...In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding illustrates that there is an inner beast living in all people, and is merely masked by the confines of society. Young British boys go through a life-altering experience, in which they must adapt lifestyles for a chance of surviving. Throughout the novel, it is evident that evil is within all humans, although most hide that characteristic. The author, William Golding, utilizes the story as an example of how people will eventually revert to their savage instincts as the breakdown of society occurs and rules disappear. Once civilization disappears, which occurs since the boys are stranded in an island, it becomes a free-for-all type of mentality. Also, the author uses fire and flies as a symbol of evil, savagery, and pandemonium. Finally, once all evidence of a civilized culture is erased from their hearts and minds, the boys resort to murder; which is thought to be the ultimate sin. Golding develops his theme that savagery and survival is an innate sixth sense, which is present within everyone, and is demonstrated by the actions of the...
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...Someone that is either too controlling or uncontrolling will likely lead to the downfall of the team because of increased disorder or a change in the path towards the team’s goal. As can be seen in another character from “Lord of the Flies” who dictates a group of savages, it is described that “power lay in the brown swell of his forearms” (150) and “authority sat on his shoulder” (150). Because of Jack’s implementation of a tyrannical ruling style, his group eventually falls into the trap of disorder and fear, preventing benefit to the members of the group itself. On the other hand, if the team is lead or influenced by excessive leniency, then it will fail to maintain order and prosper. If a key figure or decision maker in our team adapts either an extremely controlling or uncontrolling style, the group will fail the cooperate towards the collective goal. Therefore, avoiding those who are too aggressive and controlling, or those who are careless will be a large detriment...
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...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 by William Golding in 1954. The...
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...Symbolism in the Lord of the Flies In everyday life, different objects, places, and people symbolize various meanings. In the major motion picture and best selling novel, The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, the main character, Katniss Everdeen wears a mockingjay pin as a representation of bravery and courage. The mockingjay is an example of a symbol, which according to Random House Webster’s college dictionary is “something used for or regarded as something else.” William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, tells a story about a group of stranded boys on an island and the use of many symbolic items that affect their stay and character. Golding’s use and representation of the conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, and the Beast/Lord of Flies...
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...Hundreds of thousand of children have been forced to become child soldiers. A Long Way Gone and Lord of the Flies both share an essence of innocence that they are forced to let go of. A Long Way Gone portrait Ishmael Beah’s young life in Africa as a child soldier. Ishmael, while away from his village he learns it had been attacked by rebels and cannot return home. When the rebels arrive at the village Ismael has been staying in, he and manages to evade the rebels but must be nomadic. However, when he seems to find peace in a military occupied village, the rebels arrive and Ismael joins the fight to protect himself, becoming a child soldier. After a couple more battles UNICEF comes to take the boys to Freetown in order to be rehabilitated and educated. Esther serves as a role model for...
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...extent. . . and we know that due to variations in psychological makeup, some people are more sensitive to environmental factors than others” (Singh). This theory is commonly used in literature as a theme called nature vs nurture, an argument that describes whether the genetic makeup or the environment affects the way people behave. William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, incorporated this theme into his book to prove behavior is dependent upon a child’s growing environment....
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...The lord of the flies is a classic tale full of symbolism and mystery, everything is used to represent something else, and that changes reader’s perspective on the novel. Three significant symbols in the book change how most people view the novel. The pig’s head which is set upon a spear, the lord of the flies, plays a big and small part in the novel. Then the character Simon, a loner, represents an iconic figure. Then the Character piggy is to be associated with people themselves. All the symbols play key roles in the true meaning of the novel, but the one most remember is the pig’s head. The lord of the flies, the pig’s head, is the one that seems to play a big role in the novel. The character can be seen as the hidden antagonist or as a minor character. The character is meant to be Lucifer or the devil himself, which explains why he is the “mascot” of jack and his band of savage children, he is the ultimate evil. He changes throughout the novel by being a trophy, a prize pig that the hunters captured. Then a manipulative character, he convinces one boy to try to stop the savages and then the boy gets killed himself. Finally, back to the shadows, he goes as he never talks again. There are always two sides of the same coin though, a good and an evil always exists....
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...Lord of the Flies is a 1963 British film directed by Peter Brook based on the 1954 novel by William Golding. Both the book and movie of Lord of the Flies represent popular culture in the fact that the book started out being popularized by the working class and would later become a best seller and even move into the category of high culture by becoming required reading in many schools across the world as well as wining the Nobel Prize. The Lord of the Flies and book and movie demonstrate many of the traits that are often reproduced in various form media and often imitated in other works of film, television, and reading. Lord of the Flies was remade into another film in 1990 but the 1963 film is considered to be closer to the book and is the one that is used by this paper. The 1963 Lord of the Flies film is a black and white British film that is presented in the form of a third person narrative in which the audience is a outside party looking in on the cast of the film. The film is about a group of young pre-teen to teenage boys who crash land on an island somewhere is the specific ocean as a result of their plane being shoot down. In the background of the movie there is some type of war but the film never mentioned which war is taking place. With the film being based on a book from the 1950s and the film taking place in the 1960 it can be assumed that the war in question is either World War II or perhaps a future war. In the film the overall theme is that violence and hate...
