...Velma Johnson English 200-E81 July 5, 2014 “The Lottery” foreshadows and settings Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery”, this story filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very real in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. “The Lottery” clearly couriers Jackson's feelings concerning mankind’s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of “The Lottery”, the objects, the people’s actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants. The setting of the story helps to magnify its impact on the reader because it is set in a small town similar to the one many of us may know of, and that is symbolic of everything that we consider to be right in America. The story begins on a magnificent summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very joyful but strikes a contrast between the surroundings of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is sober, where the adults, stood together, away from the stones in the corner, and their “jokes were quiet and they smiled rather...
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...through interwoven strands of egoism, guilt, symbolism, and character...
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...is done in the literary art form, but how does his work relate to our world view of myth? What is used in his work as mythic symbolism? Is it modern myth or old myth presented in a new light? These questions will be addressed in this essay. In the Sword of Shannara, Brooks takes the reader into world that resembles ours today, but is indeed very different. Brooks weaves a tale that could be seen as a past long forgotten or a look into the future, where mythological creatures are no longer myth, but living breathing beings that coexist in the human world. The myth in his work is not the characters he has created, but the legend and tale of an ancient sword, which symbolizes the truth that not all beings can accept about themselves. Brooks’ tale parallels the everyday life and thoughts that exist in the world today, but outside of the normal bounds that one would be used to. Common across myth throughout time and seen here again in Brooks’ work. Brooks introduces the young man who is on a quest, but with a twist. The birthright that this young man is to claim is not a throne, but a legendary sword, that has become myth in the world in which he lives; also we have the ever present struggle between good and evil. The themes found throughout Brooks’ work parallel that of myth throughout time. Brooks like Tolkein uses mythic symbolism throughout his work; not just in the form of ancient relics...
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... The Nature of Man To quote Buddha, “It’s a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe that lures him to evil ways.” In essence, this quotation denotes that because every human being has a brain, they also possess the ability to think and act in a malicious and inhumane manner. Considering this, William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, illustrates that uncivil behaviour will prevail on the adult-free island. In a like manner, Macbeth by Shakespeare gives insight to the lengths people will go to so that one can achieve personal profits at a rapid pace. Through similar fashions, both novels depict the true nature of human beings. Similarities between the characters of Jack from the Lord of the Flies and Macbeth from Macbeth reveal that power and greed is the root of all evil. In addition, the use of knives and representation of blood in both novels plays large roles in the quests for power. Also, similarities in plot structure help to further establish the sinful nature of humans. One can conclude that both Macbeth and Lord of the Flies give insight to the fact that human nature is predominantly evil through the characterization of Jack and Macbeth, symbolism of knives and blood and similarities within plot structure. Initially, the predominantly evil aspects of human nature show through the characterization of Jack and Macbeth. In the Lord of the Flies, the society the boys live in begins to crumble as Jack becomes...
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...Ahab’s Leg and Moby Dick Melville uses symbolism in his novel Moby Dick to express his theme. Anti-Transcendentalism plays a large role in his writing as well. Captain Ahab’s leg is a symbol used to express natures mark on man along with anti-transcendentalist ideas. Melville also uses Moby Dick to represent man vs nature. Captain Ahab’s leg and Moby Dick represent anti-transcendentalist ideas and are symbols throughout the story. Captain Ahab is the captain of the Pequod whaling ship in the story. The singular purpose of the Captain’s whaling mission is to hunt down and kill a whale name Moby Dick. In his previous encounter with Moby Dick the Captain lost his leg to the whale. In place of his real leg the Captain has a prosthetic leg made of out whale bone. The Captain’s bone leg has quite a few meanings. It represents struggle to readjust to life, the want for vengeance, and anger. The Captain wants to invoke vengeance on Moby Dick because of his unrightful taking of his leg. This strong anger towards Moby Dick makes him obsessed on getting revenge. He offers a reward to all of the crew members aboard the boat for whoever kills Moby Dick; “Whosoever of ye raises me a while headed whale, with three holes punctured in his starboard fluke - look ye, whosoever of ye raises me that same white whale, he shall have this gold ounce, my boys” (Melville 4). This reward offering shows that the Captain will go to the ends of the sea and back in order to have Moby Dick killed. This...
