...regress to their savage beginnings. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies explores the theme of civilization to savagery through the usage of symbolism to portray the premise that children are savages by nature and without adult guidance or supervision; their entire darker side will manifest itself in full force. The consequential regression of the boys from civilization to savagery is symbolized by the use of the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses. First of all, the conch shell manages to demonstrate civilization to savagery through its ability to establish order to build a civilization, lose its power and deteriorate civilization, and shatter to eliminate civilization. In the beginning, the conch is used to establish and uphold order and peace on the island, playing a key role in forming and maintaining a civilization. Ralph uses the conch and his leadership to summon the others, have meetings and delegate positions, assign power, and set rules such as: “[Giving] the conch to the next person to speak” (Golding 31). By adhering to the set of rules regarding the conch shell, the boys still maintain their civilized way of living back at home where there is the existence of government and laws to be adhered to regarding to the existence of social order. However, as time passes by, the conch begins to lose its power and significance and boys begin to succumb to savagery. When Ralph tries to convince the other boys to return to his tribe instead of joining Jack’s tribe by appealing...
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...was the conch. The being that had blown that, had sat waiting for them on the platform with the delicate thing balanced on his knees, was set apart (22). Not knowingly, the conch was Ralph’s greatest aspect as a leader and helped him keep the ideas of savagery from taking control of the society. He was the figure of leadership which allowed him to take action on his idea of getting rescued with the fire. Using the conch, Ralph created a society that had a chance of being rescued, but most importantly, restrained Jack from sending the society into the grasp of...
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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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...Looking back on the history of humankind, there is an eminent pattern of atavistic and truculent behaviour in almost all people groups. From the earliest ages of the hunter-gatherer society to the pinnacle of modern civilisation, humans have possessed the same primal instincts to subdue and subjugate. Authors such as William Golding and Joseph Conrad have recognised this basic nature of humanity and portrayed it in their novels Lord of the Flies (Golding) and Heart of Darkness (Conrad). These novels exemplify the methods by which humans have placed checks upon their savage nature, checks which prove to be diaphanous when challenged by true hardships. In both of these stories, the authors attempt to demonstrate the savage nature of the human spirit by utilising symbolism and irony. Both Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness are intensely allegorical novels and emphasise the use of symbols. However, these symbols are not merely the characters, but also include their actions and the settings of the stories. For example, the characters of Kurtz and Jack are symbols for the ancestral instincts of humankind. Though they are two separate characters, they are both symbols for the same idea. They are contrasted with Marlow and Ralph, who are also separate apparitions of the same philosophy. Kurtz, the quintessential ivory hunter from Heart of Darkness, is consumed by the desire for ivory and allows his primal nature to dictate his actions. He even goes so far as to proclaim...
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...who represents the conscious. Even though Simon is one of the younger boys, he has a sort of wisdom that even the older characters do not possess. Compared to the other boys, he is more in tune with himself and his surroundings, especially in a natural environment. While the others seem to ponder their stresses about what may lurk in the woods, Simon offers a different perspective when “he turned his back on this and walked into the forest with an air of purpose,” (Golding 55). Simon comes to terms with the simplicity and beauty that the forest embodies, as he walks “with an accustomed tread through the acres of fruit trees, where the least energetic could find an easy if unsatisfying meal,” (Golding 56). While the other boys come to portray savagery, Simon is one of the characters that represents goodness. When he walks through the forest, he is not concerned, like the others are, about a beast lurking among the trees. This spiritual goodness is connected to nature, which is pure, clean and earthy, which is Golding’s purpose. A similar idea is presented in the article “Men of a Smaller Growth: A Psychological Analysis of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies,” written by Claire Rosenfield. The text explains that, by finding the pig’s head, Simon learns that “it is the Beast, and the Beast cannot be hunted because it is within,” (Golding 26). Again, this expresses Simon’s spiritual connection that he has in the novel. Unlike the others, Simon is able to connect with an incorporeal...
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...Lord of the Flies: A Psychological Study of the Nature of Humans William Golding once said, “What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.” The phrase is approached so easily with his novel, Lord of the Flies (September 17, 1954), to depict the darkness of the natural man. The twentieth-century British writer in his novel argues the savagery of true mankind through a prose involving a band of young British schoolboys who are stranded on an empty island after a plane crash. He generalizes the human race by first developing the boys as helpless as they try to create a form of democracy with Ralph being the leader (and protagonist), then by creating opposition to the governmental tradition through Jack and his followers who separate...
