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Lord of the flies characters analysis essay nature
Lord of the flies characters analysis essay nature
Analysis of Lord of the Flies
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“He's an innocent in a lot of ways. He’s a very simple person who really doesn't have the resources or the strength, ultimately, to handle the situation.” In the book, Lord of the Flies, these English school boys who were sent away because of World War 2 and their plane crashed on an island in the Pacific. These British school boys didn't have any adults with them on the island and they try to create their own rules to survive. They tried to follow the rules but since they are so young that backfired really quickly. The boys lost their innocence when they killed a momma pig, attacked and killed their classmate, Simon, and chased their leader, Ralph with plans to murder him. The boys start off innocently working together, but eventually became more and more cruel. Jack wanted to show everyone that he could hunt and what he was capable of. “His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink..”(Golding 70) This was the beginning of the boys starting to turn. Jack was made fun of the first time because he missed very badly, trying to kill a sow, now he had his first kill and he felt …show more content…
different. After that kill Jack started to believe he had some power and wanted to be in control. These little english school boys were all hanging out and having fun, until they thought the beast was coming from the forest.
So they are tried working together so they could kill the beast once and for all, but they killed their classmate, Simon, which changed everything. "Surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea".(Golding 154) This when we knew these boys couldn't go back to being little english school boys anymore. They all had killed a innocent little boy, Simon. However, they didn't know it was Simon, all of them thought it was the
beast. At the beginning if all of this all the boys wanted to work together and try to be civil, but because of people not listening and doing what they want this lead to a fight. This wasn't about getting off the island anymore, it was about who could survive and who had the power.“Ralph launched himself like a cat; stabbed, snarling, with the spear, and the savage doubled up.”(Golding 165) Jack and his hunter went on a mission to hunt down Ralph and kill him. Ralph was trying to hid from Jack and his hunters because he knew exactly what they would do to him if they found him. Ralph had to stab one of the hunters so he get away. Jack and his hunters tried to burn Ralph out but ended up catching the whole island on fire These little english school boys had lost their innocence when they kill their first pig, killing of school boy Simon and when they chased Ralph. When they killed the pig they felt that they had power and began to use that power in a bad way. The killing of their friend Simon is what changed it all. For them killing Simon showed what they have become, they have become savages. When the boys had chased Ralph it showed that they were monsters and they wanted him dead, no matter what they had to do. All of these things that had happen to these boys totally ruined them and they will never be able to go back to the little innocent school boys that they once were.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a peculiar story about boys stranded on an island, and the plot and characters relate to many prevailing events and problems. A specific problem that is currently occurring is the mutual hatred and enmity between North Korea and South Korea. This is a current event, but the North and South’s hostility has been ongoing since 1945, when Korea was split into North and South, Communist and Capitalist. When the 38th parallel(Border between North and South Korea) was created, Kim Il-Sung ruled the North, and Syngman Rhee ruled the South. As of now, a power hungry dictator, Kim Jong-un rules the north, and an optimistic president who wants to see change was recently elected in the South, named Moon Jae-in. In Golding’s book, Ralph is a character who aimed to keep everyone alive and to stay together. Jack on the other hand, wanted to have fun and hunt, and although he also wanted to be rescued, he made no effort to help. In this sense, North Korea is a clear representation of the character Jack and his quest for power, and opposingly, South Korea is a representation of Ralph and his strive for order, democracy, and civilization.
Simon appreciates how peaceful and beautiful the island is , but as he journeys deeper he finds The Lord of the Flies (the boars head) impaled at its center, the main symbol of how the innocence of childhood has been corrupted by fear and savagery. When Ralph is first introduced, he is acting like a child, splashing in the water, and laughing. He tells Piggy that his father, a naval commander, will rescue him. Ralph repeats his belief in their rescue throughout the novel, shifting his hope that his own father will discover them. To the more realistic idea that a passing ship will be attracted by the signal fire on the island. By the end of the novel, he has lost hope in the boys' rescue altogether. Notice how he goes from being optimistic to pessimistic his childhood wishes and fantasies are lost in the savagery and harshness of the jungle.
For all their differences the Lord of the Flies and Simon have one singular trait in common; they both know what the pig’s head really means for the boys on the island. At first glance, the Lord of the Flies is just a pig’s head on a stick, however it is so much more than that. The moment Jack and his hunter’s kill that pig, a part of them is lost forever and this lost part is their moral sense of right and wrong (149).
Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding in 1954 about a group of young British boys who have been stranded alone together on an island with no adults. During the novel the diverse group of boys struggle to create structure within a society that they constructed by themselves. Golding uses many unique literary devices including characterization, imagery, symbolism and many more. The three main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack are each representative of the three main literary devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. Beyond the characterization the novel stands out because of Golding’s dramatic use of objective symbolism, throughout the novel he uses symbols like the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses to represent how power has evolved and to show how civilized or uncivilized the boys are acting. It is almost inarguable that the entire novel is one big allegory in itself, the way that Golding portrays the development of savagery among the boys is a clear representation of how society was changing during the time the novel was published. Golding is writing during
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about British schoolboys, who survived on an island after the plane crash. This novel is an allegory: It is a literary work in which each character, event, or object is symbolic outside of the novel. It is allegorical in the level of society in terms of three major symbols. The conch symbolizes civilization, and helps to possess an organized law and order. Next, Jack, as the main antagonist in the novel, represents a savage in the society. Furthermore, the fire signifies the return of civilization and conflicts within the society. Thus, Lord of the Flies is an allegory for society since it represents good governance, humanity’s innate cruelty, and struggles to the return of its civilization.
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on an island, and soon find that fending for themselves and staying civilized is not as easy as they thought it would be. Although they start off with an organized society, through interactions with each other and objects around them, they become completely savage over time. Golding employs the symbolism of Jack, the conch shell, and the beast to serve the purpose of the allegory of the inherent evil of the human race.
In the beginning of the novel, the children created a society with a leader, Ralph, and everything was under control. One day, the hunters left the fire unattended when a boat passed by, which caused Ralph to be very enraged at Jack. In Jack’s opinion, hunting was more important than fire. This marked the start of the schism in their society. Jack, who had been tired of the confinement of Ralph, decided to break free. “Who’ll join my tribe and have fun with me?” (150). Here, Jack decided to create a new tribe that focused on hunting and being protected by the beast. His speech appealed many people, causing Ralph’s tribe to only have three people
... middle of paper ... ... The frenzied state they are in is being caused by the beast, a symbol of fear. The barbaric way the boys attacked Simon without a moment of restraint shows that the beast had summoned their inner evil, primal, and savage minds.
The novel, Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding certainly is a masterful work of literature. The novel commences when a group of British schoolboys becomes stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes into the sea. In due time, they become accustomed to the island life thanks to the leadership of the novel’s main character Ralph. As the plot progresses, these boys slowly but surely lose their sanity and the order they originally created transforms into a grim state of chaos. From How To Read Literature Like a Professor, a work by Thomas C. Foster, one can clearly classify that Golding’s novel
Jack begins the novel partially innocent, cruel enough to yell at the boys yet pure enough to hesitate when faced with the task of killing the pig. Jack obtains the tools necessary to kill the pig, yet claims to need help cornering the animal. Jack, not truly needing help to kill the pig but rather needing the support provided by the mob mentality, acquires the support of his choir and together the boys hunt and kill the pig, all the while chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood”...
Eventually, the fear of the beast takes over everyone. The boys nearly lose their sanity and metamorphose completely into the beast as Jack did. The process of a boy becoming a savage is a recurring event. The first step is when the boys arrive on the island, breaking the barrier of tranquility that once existed. Then, fear grows through the ideas of the other boys, giving everyone clouded thoughts and vivid imaginations of the "beast". Fear ultimately consumes the boys entirely, turning them into savages and making them rely on their primal instincts to survive in a world without unity or order. The integration of the beast and the boys is only possible given the circumstances that William Golding creates in the novel and is unparalleled in today's society as we see this old perspective of the primitive times of society that once existed.
People are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development known as civilization. In a civilization, one’s life is bound by rules that are meant to tame its savage natures. A humans possesses better qualities because the laws that we must follow instill order and stability within society. This observation, made by William Golding, dictates itself as one of the most important themes of Lord of the Flies. The novel demonstrates the great need for civilization ion in life because without it, people revert back to animalistic natures.
One’s carelessness for those around them can accentuate the evil nature and barbaric side that is in all of us. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the boys’ descent into savagery is emphasized by their lack of care for one another. The boys’ lack of care is shown when Jack is physically violent with Piggy, and when the boys kill Simon.
“The great challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence.”In Lord of the Flies there is a plane carrying small boys being sent from England and it crashed landing on an uninhabited tropical island, leaving a massive ''scar'' in the once pristine wilderness during World War II. Stranded on the island from the plane crash they had attempted to create their own society and in doing so they ended up losing their innocence along the way. After setting up the society, their society began to go horribly wrong. The boy's lost their innocence when they killed a mother sow, then went even further killing a boy on the island named Simon and finally attempting to hunt down another boy on the island named Ralph.
The novel; “Lord of the Flies” is a highly renowned novel written by William Golding and published in 1954. The novel embodies many themes and events that are mysterious and unanticipated for the reader. During the course of the essay I will explain how the conch shell that is found at the foundation of the first chapter plays a significant role throughout the novel and how diverse themes are brought on from this influential shell. This essay will express an opinion on the conch shell, in the end has more power and order than the actual ‘beast’ that is signified on the island. I will also explore the social leadership of the conch throughout the novel which will also touch on a few themes that the conch shell plays a role in. The conch shell is one of the first real theme/symbol that readers are introduced too and stands its power for most of the novel which is why it should be explored in further detail in this essay.