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...Devil. Brown's illusions about the goodness of his society are crushed when he discovers that many of his fellow townspeople, including religious leaders and his wife, are attending a Black Mass. At the end of the story, it is not clear whether Brown's experience was nightmare or reality, but the results are nonetheless the same. Brown is unable to forgive the possibility of evil in his loved ones and as a result spends the rest of his life in desperate loneliness and gloom. Though a work of fiction, "Young Goodman Brown'' is widely considered to be one of the most effective literary works to address the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Hawthorne is also remembered for helping to establish the short story as a respected form of literature and as a proponent of instilling morals and lessons into his writing. Source: Short Stories for Students, ©2012 Gale Cengage. "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne chronicles the disturbing dream of a young Puritan man in Salem. In the dream, Goodman Brown comes face to face with evil and is forced to examine the nature of evil in man. He is disgusted by the evil he encounters, not realizing his own involvement. Through a psychoanalytic approach to analyzing the text, the reader can see that the meaning of the text lies in discovering the meaning of Goodman Brown's encounter in the woods. The story begins with Goodman Brown leaving his wife, Faith for an overnight errand. She begs him not to go, but he does so anyway...
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...Elements of Religious Tradition Stacy Christenson REL 134 August 30, 2012 Rudy Morrow Elements of Religious Tradition Many religions believe in a divine being, this means that they believe in one God or many gods. However, not all religions believe in divine beings such as Buddhism. A divine plan is set out for those who believe in this plan. Although humans are exceptional, the meaning of a cosmic plan comes solely from an individual. The belief of a cosmic plan appears to be a struggle between good and evil forces, in which humans are right in the middle (Molloy 2010). Because human actions are so important, they should be directed by a foundation of morals, which is meant to be internalized by the individual. The religious groups that believe in these good and evil forces are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Molloy, 2010). This is one way a certain religion encourages the divine relationship. Molloy, (2010) states “In India, the divine is worshiped in its female aspects as the Great Mother (also known as Kali and Durga) or as other female deities” (p. 17). There are many other religions that believe females are the divine one, such as Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. These religions believe that the mother of Jesus, Mary, is a strong role model for woman’s behavior. Every religion has their own sense of divine relationship this is with the intention that they hold their religion sacred (Molloy 2010). Many religions have their own ways of dealing with sacred...
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...Lord of the Flies Report In the novel, “Lord of the Flies”, by William Golding the author talks about a group of boys that are stranded on a deserted island after a dangerous plane crash in which all adults died. The boys started off as innocent schoolboys that you would expect to find in the 1940's, but quickly descend into savages. Ralph, the first boy we meet in the novel, is appointed the "chief" of all of them. Throughout the story he develops a close relationship with Piggy, a boy who gained his name due to his weight. Piggy is immediately recognized as the voice of the adult world when he states that “I expect we'll want to know all their names, and make a list. “We ought to have a meeting." This statement shows Piggy's reliance on law and order, and shows his desperation for his, and the other boy’s, well-being. Throughout this book one can say that Piggy and Ralph had many differences and similarities. Some of the obvious differences are the size of the two boys. Ralph is a fairly skinny kid whereas Piggy is a more pudgy or fat boy. Also another similarity the two shares are that Ralph and Piggy both show signs of leadership, but Ralph appears to be more of the one to take charge than Piggy. Piggy is slightly younger than Ralph. He is the weakling in the group being overweight and suffering from asthma. He is dressed similar to Ralph in a typical school uniform and wears glasses. He is weak, smart, and friendly. In the text, Piggy seems to be shown throughout...
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...Imagine what the world would be like if evil always triumphed the good in everything, would humanity cease to exist? Evil within humanity and situations evoked by the character’s actions is reiterated in King Lear through nature. Within each character in the play there is both good and evil, how much of it depends on the character. Shakespeare uses this aspect to foreshadow the tragic events forthcoming. In King Lear by William Shakespeare one of the predominant themes used throughout the play is evil over throwing good in extreme situations. Nature is used throughout the play to describe whether characters are good or malevolent. When it comes to the characters, if they are good hearted, they are described as gullible or clueless (“The Theme...
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...However, he is sometimes uncertain about God, and he has sins. “The Chaplain had sinned, and it was good. Common sense told him that telling lies and defecting from duty were sins. On the other hand, everyone knows that sin was evil and that no good could come from evil. But he did feel good; he felt positively marvelous. Consequently, it followed logically that telling lies and defecting from duty could not be sins. The chaplain had mastered, in a moment of divine intuition, the handy technique of protective rationalization, and he was exhilarated by his discovery. It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism in justice” (Heller 263). Chaplain feels good that he has sins, and he thinks that lying to reject from duty is not a sin. In addition, he notices and discovers changes, such as blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism. Evil things dominate and valuable than good things. Chaplain starts to do sins, and he thinks that he does not do evil...
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...NO THANKSGET THE APP Where are you going, Where have you Been? Holzinger 1 Anna Holzinger Mr. Zameroski Honors English 9 7 February 2016 Word Count: 1002 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” A savior figure is kind and can be heroic, while a satanic figure is viewed mostly as an evil, hateful character. Throughout the story the reader will find hints or clues regarding which figure Arnold is displayed as. Joyce Carol Oates's short story presents him in two different ways, either a savior or satan. Arnold Friend is represented as a savior figure...
