...Power and Abuse Leaders with high authority have a potent influence on society. Power can either nurture subordinate people or ravage their self-worth through rules and demands. Abuse occurs because malicious impulses are not repressed nor denounced. Dictators notoriously kill several civilians, yet because of their position, they avert castigation from civilians. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of boys descend into savagery as Jack’s power ascends. “The Struggle for Iraq” by John Schwartz describes the process by which normal college students turn spiteful when they become prison guards. Lord of the Flies and “The Struggle for Iraq” illustrate how boundless authority often leads to sadistic behavior. Jack Merridew, a stubborn and fascist teenager in Lord of the Flies, represents man’s descent into savagery and brutality. After being elected as leader of the hunters, he tries to emulate Ralph’s position as chief. As he gradually gains power, the hunt -- along with violence -- turns into an unhealthy obsession. He convinces other boys to hunt because of the thrill; eventually, nearly every survivor chants, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in” (75). As more boys join the assembly, Jack’s thirst for barbarism becomes immense: “The forest near them burst into uproar. Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling...star naked save for the paint and a belt was Jack” (140). As Jack exalts, he starts abusing the boys for no apparent...
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...How could Lord of the Fliesbe described as an allegory? If it is an allegory, what message does Golding want to get across to his readers? What allegorical roles are the characters playing? Allegory Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Types of allegory 1. Political allegory 2. Social allegory 3. Religious allegory POLITICAL ALLEGORY Political Allegory in William Golding's Lord of the Flies’ “Lord of the Flies is an allegory on human society today, the novel's primary implication being that what we have come to call civilization is, at best, no more than skin-deep" Though the need for civilization is focused on in this novel, the significance of political order, shown allegorically, is consistently referenced to. When utilizing political allegory, the characters are used as symbols that, overall, represent some kind of political organization. In Lord of the Flies, the persons, or characters allegorized include Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Roger, the biguns, and the littluns; each considered an important component of their political establishments. For most every society, there is a system...
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...Gattaca and Lord of the Flies Comparison Essay By: Lauren Cody Gattaca and The Lord of the Flies have many overlapping themes like the loss of individuality or the abuse of power. The loss of individuality is shown through Jack and his tribe wearing their masks and hiding behind them when they hunt and run wild throughout the island. In Gattaca individuality is taken from people because their parents choose their children's genes before they are even born and individuals are grouped into genetically modified and invalids. The abuse of power is shown through Jacks power hungry nature while taking over island. In relation to Gattaca, business owners, the police, and the government all feel that they have the right to see your genes and judge...
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...What can power do to someone? When granted the illusion of having control or power over someone or something, most people might take their authority a little too far. When told this, most individuals may disagree, claiming they would never let their power get to their head or that they would be a fair and cunning leader. Unfortunately, domination is just too much too handle and almost always takes people too far. This is clearly demonstrated in stories such as The Stanford Prison Experiment and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. The Stanford Prison Experiment is a film about a group of scientists and psychologists who gather up young college boys and place them in a simulated prison, several boys acting as the guards and the rest acting as prisoners. Almost immediately after the experiment began, the guards turned extremely manipulative and violent because they think they can abuse their power and get away with it. It is not just the...
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...Civil societies consists of organizations and institutions that help and look after people, their health, and their rights. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding a group of kids are stranded on an island and have to fend for themselves. They attempt to create a civil society that ends up becoming unstable due to the jealousy of character named Jack who later becomes a dictator. Virginia’s early years consisted of death, disaster, disease, starvation and attack threats from the Native Americans. The Laws of Virginia are strictly based on God. Even though the Laws are based on God in creates organization whereas Jacks society is reckless and not civil. Jacks tribe from lord of the Flies and the Laws of Virginia society when compared and contrasted based on the civil society principles of free expression and philanthropy that the Laws of Virginia is more civil. Both Jacks society and Virginia’s society allow you to express yourself to a certain point without having to face the consequences. “ For hunting. Like in the war. You know-dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else”(Golding 63). Jack doesn’t have rules against expressing yourself, he just demands respect. Virginia is the same way because they don’t have rules against the way you express yourself, their only concern is that people follow God. “No man shall speak any word or do any act which may tend to the derision or despite of God’s holy word, upon pain of death”(24). The Laws of Virginia...
