...Good or Evil? The Fight For Dominance The fierce battle between the lightness and darkness of man’s heart has coexisted since the earliest of times. William Golding’s award-winning novel, Lord of the Flies, is one that captures this very judgment. A group of young British schoolboys who were once innocent and pure of heart are quickly devoured by the dark powers of destruction, savagery, and murder. However, even with these destructive powers at hand, the young schoolboys along with their distant memories of being in a civilized society, fight in an epic battle to try and prevent the full outbreak of evil. Golding illustrates the never-ending combat of “good” and “evil”, amidst the young schoolboys and the Beast; Ralph, the democratic leader, contrary to Jack, who favoured dictatorship; and the strength of civilization versus the forces of human nature. First and foremost, the story displays the constant conflicts between the innocence of the British schoolboys and the dark nature of what they come to know as the Beast. An example of this is when the twins Sam and Eric encounter the Beast in Chapter Six: "Beast From Air." In the beginning of the chapter, Sam and Eric, who were on duty to watch the fire, falls asleep as a dead parachutist falls from the war in the adult world and lands on the island. When they awake from their sleep, they noticed a “figure that hung with dangling limbs” (103) and mistake it as the Beast. Sam describes to Ralph that the Beast was ‘“furry”’...
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...Indicative Title: Corruption and Evil in Human Nature: Analysing How Crisis Affects Human Nature in "Lord of the Flies" and "Blindness" Aim of the Study: The aim of the study is to highlight the roots of evil in human nature, and how crisis can change a lot of things in a human being when it strikes by analysing two novels: "Lord of the Flies" and "Blindness". Abstract: "Lord of the Flies" tackles the theme of human nature. Throughout the novel, William Golding illustrates how sick and twisted human nature can get when faced by crisis. On the other hand, "Blindness" which is a novel by the Protégées author Jose Saramago, questions the good and conscious part in the heart and brings it to test. Both novels dig deep in human nature and go under the surface to reveal the source of evil in human nature. This study is designed to employ scenes and events in both novels to prove how fragile the sense of civilisation is in human beings, and how easy it can be to fall in the ambush of savagery as a last resort for survival. The research will analyze both novels separately from a psychoanalytical point of view then compare the findings of the two works. Introduction: The research is about two novels that tackle the same crucial theme of the evil nature in human beings. The two novels were written in different eras and as a result of different circumstances which in one way or another affected the philosophy of both of the writers. Lord of the Flies is an English novel written...
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...Literary Devices in Lord of the Flies Ayomide Fakuade English III - 2nd Period 4-18-13 Is every human being predisposed with the capabilities to do evil? This question has stimulated minds since the beginning of time. In the Bible, as far back as the book of Genesis, we find the ineluctable capacity of man to commit evil. Likewise, in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies we find the depiction of the proclivity of man to transgress. William Golding “presents the universe under the guise of a school adventure story on a coral island” (Forster V). Golding presents the universe and the inescapable struggle of human kind between good and evil through his prolific use of symbols and metaphors. Symbols are one of the principle literary devices used by Golding in Lord of the Flies. Golding uses many of the devices discovered by the boys to represent vital elements of structured society. Ralph makes the statement, “The fire’s the most important thing” (Golding 162). The fire symbolizes the structured society the boys want to exist on the island. The fire represents structure and organization. Without the fire, the boys will never be rescued, and without an organized, structured society, they will not survive. Just as organization and structure are essential to the perpetuation of a society, the fire is vital to the survival of the boys on the island. When describing the setting of the novel, the narrator states, “It [the island]...
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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 less and less civil while the others follow. Jack...
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...Savagery vs. Civilization The civil and savage nature lies in all human beings, each instinct dominant when the other is not. This is the overall theme of William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. William Golding was a British poet, playwright, and novelist, most famous for Lord of the Flies. This novel is about the internal struggles of young boys marooned on a tropical deserted island. They fight to maintain their civil ways, in which each boy learned, isn’t all that easy. When civilization isn’t present in a person’s life, the savage beast inside them takes over. Roger, Ralph, and Simon all have entirely different struggles with the opposing forces within them. Some succumb easier than others. Roger lost the civilized life he was used to and because of that the natural savage instinct inside of him took over, and a bully and eventual murderer was created. In this quote, the sadistic Roger is beginning to blossom, but he still has a stronger civil instinct in control. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space around Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of old life Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law” (Golding 56). Roger is so tempted to throw these rocks at Henry, a younger boy, but his socially acceptable standards at home are still burned into his mind, for he reluctantly backs down. The invisible...