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...in World War II, William Golding’s allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, reflects his conviction that organized society results from fear of legal and spiritual repercussions,without which would reveal mankind’s inherent savagery. Golding illustrates his theme through numerous symbols throughout the book which show anarchy’s triumph over organized society. Entwined with the main struggle between morality and desire lies the powerful symbols of the signal fire and the soldier on the mountain. The book opens on a group of boys stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes who attempt to uphold their civilized upbringing by imitating what they believe adults would do in the same situation. They light a signal fire to alert any passing ships of their whereabouts, and ignite a parallel to the unity of the boys’ makeshift society, especially between Ralph and Jack. When they light the first fire that loses control, the boys become one mind, overflowing with excitement, and Ralph and Jack are friends. The fire burns steadily while the boys remain united. However, when Jack hunts and severs his bond with Ralph, the fire extinguishes. Ralph keeps the fire burning because he knows the fire is their only...
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...society. However, his human behavior started to slowly creep out of him, becoming more and more apparent by the chapter. Rapidly his savagery came out later in the book, showing just how easy it is for a boy of a world power civilization can fall to the extremities of full blown radicalism towards a productive society. After the plane crash landed, Jack had behavior similar to that of any teenage boy of his time period, expressing his opinion brashly yet still making reasonable...
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...Dystopia ≠ Utopia A dystopia is a fictional society, usually portrayed as existing in a future time, where the conditions of life are extremely bad due to oppression, or terror. Science fiction (particularly post-apocalyptic science fiction and cyberpunk stories set in an imaginary future world controlled by technology and computers) often feature dystopias. Common traits of Dystopian fiction: The setting is the future, but often with contemporary social trends taken to extremes incorporated on purpose. A hierarchical society where there are unbending and definitive divisions between the upper, middle and lower class Society is conditioned to fear the outside world, and one of the methods for achieving this is the restriction of information and freedom. A corrupt authoritarian and totalitarian government creates or sustains the poor quality of life This government makes people believe that society is proper and just, even perfect. State propaganda makes citizens worship the state the leader of the state and the government. There is strict conformity among citizens and the general assumption that having opinions and individuality is bad The penal system often employs psychological or physical torture Violence, cruelty and aggressiveness are always present. Dystopias are frequently written as warnings, or as social satire, criticizing a current trend, norm or political system. In order for the dystopia to have an effect on the reader, the author uses characteristics...
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...When Children are doing nothing, they are doing mischief ~ Henry Fending Using children as a focus point, William Golding speaks of human savagery in his novel The Lord of the Flies. He shines a light on human nature and behaviors using children as a paradigm to show what human beings are inside; savages. In his novel, Golding uses Jack in particular to show how total freedom can affect a human being. When we are young, we grow up knowing that there are people who are here to protect us or here to cause us harm. The people that protect us are our parents, policemen and the members of our family. But those who harm us are the criminals, the bullies and the Jack Merridews of the world. In The Lord of the Flies ack poses as a threat to the rest of the boys. He is a natural bully and he has no respect for others; especially a young boy named Piggy. When he speaks to Piggy it always starts the same; “You’re talking too much… Shut up Fatty” (Golding 21). To Jack, insults were a way of life. Because he was not able to control the situation at hand, he felt the need to control everyone around him. He had taken this behavior from modern society. He learned that to survive in the normal world, he would have to be violent; he would have to hurt people. But as the societal bounds were removed from the boys, Jack felt the freedom of the island; and started to embrace the animal he really was inside. “Jack, his face smeared with clays, reached the top first and hailed Ralph excitedly...