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...Thoreau once stated “The savage in a man is never quite eradicated”. Instances of abuse of power can be found in the case of Abu Ghraib prison and the Stanford prison experiment. Both of which highlights how, in time of conflict, respect and human rights can be violated under the name of national security. In times on total dominance of another being, the human mind will think differently and act in a way that can deface the rules of society. Just like slavery, although it is banned, if the dominant is to have complete power, is able to force the slave to complete all the commands. The Abu Ghraib prison is an institution where the guards force the prisoners to perform tasks ignoring their opinion and values. The guards had the power to be able to force the prisoners to ‘jerk off’, participate in male orgies and have females strip. All of these acts had pictures taken. Some of the guards who had worked at the prison fled and reported the issue with the media which had gotten public attention and understanding that the acts that were performed are indeed obstructing the laws of society and an obstruction of justice. Parallels to this can be seen in the Abu Ghraib and William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ as there are characters that act in a way which would be seem as questionable. Jack and the hunters gained a sense of superiority as they understood that they had full control of the pigs and had the power to do anything that they wish towards the pig. The hunters even went as far as...
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...In society today, one barely has any time to take care of one’s children. They are left alone and uncared for which often causes them to either react badly in every day life or to become accustomed to their solitude and learn to fend for themselves. Such realities can also be portrayed in works of fiction such as The Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies, two stories that may seem very different in content, but are based on very similar ideas. In these two stories, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are two main characters by the names of Katniss and Ralph who both go through their life journeys isolated from society and in each story, their situations becomes a disadvantage for them. Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games are novels that portray an abuse of power as a result of leadership roles in society, an absence of identity used as camouflage, and finally, a loss of innocence among the characters as a result of living in a corrupted and chaotic environment. In both stories, there is an abuse of power, which destroys the main characters’ lives. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, once Jack had decided to run the island the way he sees fit, things started to go downhill for Ralph. When Ralph was chief of the island, the children tried to stay as civilized as they could, and even started establishing rules and tasks for each person to accomplish. When Jack started to take control of the island, however, everything was completely ruined...
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...The novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, is about a group of boys who are stranded on a desolate island. They begin their struggle for survival by organizing and cooperating with each other. They elect a chief, a boy named Ralph, and a leader of the hunters, a boy named Jack. These two boys are the dominant figures of their newly formed society; however, two dominant males are by nature, unable to coexist and share power, therefore a struggle between them arises. Each of the boys wants to lead the society in the direction of their choosing. Ralph believes it is important to maintain a fire in the hope of rescue, while Jack emphasizes hunting for game and gratifying his killer instinct. Through the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding...
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...How Corrupt Are We? Many times in the book Lord Of the Flies, has there been showings and examples of “Corruption in Law/Government Rules” set in the book by Jack. Many in which have similarities with laws set in governments today. Jack set many rules to which many have met their fate to or has never went against the rules again. Governments now have many corrupt cops due to a bystander posting it on social media, which gets around very fast. Cops beating on “innocent” people have been a big topic this year, causing uprises in neighborhoods, and social media which eventually reaches news networks. This has happened several times in Lord Of the Flies but has never evolved due to the small amount of time they were on the island. Many people thought...
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...Lord Of The Flies is about boys trapped on an island with no parents, forcing them to grow up and start working together. William Golding did a good job at making the kids seem like normal, power hungry, trouble making boys. He also made this book relevant throughout the years and even in today's time. The adolescent ways of thinking, and acting as shown in the book are still being seen in this day and age. We all think we are more mature people who know how to logically solve problems, but no there are so many examples of childlike thinking everywhere. There are still many ways Golding’s old novel is relevant to today. During the book you see a lot conflict, savagery, fear, and civilization. All of these themes are still relevant today in school, the workforce, and in politics. One specific example of relevance would be the democracy the boys displayed at the beginning of the novel. When the boys wanted order and law they decided to pick a chief, and to do so they voted just like we would when picking a president. However, there was conflict after choosing the chief which was definitely demonstrated when our president was picked. The different opinions the boys had made it hard for them to get along and stay together. That...
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...“Power tends to corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” Essay “Power tends to corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Over time this statement has been changed and interpreted into its own meaning. Some say power does not corrupt it only attracts the corruptible, however, past events have given proof to dispute that theory. Power corrupts absolutely. This can be seen as we look back at previous leaders, for example: Louis XIV of France, Henry the Second of the Roman Empire, Katherine the Great, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Adolf Hitler. These names all have something in common, they were leaders, but unfortunately, power got to their heads and they were corrupted by their lifestyles and position of power. Some of the most brutal and powerful acts have happened when these names have been reigning over us. Given this, the point I am addressing in my essay is ‘how leaders corrupt absolutely and why’. Leadership is at its core, all about power and influence; however, there is a distinction between two types of power, socialized and personalized power. Socialized power is used to benefit others, and personalized power is used for personal gain. Most power that evolves starts out as wanting to help others but once the realization sets in that they can help themselves more, power starts to be used for personal gain. Examples of this have happened in history as dictators started out with good intentions but got corrupted absolutely because they became consumed...
