In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the protagonist Ralph and the antagonist Jack function as the archetypal symbols for good and evil elements in human nature. The lost group of boys in the remote island is a microcosm allegorical of the real human world. As the story progresses, Golding juxtaposes good intended and evil intended events. The reader is shocked by the symbolic, yet ironic presence of evil in savage Jack and Roger, and also in originally good boys like Ralph, Sam, and Eric. Ralph, Sam, and Eric lose the battle of good and evil within themselves to the Lord of the Flies, which is symbolic of the evil elements in human nature.

Evil by nature, Jack and Roger commit evil actions based on their savagery. Having "painted faces and long hair" (pg. 58), Jack tempts every boy on the island to converge into evil...