later novel Darkness Visible and Rites of Passage, the Nobel Laureate William Golding is no longer obsessed with the binary opposition of good and evil. These two novels present more ambiguous moral issues through various skills.In this thesis, my study first shows how the titles of these books and names of the characters are related to the theme of moral ambiguity. In my analysis, I not only discern the deep meaning contained in the titles and names, but also try to link them with the details in these works.Symbolism is one of Golding's often-used skills. He often uses images with multilayered meanings to symbolize the complicated humanity. I first analyze the cultural and religious meaning of a certain symbol in Western tradition. Then I show how Golding subtly modifies its meaning by changing its context or combining it with other symbols.The religious rites play an important part in both books. Golding's rites contain elements of Christianity, paganism and even oriental religions. Thus they represent unpredictable potentialities of humanity. I first try to find out the origins of the rites. Then I point out the significances of every additional ingredient. Finally, I attempt to interpret the effect of combining various elements.Due to Golding's relentless exploration of humanity, he is regarded by many as a moral allegorist. But in these books, his moral teaching gives way to a more mature understanding of humanity—to understand the so-called good and evil as inherent in humanity. Moreover, he shows that he is also at home with modern narrative techniques. By using such skills as triadic patterning, partial concealment and delayed disclosure, and confrontation scenes, Golding successfully leaves deeper impression on the reader. And my study shows that these techniques help enhance the reader's knowledge of moral ambiguity.