...Analysis of the Major Characters In Lord of the Flies by William Golding In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in English 140 Submitted by: Ryan Mark L. Catanio Submitted to: Prof. Donna Alna C. Cortez September 08, 2014 A. Author’s Biography William Golding Biography Author (1911–1993) a. Synopsis William Golding was born September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. In 1935 he started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury. He temporarily left teaching in 1940 to join the Royal Navy. In 1954 he published his first novel, Lord of the Flies. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. On June 19, 1993, he died in Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England. b. Early Life William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He was raised in a 14th-century house next door to a graveyard. His mother, Mildred, was an active suffragette who fought for women’s right to vote. His father, Alex, worked as a schoolmaster. William received his early education at the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. When William was just 12 years old, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a novel. A frustrated child, he found an outlet in bullying his peers. Later in life, William would describe his childhood self as a brat, even going so far as to say, “I enjoyed hurting people.” After primary school, William went on to attend Brasenose College at Oxford University. His father hoped he would become...
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...In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, young boys are stranded on an island and try to rebuild their own society. This however, does not happen because the boys are controlled by the same temptations and evils that corrupt society. Through Golding’s use of foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism, he shows that even children are capable of doing terrible things. When the boys first establish their rules, the leader, Ralph, proves that kids can do terrible things. Ralph tells the boys, “And he won’t be interrupted. Except by me.” (33). This attempt to establish order shows that even Ralph isn’t willing to follow his own rules which foreshadows the fact that the rules will not be taken seriously in the future. Through Ralph, Golding also shows...
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...In Lord of the Flies the boys slowly change from being a civilized group of British boys into a savage group of boys that only to hunt and kill pigs for fun and food. Even though Piggy lost his glasses, and the boys had no hygiene at all. Wind, air, and humidity in the Lord of the Flies a novel by William Golding reveals how without rules, humans are savages. The boys were happy and friends, the boys separating, and everyone hunting is revealing Golding’s message. The boys being happy and having fun at the beginning of the story shows the change of how without rules humans are savages. Simon, jack, and Ralph were off to figure out if they were really on an island. They were talking, laughing, and the “air was bright” (25). There were no worries, no beastie, they were still new to the island. Jack was on the hunt for a pig, the first time he ever thought of hunting. Jack heard a “harsh cry” and ran over to find a pig (49). Jack hunting was the first sign of the boys turning into savages. Samneric were keeping the fire going and saw the ‘beastie’, the “darkness was full of claws” and they were terrified (99). It was the moment that there...
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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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...William Golding, in 1954, wrote the Lord of the Flies. Written after WWII portrays the inherent evil of mankind. Being evil is just easier than being good because there are no rules to follow and people get to do whatever one chooses to do, and a side effect of evil is power. Power then corrupts the brain into thinking people need it, then people just want more and more. All because of evil, respect then comes from fear, power comes from respect. Golding shows how evil and power is what corrupts the brains of the children on the island which makes them do horrible things that cause fear in the children. Evil is easy and because people get to do whatever they want, rules are the only things that contain evil within us and keep us human, Evil...
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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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...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 book was written after...
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...Nicholas Phillips Mrs. McCathren English 10 26 October 2014 Setting Analysis The forest in the book, Lord of the Flies, is the scariest place for all the boys in the book aside from Simon. During an assembly of the boys, Piggy attempts to interpret what a scared littlun says about his encounter with the beast. Piggy tells the crowd “‘A snake-thing. Ever so big. He saw it” Ralph replies, “‘Where?”’ The littlun tells him, “‘In the woods”’(42). The littluns already have their fair share of nightmares while they are on the island; nightmares about the native creatures on the island. After learning about the presence of the beast, the littluns become overly terrified of the forest and what it contains. Later, while Ralph, Jack, and others are searching for the beast in the forest, they actually discover what they believe to be the beast. The boys are walking in the dark “Then the wind roared in the forest, there was confusion in the darkness, and the creature lifted its head, holding toward them the ruin of a face”(172). Ralph and the others doubted the existence of the beast up until their encounter with it. This gut-wrenching encounter instills chilling terror in those to whom the boys describe the encounter, making the forest a feared presence for the bigguns, because it harbors the beast. The boys need someone to go across the island in the dark to deliver a message to Piggy. They are all too afraid to go except one boy. With great courage "Simon pushed his way to Ralph's...
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...Lord of the Flies Full book report 1. A person’s behaviour is determined by several causes through out his life. The phase already begins when we are born. As a child we’re taught how to behave by our parents. Later on our teachers and surroundings influence our behaviour towards a more and more civilized one. In a society we’re kept as civilized as possible by following rules and laws. If we as human beings are placed away from a society, will we be able to maintain our civilized characters, or will we become savaged barbarians? This is the theme William Golding creates in his novel The Lord of the Flies from 1954. Golding takes his readers on a journey, where he shows what mankind is capable of doing through youngsters. The question is: can the young kids maintain civilization? 2.c. The Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of young boys who crash on an island. While they’re stuck on the island they manage to establish some order and civilization by choosing a leader and by using a conch shell to arrange meetings between the boys. The established civilization crumbles as the book goes on because some of the boys can’t control their animalistic qualities. The boys waddle between the human instinct of savagery and the civilized ways of order, which they’re taught from home. Despite the fact that they try to establish order they become more and more drawn towards savagery throughout the book. The sow’s head and the conch shell are both symbols of power, but...