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...national issue that influences ladies of all races, ages, financial statuses, and religions with measurements underscoring the overwhelming impacts of aggressive behavior at home on the lives of battered ladies. The purpose behind this study is to assess the attitudes and states of mind of understudies about aggressive behavior toward battered women. These understudies frequently have the obligation to help ladies, men, and families in managing aggressive behavior at home issues. This study surveyed the attitudes and dispositions of Florida Memorial University students on domestic violence towards women. The number of students as of 2013 is 1,567.Enrollment Distribution by Origin Percentage is Florida 1185 75.6%, International 163 10.4%, Out of State 219 14.0%. The ratio of males to females has remained at 4 to 6 for the last five years from 2013, Females 61 % and males 39%. Based on Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) definitions on Ethnicity, all foreign students are classified as international students. African American 84.0%, International 10.3%, Hispanic 3.0%, Other 2.4%, White 0.3%. For this study a total of 50 college students at Florida Memorial University voluntarily participated in the study by completing a self- report survey. Savagery executed by a close accomplice is a genuine social issue (Brodwin and Siu, 2007). In spite of the fact that men can be casualties in a harsh relationship, ladies are...
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...fact, knights in the Arthurian legend are brutal and their actions are not justified. Brutality and inappropriate behavior of knights are demonstrated through jousting tournaments. In The Once And Future King by T.H. White, King Pellinore and Sir Grummore joust, and their savagery natures as knights are revealed: “With a blood-curdling beat of iron hoofs the mighty equestrians came together. Their spears wavered for a moment within a few inches...
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...Aggression In psychology, the term aggression alludes to a scope of practices that can bring about both physical and psychological mischief to oneself, others or objects in the environment. The aggressive expression may occur in a variety of ways, including verbally, rationally, and physically. Psychologists recognize diverse forms, purposes and types of aggression. Mainly, there are four types of aggression including physical, verbal, mental, and emotional. Moreover, there is a number of purposes an aggression may serve, for instance, to express outrage or hostility, to affirm strength, to scare or debilitate, to accomplish an objective, and to express possession, as well as, to response to fear or pain. Additionally, psychologists recognize two distinct types of aggression. The first type is impulsive aggression which is portrayed by strong feelings, usually outrage. This type of aggression is not arranged and frequently happens without giving it much thought. The second one is known as instrumental aggression which is marked by practices that are planned in order to accomplish a bigger objective. Instrumental aggression is regularly painstakingly arranged and typically exists as a means towards an end. Furthermore, exist a number of various factors which influence the aggressive expression. Thus, biological factors may play a large role. Men are more probable that women to participate in physical aggression. While scientists have found that women are less inclined to...
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...Heart of Darkness Essay Light and dark imagery is one element most commonly used in literature, and has held specific symbolic meanings for hundreds of years. Simply stated, light generally symbolizes good, while darkness symbolizes the complete opposite, evil. More specifically, Conrad uses detailed imagery of light and dark to show that white men can in fact be more savage than the natives. While the contrast of light and dark, white and black, and good and evil is a common theme in his novel, Conrad reverses the meanings of the two. In his story often the light is viewed as more menacing and evil than the darkness, and the white characters more spiteful than the black. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses light and dark imagery and the reversing of their regular meanings as a main focal point throughout the novel. Conrad establishes throughout this the theme that not everything is as it seems. Conrad uses light imagery as a symbol of civilization. Darkness is defined as the absence of light just like the black jungle is defined as the absence of white man’s civilization, a civilization full of corruption and evil. Conrad’s first description of Brussels is an example of this. “In a very few hours I arrived at a city that always made me think of a white sepulcher.” It is significant that Conrad describes the building as a white coffin, because the job there is sending men out to retrieve ivory, ultimately resulting in their death. This cycle of evil begins and ends in...
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...make the players energized and losing the amusement make them anxious. Computer amusements began in 1972 with Pang, a computer tennis diversion, and afterward created in equipment and programming frameworks. Change of value and assortment of recreations progressively spread it in the general public particularly adolescences.2 It is trusted that computer diversions like sitting in front of the TV gives chances to visual learning. Particularly on the grounds that these amusements are more dynamic contrasted with staring at the TV, they are viewed as more effective.3 Since these diversions are known as the second excitement after TV, rivals of these recreations underscore on their negative impacts, for example, invigorating resentment and savagery, costing a great deal of cash and having negative impacts of physical and psychological wellness, which are much higher than the constructive outcomes of the diversions, for example, expanding the coordination of eyes and hands.4 As Klein and Keepers said in their exploration reports in 1990, understudies who incline toward computer recreations to different stimulations have more behavioral issues that different understudies (referred to from Patton). At present in Iran, an awesome piece of...
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