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...Lord of the Flies Essay The darkness in man’s heart comes from having power. This really shows in the characters Jack and Rodger. For Ralph it was never about being in charge, but about getting home. To Jack having power was everything. Rodger hadn’t really cared about power at first, but took advantage of his power in the end. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys on the island slowly lose their sense of rationality because of the power Ralph, Rodger, and Jack have. Power never really got to Ralph the way it got to Rodger and Jack. He began to lose sight of what was truly important to him, which was being rescued. “’We can help them find us…So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire’” (38). Ralph thinks the fire is the most important thing for the boys to keep going. He begins to forget about the fire, Piggy starts to finish Ralph’s sentences for him because he cannot remember the thing most important. “He tried to remember…At last Piggy spoke, kindly…’Cos the smokes a signal and we can’t be rescued if we don’t have smoke’” (173). Without Piggy, Ralph would have gone just as crazy as the others in the same amount of time. Rodger did not begin to get power until Jack set off on his own to make his own tribe. At first Rodger was nothing more than a bully. He seemed unlikely to lose his sense of reason. “Rodger led the way straight through the castles, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones” (60)...
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...Most people would believe that Ralph’s foils is Jack, but what about Jack’s foil? In Lord of the flies Jacks foil is Roger, as sadistic who finds joy in killing. Throughout the book Jack changes with the help of Roger due to similar goals and personalities. This ends up leading to destruction and confirming Goulding’s idea on that humans are inherently evil, that the “beast resides within each human, giving us the capacity to destroy civilization, Jack wasn’t always evil, in the very beginning of Lord of the flies he’s a normal kid. He” Chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp” (Goulding 15). Jack uses this as a reason to be chief. But ends up losing to Ralph. His reaction to this is shocking “The freckles on Jack’s face disappeared under a blush of mortification” (Goulding 15-16). He’s so used to getting his way and being controlling because he was the leader of the choir now known as “hunters”. “The boy who controlled them was dressed in the same way through his cap badge was golden. He shouted an order and they halted gasping, sweating, swaying in the fierce light” (Goulding 13). His pride and selfishness leads him to becoming a dangerous new person. Moving on, like any other boy Jack was a bully to Piggy. At first it was verbal abuse “Your always sacred, Yah Fatty”...
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...mom told me to the boys took advantage of it. They thought that went I didn't react to them that I was okay with and it got worse and worse. Like at my school in Lord of the Flies Jack and his hunters violent actions escalate out of control. In William Golding's “Lord of the Flies” Jack’s violent sense of identity administers an uncontrollable savage response to the boys island culture. This cultural collision directly influences William Golding's purpose to prove that all humans are born evil. Previously to his arrival on the island Jack’s beliefs were firmly rooted in his upbringing of british culture. An example of this is on page 38 Jack says “We’ve got to have...
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...Lord Of The Flies And Othello Comparison Essay, Research Paper Lord of the Flies and Othello Comparison The age-old theme of good versus evil is presented in both William Golding s Lord of the Flies (LOTF), and William Shakespeare s Othello. The characters are used to show the battle between the two. Simon and Desdemona who represent purity and embody an innate goodness are challenged by many characters that do not possess the same holy qualities- who have actually subsided to the evil that is, in every way, their opposite. Jack and Iago represent the evil in the novels. Unfortunately in both pieces we see the loss of life for the pure characters through the clutches of evil. The evil does not necessarily win, as both characters maintain their standings as upright and completely pure individuals, even in their brutal murders. Simon and Desdemona clearly represent all that is good in the world. The characters are portrayed by the authors to be very understanding and compassionate individuals. Desdemona expresses in her language and actions, an innocent, unselfish love and concern for others. This is evident when Desdemona makes pleas on behalf Cassio for Othello s forgiveness, and in her inability to comprehend a woman s desire to cheat. Cassio has asked Desdemona to make a plea to Othello for his return to office. Desdemona, being the compassionate woman that she is asks Othello the first chance she gets, Good my lord, If I have any grace or power to move you,...
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