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...One of the main themes in William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the struggle between Society and Savagery. The boys' first intention on the island is to create a society based on the one they had in the adult world: one with rules, limitations and order. But at the same time, they want to have fun. As time progresses, they start ignoring the rules that they had originally set. Instead of using the designated lavatory stones for bathroom purposes, they start using the bathroom wherever they want, even near their special meeting place. The shelters that they all intended on helping to build end up being built by only a few of the boys and therefore, are not as sturdy as they could have been. According to Henri Talon, "[The boys] planned order and allowed disorder to settle" (Talon). The longer they stayed on the island, the more they lost touch with the boundaries set by society, and they eventually started to resort to primitive behavior. Throughout the novel, each of the boys struggles to keep remnants of society in tact, while their primitive nature tries to reel them into savagery. Some of the boys give into their primitive behavior very quickly, while others strive to hold on to their civility as long as possible. This struggle is portrayed masterfully by Golding who uses symbolism to enhance the reader's understanding of it. The first prominent symbol of society that we see is the conch shell that Ralph finds near the shore at the beginning of the novel. Upon Piggy's suggestion...
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...Throughout the history of civilization, the forces of righteousness and evil have battled inside man. In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding explores a religious allegory in order to convey the innate forces of good and evil inside of man. After a group of civilized British boys is stranded on a pristine island, two boys are dead and the island burns leaving nothing but ashes. Golding uses the dramatic difference on the island to show the wreckage of the war between good and evil and the inevitable aftermath: destruction. The good, evil, and humankind are epitomized by Jack, Simon, and Ralph respectively. As a civilized boy turned savage, Jack Merridew represents the darkness in mankind. Jack, at the beginning of the novel, is a hot-tempered...
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...In both Lord of the Flies by William Golding and I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill, the authors have effectively used settings and locations in their novels. This is a great impact, as most of the settings and locations have a meaning, representing something to do with the plot. The writers have used certain locations in a way that affects the understanding and thoughts of the reader, ranging from calm, peaceful settings, to terrifyingly dark ones. Each novel has different high and lows to their story, and locations are effectively used to express this. In Lord of the Flies, the Island is the main location, and this is used as a symbol of isolation. The Island is in the middle of the sea, and the location is unknown. The boys are separated from the outside, and are isolated from society and rules, leading to no order. William Golding is trying to create a claustrophobic fear in the readers, one of the main emotional states shown in the book while the boys are on the island. The Island is the opening location of the novel, which is deliberately violent, as this is the setting of “the scar.” This instantly portrays the negative effect the boys will have on the environment of the Island. The influence this has by being at the very start of the book on the reader’s interpretation is that it will give a feel to the reader about how the plot will twist throughout the book. In I’m the King of the Castle the main location is Warings. Warings is a ‘gloomy,’ ‘entirely graceless’...
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...Savagery in The Lord of the Flies William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The flies’ presents us with a group of English boys who are isolated on a desert island, left to try and retain a civilised society. In this novel Golding manages to display the boys slow descent into savagery as democracy on the island diminishes. At the opening of the novel, Ralph and Jack get on extremely well. We are informed Jack, “shared his burden,” and there was an, “invisible light of friendship,” between the two boys. Jack changes considerably throughout this novel. At first he tells us, “I agree with Ralph we’ve got to have rules and obey them,” This shows us that at the beginning of the novel, just like Ralph, he wants to uphold a civilised society. We are also notified, “Most powerfully there was the conch.” As the conch represents democracy we can see that at the beginning of the novel the boys sustain a powerful democratic society. This democratic society does not last very long as the children (especially Jack) have a lack of respect for the conch and the rules. We can see this when Jack decides, “We don’t need the conch anymore, we know who should say things.” As the conch represents democracy we can see that civilisation on the island is braking up and savagery is starting to take over. We can also see a brake up in society when Jack says, “Bollocks to the rules!” Here we can see that Jack contradicts himself while managing to diminish the assembly and the power of the conch. Golding...
