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Does human nature work against democracy? Give your opinion and give some evidence from the novel Lord of the flies. Also explain your evidence, too..

I think that the answer to this is largely contingent on how one views the essence of human nature.  If one sees human actions as inherently evil, then democracy is an exercise in futility, at best.  There would be little to indicate that a government predicated upon human participation would work if that basis is evil or inherently negative because of the nature of human beings.  In contrast, if one believes that human nature is one capable of great things and that human goodness is within the capacity of people, then a democratic experiment could be worthwhile as it would be the political expression of such a sentiment.  The ongoing battle between the boys on the island between the baser instincts of human beings as well as the "stronger angels of human nature" provides an excellent backdrop to examine how this dynamic unfolds.

In short, no. In this country, the way it is set up now--with corporations free to do whatever they want without impunity--democracy cannot flourish well because there is too large of a gap between the rich and the poor. There were two eras in hisotry when legislation favored the middle class, during Roosevelt's time and during Kennedy's administration. During both of those times, the governement insituted legislation that tried to make a blance between the rich and the poor. One good example was initiating student grants and loans for college. I went to college during the best time in the 1970's when grant money and tution were level. Nowadays the student who relies on aid ends up taking out a huge loan and pehaps never gets to own a home because they spend their entire working life paying off the student loan. (Hopefully that won't be the case for you.) Anyways, in Lord of the Flies, all the characters use what personal power they have to make it on the island.

Human nature – as illustrated in the novel – is unpredictable: it is The Beast. People have striven throughout the ages and across the globe to implement systems that support the many, and yet there remain as many diverse and complex systems of government as there are facets of the human psyche. Humanity as a group is not configured to work against any system: but nor is it fully encompassed within any. Human nature does not therefore actively work against democracy, but it does not work for it either. The joy of humanity over the animal kingdom is our individuality, and it is this quality that makes the ideal system unfathomable at present.

 What the novel shows us is that we require guidance and boundaries as humans in order to survive and thrive. The question is raised as to who has the right to impose these boundaries, and how we as individuals accept or reject imposed authority.

The e-notes summary of Chapter 12 gives a clear outline of each character's response at the end of the novel and clarifies the qualities of each. The analysis shows the diversity of the individual and their contribution to the deterioration of order on the island.