...Hassan Ahmed Mrs. Pompilio Lord of the Flies 19 November, 2012 Good or Evil Humans are born both good and evil. Some believe humans are born evil and some think it depends on your morals. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies believes humans are born evil but society keeps us from showing it. He believes all humans are born innately evil. Golding shows the reader this through examples in Lord of the Flies. Jeffery Kluger, the author of Time magazine article “What Makes Us Moral” believes it depends on how you are raised. William Golding and Jeffery Kluger have different opinions on if people are born innately good or innately evil. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, believes humans are born innately evil through Lord of the Flies. Golding shows humans are evil through this quote "Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry-threw it to miss" (Golding 62). This shows humans are evil because Roger is devolving from civilization and society is the only thing keeping him from Henry. Roger’s arm is controlled by civilization which is stopping him from throwing the rock at Henry. Another example is when the boys kill Simon. "A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe." (Golding 152). This shows humans are evil because the boys kill Simon even though they know he will be the only one to emerge from the forest...
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...Mrs. Pompilio Lord of the Flies 19 November, 2012 Good or Evil Humans are born both good and evil. Some believe humans are born evil and some think it depends on your morals. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies believes humans are born evil but society keeps us from showing it. He believes all humans are born innately evil. Golding shows the reader this through examples in Lord of the Flies. Jeffery Kluger, the author of Time magazine article “What Makes Us Moral” believes it depends on how you are raised. William Golding and Jeffery Kluger have different opinions on if people are born innately good or innately evil. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, believes humans are born innately evil through Lord of the Flies. Golding shows humans are evil through this quote "Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry-threw it to miss" (Golding 62). This shows humans are evil because Roger is devolving from civilization and society is the only thing keeping him from Henry. Roger’s arm is controlled by civilization which is stopping him from throwing the rock at Henry. Another example is when the boys kill Simon. "A thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly. The shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain. The beast stumbled into the horseshoe." (Golding 152). This shows humans are evil because the boys kill Simon even though they know he will be the only one to emerge from the forest. Simon’s death...
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...newly learned reading skills that can help students in the future. Lord of the Flies has a good, timeless plot that quickly reels readers in. The theme behind the story can teach readers necessary knowledge that is still useful in today’s society. In addition, Golding’s masterpiece contains good diction and although challenging, a great learning tool to all readers. The theme and memorable characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is important to all standards of education and should remain on library shelves. The intensity builds from the first page as a group...
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...How does William Golding support his hypothesis of what could possibly happen on an island when humans and boys in particular are marooned there? You may consider setting, characterization, themes and/or symbolism you must incorporate quotes from the text to support your analysis. William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies shortly after the end of WWII. The novel's plot, in which a group of English boys end up stranded on a deserted island struggle to develop their own society, is a social and political thought-experiment using fiction. The story focuses on their attempts at civilization, devolution into savagery and violence puts the relationship between human nature and society under literary observation. Golding uses several allusions to human evolution, such as when the boys discover fire, craft tools, and form political and social systems in a process that recalled theories of the development of early man. Golding's hypothesis about humanity is pessimistic, that is, there are anarchic and brutal instincts in human nature. He displays this throughout his conveying of the setting, characterization, themes, and symbolism. The novel takes place on an un-known inhabited island in the Pacific Ocean, Immediately in the novel Golding reveals the instinct of the restricted human savagery in the boys in regard to the setting. “Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and open space of the scar” Page 10. Golding shows the...
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...Myths in Golding’s novels “The Spire” and “Lord of the flies” A famous English writer William Golding was born in Cornwall, England. Golding started writing at the age of seven, but following the wishes of his parents, he studied first natural sciences and then English at Brasenose College,Oxford. Golding’s first book, a collection of poems, apperad in 1934. After study at university Golding moved to Salisbury, where he began teaching English and philosophy. During World War II, Golding served in the Royal Navy(armada) in command of a rocket ship. In 1945 Golding returned to writing and teaching, with a dark view of the European civilization. In many novels Golding has showed the dark places of human heart. His work is caracterized by exploration of “the darkness of man’s heart”, deep spiritual and ethical questions. In Salisbury Golding wrote several books, but did not get them published. “ Lord of the Flies”, an allegorical story set in the near future during war time, was turned down by many publishers until it finally appeared in 1954. The famous English writer Forster named this book “ The Book of the years”. At the time of its appearance,Golding was forty four, but the success of the novel allowed him to give up teaching. In the exciting story a group of small British boys, standed on a desert island, fall into violence after they have lost all adult guidance. Ironically, the adult world is ruined by nuclear war. The novel “ The Spire” concerned the construction of...
