... 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 with Lady Macbeth "Our fears in...
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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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...Lord of the Flies - Essay Lord of the Flies explores the fact that children are savages by nature and without adult guidance or supervision; the entire idea of this would turn completely upside down. The novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ is written by William Golding shortly after the end of World War II. The novel tells us about a group of English boys who are stranded on an island during the period of war. They discover that the island is inhabited and therefore, they attempt to create their own society in order to sort things out while waiting for rescue. However, as time passes, things begin to spiral out hand and get out of control. This is because they are extremely young and plus, there are no adults to guide them on the island. In the end, although they are rescued, everything is in vain since they have lost most of the important things in life including their civilised way of life. The event clearly shows that children are not innocent as they are savages by nature. When the story begins, Jack and Ralph are such civilized lads that they don't even know how to start a fire without a match. For example, "Will you light the fire?” (Chapter two) This shows that back in England the boys had everything served to them on a plate. The main character in this novel, Ralph is described as having an ‘athletic’ figure and ‘handsome’ in some way. As the main leader and the main model of order and civilisation in the novel, he dedicated himself to convince all the other boys that they are...
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...Hamlet and Lord of flies essay. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” is a strong quote by Martin Luther King Jr which is a statement that I think is true. A man cannot be judged on his actions when he is comfortable, but when he is going through challenges and hardship. Literary work that shows this is true is in the book Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the character Hamlet is found in conflicts and dilemmas that he cannot solve. This quote is also true in Lord of the flies by the character Ralph who tries to find out who the beast is but cannot see that it is the savagery between the boys on the Island and the character piggy...
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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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...Final Essay Lord of the Flies By: Cole William Golding was a famous author and one of his most famous novels was Lord of the Flies. It is about a group of boys who survived a plane crash and are stranded on a island. He liked using symbols to represent different objects from civilization. Piggy represented civilization, piggy’s specs repressed power, and the conch represented democracy. Goulding uses lots of symbols in his book such as the conch, Piggy’s specs, and Piggy. Golding uses a character named Piggy to represent civilization. Piggy was a biggin that was smart and had all the good ideas but nobody listened to him. He represents civilization because he is the only level headed kid on the island and likes how Ralf runs things. He comes up with a lot of good ideas such as writing the names of all the children in the island which would have helped in different parts of the books. The character Piggy has a pair of glasses that are very important for the boys. If they didn’t have the glasses later on in the novel they would have been stuck there till they died. Golding uses Piggy's glasses represent power. They use Piggy’s glasses to make fire to signal any ships that come near the island. In chapter eleven tribe Jack and tribe Ralf fight over them because without fire they can’t cook there pigs. The reason why...
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...4/17/1 Lord of the Flies: Characterization What is good characterization? Characterization is the way an author presents and develops a character to make them believable. This essay will focus on three believable characters. One of the believable characters is Ralph. Another believable character is Jack. The last believable character is Simon. Because William Golding wanted believable characters, he made Ralph round and dynamic, Jack flat and static, and Simon round and static. One interesting character is Ralph. For example Ralph is a round character because he has multiple traits. Sometimes he borders on savagery, and sometimes he acts civilized. In chapter 2, the children are setting to get rescued. During the conversation, Ralph tells the boys, “We ought to have more rules. Where the conch is, that’s a meeting. The same up here as down there”(42). This shows that Ralph wants to be civilized, but he had times where he was savage too. The best example of Ralph’s savagery is where he helps kill Simon later in the book. Moreover, Ralph is dynamic because he changes throughout the novel. Early in the novel, Ralph is carefree and happy person. By the end, however he becomes very sad and guilty. At the end, Ralph was about to be killed by Jack, but was saved at the last second. This brought a lot of emotion. Ralph cries because he knows that man is not innocent or good, and he cries because Piggy has died (202). Ralph changes from an innocent kid to a savage and evil...
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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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...a strong topic in Lord of the Flies, the three topics that will be talked about in this essay includes, the boys acting without fear of punishment, they had to grow up and civilization helped them remain innocent and once they became savages they lost all remaining innocence. The loss of innocence is clearly shown in the boys because they are forced to grow up. They can’t play around any more but now they have to hunt and care for themselves. “We’ll make sure when we go hunting” (Golding, 35) This is when they realize they can't play around anymore or act like young boys but they have to grow up and start hunting and find resources so that they don’t die or get sick. Another time they lost...