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... What is particularly peculiar about this journey is that it goes through the woods at night. And during this time period if you were caught in the woods at night you were considered a Satan worshiper, doing the Devil’s brood, or practicing witchcraft, which meant all the same things during this era. We know Young Goodman Brown is a Puritan based on his belief system, so this experience isn’t one he is looking forward to, but he knows he has to do it. Kind of like getting a shot, you know you have to do it, and it’s good for you, but you are hesitant about doing it. So along the journey he meets with a man that looks similar to him, but older. The man is kind of dark and shady, and he carries a staff that looks like a serpent. So the symbolism there represents that this man is the Devil. Throughout the duration of his journey, Goodman Brown sees townspeople in the woods, and the man that resembles the Devil talk to several of them. Knowing that being out in the woods at night associates you with Satan worshiping, he starts to wonder if all the townsfolk are two faced, Puritans by day, and Satan worshipers by night. The uncertainty is the revelation that Goodman Brown has. He never trusts anyone in the town after...
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...****Take note of points 2 and 6**** Title: Good grief: Lord of the Flies as a post-war rewriting of salvation history Author: Marijke van Vuuren 1. Introduction "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Mr Golding," said King Carl XVI Gustaf, presenting William Golding with the Nobel Prize in 1983. "I had to do Lord of the Flies at school" (Monteith, 1986:63). The Swedish king's words may well be echoed by countless people worldwide who have "had to do" Golding's first novel in various English courses. Indeed, this "unpleasant novel about small boys behaving unspeakably on a desert island" (1) may well have been done to death by exhaustive but reductive reading and teaching. Where Lord of the Flies has been read reductively, Original Sin writ large over it, readers have tended to respond to the novel in terms of its doleful view of humanity or its perceived theology. Its initial success reflected post-war pessimism, the loss of what Golding (1988a:163) has called his generation's "liberal and naive belief in the perfectability of man". Although the novel does not groan under a dogmatic burden to the extent that some critics have alleged, it has seemed the prime example of Golding's earlier writing, a tightly structured allegory or fable. … It is not surprising that the Bible's first and last books, on humankind's "origins and end" beyond the horizons of knowledge, turn to symbolic narrative. In Lord of the Flies Golding draws heavily on imagery from Genesis and the Apocalypse...
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...The Flies that Plague Us All " Lord of the Flies" is the book that could strike a nerve of each and every individual whoever reads it. To me, it seems like to start an enthralling and fascinating journey when diving between the lines of this work. Bearing in mind that it was written during the time of WWII , I’m not surprised that this book discusses the essential evil of man. The story begins with a group of fifteen prep-school boys are stranded on a Utopia-like paradise island in the pacific after their plane crashes. With no adult supervision, they immediately try to set up a social system like any modern-world people would. Initially, they elect a chief and call group meetings to discuss important things to do such as building shelters and maintaining a signal fire. Through this system they select an attractive, intelligent boy named Ralph as leader. They also select a wild, power-urging boy named Jack and a mellow, calm, an most importantly peaceful boy named Simon as his assistant-leaders. However, as the boys indulge in the joy of their freedom and find that nothing there could hold them back or their misbehavior, they begin to fall from the floor of civilization and order to the abyss of chaos. Golding portrays this novel with an exploring eye for details and natural images. No one shall ignore the brilliant descriptions Golding made through out the whole book. “A great platform of pink granite thrust up uncompromisingly through forest and terrace and sand and lagoon...
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...AP Literature and Composition 14.9.14 The Road’s Question Critic Roland Barthes states, “Literature is the question, minus the answer,” which is present within the novel ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy, who depicts the story of a father and son in a post-apocalyptic world. As the novel develops and the characters grow, McCarthy’s use of imagery and symbolism help create the question of whether or not ‘humanity can survive in a world that has lost everything.’ The man and the boy attempt to find a place that is not overrun with ‘bad guys’ and journey to the south where their hope of warm weather and safety may or may not be found. On this journey, vivid images and events about the people who have survived are seen through their trip. Due to the apocalypse that has struck the world, a lack of food, water, and safety are equivalent, if not trivial to the rape, murder, and cannibalism that has become a certain norm for the remaining humans. Unfortunetly those lack of rights and crimes happen in society today which comes to show that humanity, at its very core, is not much better than it would be in the novel’s situation. However, in the book, the ‘bad guys’ take these crimes and lack of law to an extreme not seen in life today, as seen by the mother of the boy, “No, I'm speaking the truth. Sooner or later they will catch us and they will kill us. They will rape me. They'll rape him. They are going to rape us and kill us and eat us and you wont face it.” The fear of death and...
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