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...The Abominable Man William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies was published in 1952, seven years after the disastrous WWII. During the war, the veil of civilization was exposed very center revealing the true underlying evil of mankind, resulting in the death of millions including one victim; Anne Frank. Although she was hiding in a annex for two years because of the result of the brutality of people’s discrimination, she wrote; “It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” It is hard to think that such a young and innocent girl would perish soon after writing this in the concentration camps constructed by the Nazis. The Nazis’ brutal ‘purification’ of the world, leaving millions dead in the brutal concentration camps and the horrific gas chambers, exemplify Golding’s ideas of mankind; brutal, destructive and evil which are inherent in human nature. The use of Jack, the pig hunts, the Lord of the Flies, Simon and the island that Golding believes in the idea that evil in an inborn characteristic of the archaic human race. Golding's use of characterization of Jack portrays the capacity of evil and violence which men are capable of due to their inborn human nature of evil. This is indicated when Jack, feeling especially bloodthirsty after a pig hunt starts to chant: " Kill the pig, cut his throat! Kill 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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...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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...William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Lauren Slater’s Opening Skinner’s Box both take a look at human perpetuation towards evil. Slater argues that humans may commit evil deeds when obeying authority, by observing Stanley Milgram’s experiment in her second chapter, “Obscura”. In chapters one through six of Lord of the Flies, Golding examines society through the perspective of young boys, and their finding of inner evil. I think both Slater and Golding would argue that it is easy to find evil, when one loses their self. I believe that the quintessential part of “Obscura” is when Lauren Slater examines Milgram’s obedience experiment’s effect on people. In other words, Slater contends that the experiment has “managed to stamp itself so solidly into these men’s undeniably real lives” (58). Those personal interviews and stories share...
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...William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, lived through and experienced the thick of World War II, and he personally saw how destructive humans could be. How someone could go from a functional, civilized member of society, to a savage. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the theme of human nature to demonstrate his believe in how fragile society is, and how easily it can collapse. Moreover, what better way to show this than through impressionable young boys? A prime example of Golding’s view of human nature is Jack Merridew, more specifically, his encounters with the pigs on the island. At the beginning of the novel, Jack, Ralph and Simon go to survey their new home, and it is there they first discover a piglet caught in the vines....
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...theme of Lord of the flies is savagery versus civilization. Throughout the story, the boy’s face many challenges. While stranded, the boys have to learn how to survive. During this, some boys rose to the occasion while others became ruthless. When learning how to hunt, some of the boys get so into it, it is all they can think about. The need to kill the pig is their main desire. While the other boys try to find a way off the island. Ralph, Simon, and Piggy want to escape the madness and return to civilization. In William Golding’s book Lord of the flies, many symbols are used to represent the theme. The first symbol in the novel is Ralph. Ralph represents order. When the boys are stranded, Ralph decides that the boys need a leader. He thinks they need to establish rules so they can maintain order. When on the island, all the boys shout and argue. As a result, Ralph finds a conch shell; he blows into it to get the boys’ attention. He then makes a rule...
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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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...Prompt: How is the opposites symbolism of Ralph and Jack often shown in William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies ? William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys who get stranded on an island. The boys descend into a savage and brutal life style while a few cling to the sanity and civilisation they miss. The main character Ralph represents the civilized part of humans, while Jack his opposite represents the primitive need for violence. Each struggle with their own battles, trying to pull the rest of the boys on their side. Ralph also represents order and leadership so he becomes the chief of the island and boys in the beginning of the novel, keeping the boys in place. He has his conch which also represents rules. He shows his role as chief...
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...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 spearing the pig in the anus and laugh while it is happening as they weren’t...
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...In William Golding’s novel, Lord Of The Flies, Ralph, a young, charismatic, and determined boy is appointed leader by the rest of his peers after there plane crashes and lands on an unknown island. While most of the kids are having fun and joking around Ralph stays concentrated on the task at hand, creating a temporary living environment and figuring out a plan to get rescued. In the beginning Ralph was in control and civilization on the island still existed. However, as the novel progresses the characters gradually start to become savages due to their newly developed society. Ralph is now losing his civilized group and Jack is starting to form a group of his own, where more boys decide to follow and become savages. The remainder of the boys...
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