Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions based on the passage:
Lord of the Flies is a post-war fiction written by William Golding in 1954. The novel serves as a catalyst for intriguing discussion, especially regarding people's capacity for good and evil and the fragility of moral restraint. The book questions concepts such as the idea of community, leadership, and the rule of law. The novel gives an insight into human behaviour in a lawless land. It also explores the concept of civilization. Is civilization something that comes naturally to us, or is it imposed upon us?
Golding argues in his text that human beings are naturally savage. They get attracted towards violence and find pleasure in it. Sigmund Freud said that without the inherent capability of human beings to suppress their desires, civilization would have never happened. In the novel, Golding depicts this through a group of boys stranded on an uninhabited island. The novel shows how civilization works like a façade and hides the evil that is deeply rooted inside every individual. Even if civilization flourishes, we humans are merely hiding our beast and not destroying it.
What does the passage suggest about the role of civilization in human life?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
Civilization acts as a façade hiding inner brutality
Explanation
The passage explicitly addresses the exact role of civilization in the second paragraph, stating that the novel shows how "civilization works like a façade and hides the evil that is deeply rooted inside every individual." It goes on to clarify that even when civilization flourishes, humans are merely masking their darker impulses rather than eliminating them entirely.
The remaining options run counter to the author's arguments in the excerpt. Option 1 is incorrect because the passage notes that civilization is "not destroying" our inner beast. Option 2 is incorrect because the text suggests civilization requires the suppression of basic human desires to exist, meaning it does not emerge effortlessly. Option 4 is incorrect because the novel highlights the absolute fragility of moral restraint rather than guaranteeing moral perfection.
Key Points
When answering inference or detail-based questions, look for direct metaphorical mappings in the text. The word "façade" is used specifically to define the outer layer of civilization covering up a chaotic human core, pointing directly to the correct option.