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...number of similarities, more than one may assume. Humans strive to secure, at the very least, four, primary things: food, water, shelter, and warmth. This scenario is evidently seen in both the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and the modern television show, “Lost”. A group of complete strangers are stranded on a mysterious island, encountering a lack of essentials, sanity, and pure, hope. Nevertheless, every character unambiguously lived in varying tactics from tribal savagery to an orderly democracy. Unsurprisingly, these two mediums demonstrate rather similar aspects in the storyline, imagery, and, most vitally, characters. Based on the analysis of Lord of the Flies and Lost, Ralph,...
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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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...Lord of the Flies: Literary Analysis In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a plane full of English boys was attacked and crashed onto an island when trying to evacuate a nuclear war. Now the boys must learn to survive and work together. Although they began as a civilized bunch, after conflicts between group leaders Ralph and Jack, savagery starts to emerge. Golding uses the conflict between the civilizations to show how the darkness of human nature can affect even little childrens. At the beginning of the novel, Ralph, described as “the boy with fair hair”, and Piggy a whiney, intellectual chubby boy, found a conch shell which was used to call the other boys who were lost on the island to the beach. Among the boys was a choir group led by a boy named Jack. Ralph was soon elected as leader seeing as being the one who called everyone together. Jack was in charge of the choir group to hunt for food. After countless failure of capturing a pig, Jack decided to paint his face with clay to be camouflaged from the pig. He lead the boys and finally killed his first of pig and came back to the group with the pig strapped to a stick and the boys chanting, “ Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood!”(69). We can see how excited the boys got from killing a measly pig. Jack describes his experience with Ralph explaining, “ There was lashings of blood...you should have seen it!”(69). Jacks thirst for more blood is an obvious sign of the development of savagery. Later...
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...that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you” (qtd.in “Soledad O'Brien Quotes”). Being apprehensive can lead one astray from his or her goals, and can cause complete change within a person. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of British boys are stranded on an island, without any any adults, after their plane crashes. Amongst the boys, some, such as Ralph, Piggy, and Simon are rational and still have their minds and bodies invested in being rescued. The other’s, under the command of Jack Merridew, have let rumours of of a beast, and a blind, burning, passion to hunt fog their minds leaving only the lust for savagery...
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...Lord of the Flies William Golding Analysis of Major Characters Themes, Motifs & Symbols Ralph Ralph is the athletic, charismatic protagonist of Lord of the Flies. Elected the leader of the boys at the beginning of the novel, Ralph is the primary representative of order, civilization, and productive leadership in the novel. While most of the other boys initially are concerned with playing, having fun, and avoiding work, Ralph sets about building huts and thinking of ways to maximize their chances of being rescued. For this reason, Ralph’s power and influence over the other boys are secure at the beginning of the novel. However, as the group gradually succumbs to savage instincts over the course of the novel, Ralph’s position declines precipitously while Jack’s rises. Eventually, most of the boys except Piggy leave Ralph’s group for Jack’s, and Ralph is left alone to be hunted by Jack’s tribe. Ralph’s commitment to civilization and morality is strong, and his main wish is to be rescued and returned to the society of adults. In a sense, this strength gives Ralph a moral victory at the end of the novel, when he casts the Lord of the Flies to the ground and takes up the stake it is impaled on to defend himself against Jack’s hunters. In the earlier parts of the novel, Ralph is unable to understand why the other boys would give in to base instincts of bloodlust and barbarism. The sight of the hunters chanting and dancing is baffling and distasteful to him. As the novel progresses...
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...Horatian and Juvenalian Satire Satire has many definitions, but according to Merriam Webster satire can be defined as “A literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn” (Webster). This definition is likely used by many authors who exercise the application of satire. Satire has been in literature since ancient times; it is derived from the Latin satura, meaning "dish of mixed fruits," (Weisgerber). Many satirists have shared a common aim: to expose foolishness in all its guises — vanity, hypocrisy, formalism, reverence, and the intolerance toward those who hold different opinions from oneself (Moyers). As previously mentioned, the term satire was originally derived from satura, defined by Quintilian, a roman rhetorician (Clarke). It was later discovered that two Roman poets, Juvenal and Horace, were responsible for further defining satirical works by their literary tone (Moyers). Thus, creating a systematic way to categorize satire into two different types, Horatian satire which approaches satirical observations, literature and performance in a humorous and lighthearted manner, and Juvenalian satire, which focuses on specific verbal or literary attacks on corrupt ideals or individuals (Weisgerber). I view Horatian satire as clever and humorous and find that it generally mocks others. Horatian is not negative; it aims to make fun of human behavior in a comic way. In a work using Horatian satire, readers often laugh at the characters in the story who are...
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