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...In regards to whether humans are born evil or innocent, British philosopher Thomas Hobbes once said,”The condition of man... is a condition of war of everyone against everyone,” (bhsa). The debate of whether humans are born pure or evil has been argued since the 1500’s and one person who had an opinion on this topic was William Golding. Golding, a former WW2 veteran, agreed with Hobbes’s belief that humans are inherently evil and this concept is shown throughout his novel, The Lord of the Flies. In the book, a group of British boys crash on an island and the constant power struggle between two of the boys, named Ralph and Jack, along with the desire to survive brings out the worst in all of the boys . The question of whether humanity is inherently...
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...“What is an adult? A child blown up by age.” (Simone de Beauvoir). Is William Golding saying anything about the adult world in Lord of The Flies? William Golding says so much about adults it was an adult world he placed the boys in and the boys react in a way that adults very well can react. And In a way the power struggle, mob mentality, fear and violence represented in Lord of The Flies has played out many times over history. William Golding was not just comparing the two worlds they were one and the same represented by boys because really adults can be just as vulnerable and volatile they simply hide behind the idea of maturity which can quickly disintegrate when scared. This of course happened in Lord of The Flies the maturity disintegrated and they descended into savagery. It is simply human nature “I believed that the condition of man was to be morally diseased creation…trace the connection between his diseased nature and the international messes he gets himself into”. (Pg. 253) The symbolism in Lord of The Flies represents so many different aspects of society. The conch represents democracy and power it being the object that brings them together to vote, assemble and speak freely. As long as the conch exists the island is a place of order and fairness and with the conch comes Ralphs reign as chief. But when the boys begin to ignore the conch does Jack gain more power though he is still not equal to Ralph until the conch is destroyed the conch represented Ralphs authority...
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...Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other. Evil is inherited in man, as it is the societal bounds that restrict one’s savage nature from arising. Structure and order are key in the survival of humanity and consequences keep us in check of our morality. In Lord of The Flies, by William Golding an award winning author depicts a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. The novella dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to freedom from their society. William Golding’s expresses his basic philosophy through character and symbols foretells that man was inherently...
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...Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.” In this statement, Roosevelt argues that a civilization is based on the intellectual human communication of individuals. When this gets taken away, the civilization crumbles. William Golding writes about this in his novel, Lord of the Flies, a story of boys stranded on an island whom establish systems of organization to survive. A boy named Ralph is selected as chief, and immediately a power struggle begins between him and another boy named Jack. As time goes by, powerful connections to the culture of the old world that they came from...
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...Abbey Jolliffe Lord of the flies essay This essay is going to show the extent of which Jack and Ralph symbolise the struggle between good and evil. As you read further on you should notice that Jack goes to a much larger extent to represent evil rather than good, however Ralph is the complete opposite. Jack uses his talent and skill to become a hunter and Ralph to try and keep order and rules over the Island. Jack is quite selfish but Ralph is more caring towards the other boys. The essay will compare Jack and Ralph and show some of the few similarities that they have; it will also show the competition between them to try and become leader. My first impression of Jack was that he is used to being the leader and he thinks is better than everyone else, he is self-centred and quite arrogant; however Jack does have some good leadership skills as he was head of the choir. I think this because in the book it says, “kid’s names, why should I be Jack? I’m Merridew.” This suggests that Jack thinks that he is higher in authority than all the other boys because he wants to be called by his surname instead of his first name (Jack). I think Ralph gives a better first impression than Jack because he was immediately thinking about organising the boys on the island in order to get them all rescued. This shows that Ralph...
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...Analysis of the Major Characters In Lord of the Flies by William Golding In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in English 140 Submitted by: Ryan Mark L. Catanio Submitted to: Prof. Donna Alna C. Cortez September 08, 2014 A. Author’s Biography William Golding Biography Author (1911–1993) a. Synopsis William Golding was born September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. In 1935 he started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury. He temporarily left teaching in 1940 to join the Royal Navy. In 1954 he published his first novel, Lord of the Flies. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. On June 19, 1993, he died in Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England. b. Early Life William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He was raised in a 14th-century house next door to a graveyard. His mother, Mildred, was an active suffragette who fought for women’s right to vote. His father, Alex, worked as a schoolmaster. William received his early education at the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. When William was just 12 years old, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a novel. A frustrated child, he found an outlet in bullying his peers. Later in life, William would describe his childhood self as a brat, even going so far as to say, “I enjoyed hurting people.” After primary school, William went on to attend Brasenose College at Oxford University. His father hoped he would become...
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