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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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...Elisabeth Dolgetta Per.1 English Lord of the Flies Essay II. A leader is a person followed by others. Leaders who aren’t strong cannot stick to the rules and control a group. Leaders who are overly controlling become dictators and everything turns into chaos. A good leader is ambitious, intelligent, has good ideas and takes responsibility. In the novel, “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, leadership is destroyed and anarchy is created. In the novel, young boys are on a plane that crashes and they arrive on a deserted island alone. There are no adults on the island. The boys were initially on the plane to be evacuated from the war. Their first thoughts are to be rescued. A boy named Ralph introduces himself to a boy whose real name is unknown but they call him Piggy, although that isn’t his wish. Ralph becomes leader because he is voted in by other children in the beginning. A leader is needed to help everyone work together and to get food, water, shelter and to be rescued from the island. Ralph had everything he wanted to stay organized, and to keep every rule he made. Ralph and Piggy discover a conch shell on the island and use it to call the boys together. "We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us—." Piggy says this. At this point the conch is used to make rules for everyone to follow and it symbolizes civilization and order. Any boy, who holds the conch, has the right to speak. Every time Ralph wants to...
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...A Guide to Writing the Literary Analysis Essay I. INTRODUCTION: the first paragraph in your essay. It begins creatively in order to catch your reader’s interest, provides essential background about the literary work, and prepares the reader for your major thesis. The introduction must include the author and title of the work as well as an explanation of the theme to be discussed. Other essential background may include setting, an introduction of main characters, etc. The major thesis goes in this paragraph usually at the end. Because the major thesis sometimes sounds tacked on, make special attempts to link it to the sentence that precedes it by building on a key word or idea. A) Creative Opening/Hook: the beginning sentences of the introduction that catch the reader’s interest. Ways of beginning creatively include the following: 1) A startling fact or bit of information Example: Nearly two hundred citizens were arrested as witches during the Salem witch scare of 1692. Eventually nineteen were hanged, and another was pressed to death (Marks 65). 2) A snatch of dialogue between two characters Example: “It is another thing. You [Frederic Henry] cannot know about it unless you have it.” “ Well,” I said. “If I ever get it I will tell you [priest].” (Hemingway 72). With these words, the priest in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms sends the hero, Frederic, in search of the ambiguous “it” in his life. 3) A meaningful quotation (from the book you are analyzing...
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...Ryan Newell Lord of the Flies Essay Period 5 Word Count: 1662 Lord of the Flies is a classic story of good versus evil, or civilization versus savagery, and symbolism plays a major role in the development of the story. A major symbol is the conch shell. Discovered early in the story, it became an important fixture in the boys’ lives on the island. Throughout the story, it symbolized society and authority – and served to maintain a sense of civilization. When the conch shell broke near the end of the story, the last aspects of civilization on the island and within the boys had disappeared. The conch was first discovered among the ‘ferny weeds’ by Ralph and Piggy as they explored the island. Even taking the conch shell out of the weeds required Ralph to use civilized techniques – to achieve civilization, mankind had to be smart enough to develop rudimentary technology. The author portrayed this through the way Ralph got the conch: “The palm sapling, bending, pushed the shell across the weeds. Ralph used one hand as a fulcrum and pressed down with the other till the shell rose, dripping, and Piggy could make a grab.” (16) Ralph created a simple tool to achieve what he wanted, to get the conch shell (civilization). The fragility of civilization is also foreshadowed, when Piggy says, “Careful! You’ll break it–” (14) Although he is talking about the tangible shell in this instance, his comment may also be seen as referring to the instability of society, and how quickly and...
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...Synthesis Essay: Archetypes As a person progresses in age, or experiences traumatic situations, it is common that the innocence once possessed as a child can dissipate. Innocence can be easily viewed as temporal due to its tendency to falter in a myriad amount of people. Loss of innocence is a prevalent archetypal theme in Star Wars, Grapes of Wrath, Lord of the Flies, A Separate Peace, and Swing Kids. Although all novels display this archetypal theme well, the character Tom in Grapes of Wrath suffers the greatest loss of innocence due to the tragic effects of the Great Depression and the crime he participates in. In Star Wars, a young man, Luke Skywalker, who has lost his parents, lives with his aunt and uncle and is brought into a world of violence on his mission to become a Jedi. He encounters the ultimate archetypal devil figure, Darth Vader. Darth represents the darkness humanity possesses. Although Luke’s encounters with supernatural beings and death are frequent in the film Star Wars, this sharply contrasts with the isolation Tom Joad faces in Grapes of Wrath. While Luke’s loss of innocence is accepted as a way of life in Star Wars, including killing clones and destroying an entire planet, Tom’s inability to tolerate injustice, resulting in violence, is a crime in the world of his character. Essentially, Luke’s loss of innocence brings him closer to the people in the world he is surrounded by; his destroying of the Death Star is an act of bravery. Tom kills men who...
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...For centuries, many famous philosophers debate whether humans are naturally born good or evil, or if they are influenced by their environment and circumstances. People such as John Locke and Thomas Hobbes have conflicting points of view on this matter. Early on John Locke believed that all humans were born with a clean mind, and therefore they were naturally good at the time of their birth. Thomas Hobbes disagreed with John Locke and introduced the theory that man is wicked and must be controlled. This extraordinary classic, Lord of the Flies written by William Golding has presented more of a cynical perspective on human nature. Through this novel, Golding is trying to convey a message that although humans have the capability to balance both...
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