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...Every now and then, one finds themselves taking a deeper look inside of their soul, often times resulting in the discovery of an inner being. This inner being is perfectly depicted through the lord of the flies. Contrary to the boys’ beliefs, the lord of the flies, or in the novel the symbol of the "beast", is not "something you could hunt and kill" (164), but rather a spirit that dwells inside of a soul, and slowly seduces one into complete and utter savagery. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding gives the reader a glimpse into a society composed of a group of young British boys, all raised in a civilized and orderly manner, that find themselves stranded on a deserted island. Fighting for survival, many of the boys surrender to the Beast that engulfs them. Others, like Ralph, find themselves in a much more complex and compromising battle- one that takes place inside the mind. In his novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the motifs of the pig dance, the conch, and the masks to convey the theme that man becomes a corrupt and savage being without a strict system of order and civilization. By dancing and singing to celebrate the brutal murdering of a pig, the boys enter into a society, or even a cult, surrounded by sadistic and brutal thoughts. The first time the boys perform this ritual, Golding describes their actions as “relieved and excited…making pig-dying noises and shouting” (81). Clearly, the boys feel a rush of exhilaration and excitement when they...
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...“‘They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you tomorrow.’ ‘They’re going to hunt you tomorrow,’” (Golding 188). This may sound like an intense children’s game, or even a warning for an animal that will be hunted the next day. However, it wasn’t. These words were aimed at Ralph, a human boy and the main character in Lord of the Flies. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, there is a group of young boys trapped on a deserted island. The book is about the boys’ fight for survival and follows their fear and slow decivilization. Part way through being on the island, the boys think they discover a “beastie,” but are never able to find the physical “beastie.” Whether the “beastie” was a snake, lion, bear, or anything else, the main character,...
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...Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, include characters that possess several distinct characteristics. Those traits either pertain to me or were caught in my interest for incorporation. Those characters include Guy Montag, Ralph, and Mildred. In the story Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag displays courage and bravery which leads him to undergo a period in his life when he sees reality for what it really is then takes action. This is a trait that I lack, a sense of boldness. Guy realizes that the authority, which has control over their society, has created a movement that is irrational. I believe that just because someone has a great deal of power and control over a mass of...
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...Defying Order Proves Costly Who is God? The answer has been sought for millennia. If one thing is certain, it is that He is the most intelligent and powerful being in the universe. God is a designation used to represent the highest authority over everything. Although many people may not be religious or even believe in God, artists may use a supernatural being allegorically, perhaps God or the Devil, in their works to represent order. In Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding, a group of boys become stranded on a deserted paradise island after their plane is shot down out of the sky. On this island it would appear a higher power is controlling the order. They boys start out civil by creating a political democracy, and are as children without sin. Sin, like adulthood or corruption, then enters into the group and the group is destroyed. The political structure the boys establish when they first meet on the island is also destroyed in the process. The group descends into chaos, with Simon and Piggy as casualties. In the end, Jack, the primary exponent of sin, burns down the island while hunting Ralph, which allows for the boys’ rescue. Despite being rescued, it was clear the boys were changed forever. Likewise, in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), the country of Scotland is portrayed to be organized under the order of a higher being; a king. When Macbeth, a highly regarded thane, is tempted by a prophecy of being king, he acts on his temptation. Macbeth then becomes king...
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...AS ENGLISH 91479: Develop an informed understanding of literature and/or using critical lens. Literature/text: Lord of the Flies Critical lens: Freudian psychoanalytical criticism Take away parents and society and you are left with mere children, who have the instinct to only pleasure oneself. This is what Sigmund Freud theorizes in his psychoanalysis. Lord-of-the-Flies by William Golding is a novel that uses Freud’s work. The Lord-of-the-Flies is a novel that depicts a microcosm of society. A plane-full of boys are stranded on a desert island, away from civilisation. Freud’s theory is that if you eliminate rules, “children are completely egoistic” – they only care about themselves. Without any parental guidance, a child relies on its instincts and this is where Freud’s theory of personalities are cleverly conveyed: id, super ego and ego. The use of Freud’s theories exceptionally allows us to have a great depth of understanding of the characters. The first part is the id. This is the “primitive impulses” of the human being. Golding used the character of ‘Lord-of-the-Flies’ to represent the id. Freud’s theory is that the id is based upon pleasing oneself.1 The Lord-of-the-Flies is the instinct that tells the boys that they do not need civilisation anymore and thus this is when savagery prevails. Golding uses Roger to represent the id. The Lord-of-the-Flies, inside Roger, turned him from a young-civilised boy to a killer, when he violently kills Piggy, as a release of his...
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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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...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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