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Lord of the flies comparison essay
Discuss the theme of good and evil in Lord of the Flies
Explore the theme of evil in Lord of the flies
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I have chosen “The Lord of the Flies” and “The Withered Arm” because they are similar even though they were written in different time periods. Lord of the Flies was written in the 20th century and the Withered arm was written in the 19th century. Lord of the flies by William Golding The title signifies Death, devil (Beelzebub).The Withered arm by Thomas Hardy The title signifies decay or decline. Settings:The withered arm is set in the 19th century on a farm. This is in Anglebury .The story starts of on Mr Lodges farm and finishes on the farm.
Gertrude lodge lives in a mud built cottage.The lord of the flies is set on a fictitious remote island in the 20th century. The story starts of in the jungle. They later move onto the beaches. They then move to other locations on the island such as the fort and the mountain.Differences and similarities between settingsBoth of the settings are isolated.
Lord of the Flies, is on an island so they cant get off but in the Withered Arm there is not much transport so wherever you went you would have to walk or get a horse.The settings are different because they are set in different periods. Themes:Lord of the flies:Good and evil, good and evil is a fairly large theme in the story. Early in the novel good is represented by the conch this is a symbol of decency and order. The two tribes Represent good and evil in the best way. However, there are other things such as the beast and the ship. The beast frightens them because they think it is an evil sign.
The ship is a good sign but they do not manage to flag it down, because Jack had not looked after the fire. This springs an almost air of hatred between Ralph and Jack.Law and order, plays a big role in the story. It comes into play at the very beginning with the conch. Ralph and Piggy find the shell and Ralph blows it, this draws all the children onto the beech. The conch later becomes an element of law and order, because the boys are only aloud to talk during meetings if they have the conch. Fear, fear is probably the biggest theme in the story there is a big list of elements of fear such as the fear of the beast, the isolation of the island, the war outside of the island, the fear of not being rescued, the fear of Jacks group (savages) and the fear of fear itself.
Many works of literature inspire new works to be made every day. From things as old as beowulf to the many shakespeare plays, current day writers keep pulling ideas from the classics to create their own stories. Because of this, many older works of literature are still relevant today. The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is more current than ever with allusion from Popular television shows, music that is heard on the radio and the newest blockbuster movie. The many allusions in modern day literature and works of art to lord of the flies are too numerous to count.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that represents a microcosm of society in a tale about children stranded on an island. Of the group of young boys there are two who want to lead for the duration of their stay, Jack and Ralph. Through the opposing characters of Jack and Ralph, Golding reveals the gradual process from democracy to dictatorship from Ralph's democratic election to his lack of law enforcement to Jack's strict rule and his violent law enforcement.
Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’ cinematic classic, is a film that centers on a group of reporter’s investigation into the meaning of Charles Foster Kane’s last uttered word, “Rosebud.” Citizen Kane ' brings into light many social problems between countries, relationships, and also between competing newspaper companies. It brings into light how a newspaper should react and also brings the corruption of politics. War was breaking out in Europe and throughout the entire film Kane states there will be no war. He ignores the fact people are being killed, tortured, and rounded up like livestock.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
In the end, they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives of Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear. Initially, the boys carried on about in a civilized, systematic and fearless manner when first landing on the island. Ralph has just blown the conch and some small children responded to the sound by gathering at the source of the sound.
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
The incompatibility of free will and determinism can be best described by the law of non-contradiction. The law of non-contradiction states that in the current time of selecting between two things, you can have either one or the other. It states that both options cannot be chosen. To further have a clear understanding of this, imagine having to choose between two paths. At the current time, you can only go down one path. You cannot be in two paths at the same time. This can also explain the incompatibility with free will and determinism. Having both beliefs of free will and determinism, they interfere with each other. A person cannot choose something, and at the same time, claim that it was already pre-determined or already chosen for them. Therefore free will and determinism are incompatible.
Snow White (1937), Cinderella (1950), and Sleeping Beauty (1959) were the first Disney princesses in the era. All three princess were portrayed as helpless or a damsel in distress, who were saved by a prince's sword or kiss. Cinderella, in particular, was a prime example of this stereotype. Living with her neglectful stepmother and sisters, she was repressed from all of the daily activities her step family would partake in. She was regularly tormented and made to slave around; cleaning and cooking for her spoiled family members. She didn't have the self esteem to stick up for herself. All three of these princesses had secondary characters to care for them, to have a happy ending and "marry the prince". The godmother in Cinderella magically giving her a dress, carriage and glass slippers, and the house mice helping her as well. Snow White has the seven dwarfs, and Sleeping Beauty had her three fairy godmothers.
