...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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...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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...10 February 2015 Lord of the Flies Essay "Humanity has evil tendenc[ies] within its nature" (David Wilson). Jack, a choir boy from England, represents the evil incarnate and explains that within human nature, evil lies in oneself even when it is not projected. In Golding's Lord of the Flies, Jack, the Devil Figure, expresses the ideas about one's inner evil as he evolves from a choir leader to a ruthless varmint while spending time on a deserted island. In the beginning of Lord of the Flies, Jack, who emerges from the jungle dressed in black, possesses a dominant trait of a controlling personality. When Ralph first blows the sound of the conch, Jack and his choir come from the jungle, and as they approach Ralph, Jack tells them to "stand still" (Golding 20). The reader can identify his authoritative nature as he demands these words, which establishes his significance and rule in the choir, and the other boys can sense this superiority as well. Moreover, the audience can analyze that Jack has a manipulative influence in the novel due to the fact that he claims he "ought to be chief because [he is]...head boy"; therefore, he is making himself out to be the most qualified for the position as he points out his role of control in the choir (Golding 22). Likewise, the other boys on the island describe Jack to be "the most obvious leader," which in return proves to the reader that Jack's commanding attitude is not the only reason that defines him as a leader; the other boys' perspective...
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...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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...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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...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 quickly turns from an innocent young boy to an uncivil animal, “He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger… the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and...
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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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...but a form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask,’ V replied.” The face is a mask used to cover one’s soul and the eyes are the only true way to see someone’s true colors, and as seen in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Ralph and Jack are hidden behind their mask. We can see through their masks by staring deeply into the...
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...Trinity Lloyd Brady, K ENG 2D0 Thursday, December 17, 2015 Identity Crisis Your identity is what makes you the way you are. When you lose sight of your identity your beliefs and expressions are clouded, and insanity follows suit. In William Golding’s award winning novel Lord of the Flies this is revealed to the audience through multiple examples. The loss of your own identity can lead to insanity due to losing your physical identity, integrity, and accepting your true form, which Golding tells us, is insanity and savagery. To adapt to your surroundings, people usually alter or strip away their physical identity. For instance, clothes held the boys on the island to their physical identity, at first they kept them on to avoid getting sunburnt, but when they adapted to their surroundings, they strip away their clothes becoming slightly less civilized, the book states, “He [Ralph] undid the snake-clasp of his belt, lugged off his shorts and pants, and stood their naked, looking at the dazzling beach and the water” (Golding5). In society, rules were against stripping down, but since there was no authority on the island, Ralph sees no need to keep on the clothes he wore in civilization. In addition, Piggy’s glasses symbolize knowledge and reason. Physically the glasses are meant for vision, vision means sight, and sight is a metaphor for knowledge. When the glasses are broken, they are misused, no longer a symbol for knowledge and reason. “The chief led them, trotting steadily...
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...The Evil Within As much as human’s would like to dismiss it, violence is a part of humanity. As a species, violence is found in everyone, as they are descendants of primal animals. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, violence consumes the boys stranded on the island, and reduces the civilized lifestyle that once existed in their lives by what they have been shown to complete savagery. The violence of humanity throughout this novel stems from the fall of civilization and entrance into a society rich with savagery and violence, the fear of which can create such a society and the justification of their violence through the creation of a persona. If the fall of a civilized society were to occur, it would result in it transitioning into...
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...How Are Power and Corruption Related? by Sebastian Sandoval "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." – Lord John Dalberg-Acton Macbeth and Lord of the Flies depict power and corruption. However in Macbeth's case it is his fear of being forgotten that leads to his ambitions for power and in turn corrupts him. In Lord of the Flies we see Jack's ambition to become chief corrupt him into doing whatever it takes to achieve that position. Both works seem to coincide with Hobbes theory that "man is naturally savage" and that savagery combined with the notion of power can only lead to one thing, corruption. In this essay the relationship between power and corruption will be explored through the lens of three texts: Macbeth by William Shakespeare (1623), Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954), and Of Man, Being the First Part of Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes (1651). Let us begin with The Tragedy of Macbeth. Throughout the play, we see Macbeth change from a noble and brave soldier into a shadow of his former self. In the beginning we see an internal struggle with the decision to kill King Duncan. This is most clearly depicted in act I when Macbeth says, "We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late,"(1.7. 28-30 ). It is after the murder of Duncan that we begin to notice a sinister change. Macbeth begins to murder anyone who has or could get in his way even his friend Banquo. In act 3 Macbeth's plan is first revealed in his conversation...
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...smart, caring underdog in the boys’ civilization. Golding uses an isolated setting to allow the boys’ “masks” to be taken off, revealing their inner selves. To stress the importance of the characters personalities role in the decline of society, Golding developed Piggy and Jack as polar opposites. Jack reflects the “id”. When given the opportunity, Jack is controlled by his emotional and instinctual needs and wants. Jacks first struggle with his inner self is shown when the boys go to explore the island but he is unable to kill the pig. His...
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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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...In high school many students experience a lot of good and bad things in whatever they do daily. Whether they choose to do it or not is another thing on themselves but, do they really understand the wrong or correct in what they’re actually doing? I believe Lord Of The Flies should be read in high school to teach classmates that their is good and evil in this world and that book can describe the horror in how people's actions or emotions change the face of a person. Do you ever ask yourself, is what I’m doing good or a bad thing? But we proceed to do it whether it is or not because it's either fun or different change in the mindset. Seeing all these criminals on TV and the news of the wrong they’re doing which is violence but yet do you see...
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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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