Jordan Baker’s bad driving and dishonesty are connected because of how her behavior is. She acts careless and has a mindset that is different from Nick’s mindset. Jordan Baker is cunning and quick-witted, she “instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men, and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible”(58). She deliberately avoids men that are clever and shrewd and it is connected to Nick because Jordan believes that Nick is not brilliant and astute. It is significant because of her social status, it reflects how Machiavellian she is and her superiority that she tries to acquire with others that she regards are lower than her. Another factor is her atrocious driving. Jordan
Another thing that was symbolized in the book is the conch shell. The conch is what Ralph blew into to get the boys to come together. At first they established rules, one of them being the person holding the conch is the only person who can speak. The conch symbolizes order among the boys. As time past the boys acted more and more uncivil, and they didn't pay much attention to the conch. At this point, order stated to disintegrate. Towards the end of the novel, when the conch was shattered, all civilization of the boys shattered along with it. There was complete chaos on the island.
Many of the themes present in Heart of Darkness and also present in Lord of the Flies. Both novels deal with the theme of civilization versus savagery. Also, both novels imply that every man has a heart of darkness or an evil that is usually drowned out by the light of civilization. However, when removed from civilized society, the raw evil of untamed lifestyles within his soul will be unleashed. For example, in the Heart of Darkness the main character Marlow journeys up the Thames river and as he gets further away from civilization, the more he journey's into a heart of darkness. A darkness where societal morals no longer exist and savagery has taken over. In the Lord of the Flies the boys in the novel are stranded on an island and the longer they stay on the island and are absent from civilization the more savage like they become.
Compatibalists aim to resolve the tension between ‘free will’ and ‘determinism’ by creating a neutral thesis by which both views are logically consistent. Modern philosophers such Hobbes, Locke, Mill and Hume, see compatibilism as a way to reconcile free will with modern science. They state that the most moral decisions that humans make, require both external determined factors and internal acts of free will. Hume states that free will and reasonable action must be caused by an individual, immediately bridging a gap between free will and determinism. These philosophers argue that freedom requires causation, and that without it, there would just be randomness. Therefore, in order to sway from randomness, choice must be a causal factor. And if choice is a causal factor, then it must also be a determinant. Thus linking back to how free will cannot be completely understood without determinism. Compatibalism suggests that human choices are a combination of both free will and determinism. Searles depicts this by saying compatibalism‘denies the substance of free will while maintaining its verbal shell.” Compatibalists then in some way rearrange the definition of free will in order to fit determinism, with the focus rather than being solely will, be ‘freedom of action’. Yet the change in translation it is not that large of an issue according to compatibalists, since freedom is
Free will is the ability to do whatever you desire, regardless of what led you to do so. Free action, however, is used specifically to refer to the ability to perform a wide range of actions, as opposed to only having one possible outcome per every situation that you are placed in. This is why it is possible for someone to believe in free will but not free action (compatibilism). Hypothetically, someone could engage in free will but have been led to do so in a predetermined chain events, meaning that their actions are not free. Since I have already established that I fully believe in free will, when referring to determinism, I speak specifically in terms of the lack of free
Free will is one of the many gifts which God gave to humanity and it is in our power to make the right decisions. On the other hand, determinism deprives each human of the ability of choosing and having the power to make their own decisions. Determinism cannot be true as our actions are not pre-determined before events happen. God gave us the gift of free will because He has predestined what will happen to use during our lives. Galen Strawson stated “if events are not necessitated to occur just as they do, then we are still unable to exert control over our choices and actions” (Ethical Theory, 2012). The gift of free will results in an agent choosing their own course of action which is not determined by any previous or future events. The agent carries out their action in the way in which they wish to do so, and the agent makes their own choices. When an agent acts using their free will, they are right to be held morally responsible for their actions because events and actions are not pre-determined. For example, “a man's motives are not given by what was happening to him immediately before he started to act” (The Philosophical Review, 1957). Humanity have the gift of free will which allows us to make our own decisions. Free will can be a curse for some of us and for others it can be a blessing. God gave us the gift of free will so that we could live our life according to God and this would influence humanity to make the right decisions, but this is not always the case. Determinism if it were true, would mean that all our choices and actions would already be planned out including the bad ones, but Calvinists believe all of humanity go to either heaven or hell and this was predestined by God. When an agent makes a wrong decision and is punished, it would be morally wrong to blame God because the reason He gave