In the world of literature and philosophy, there are many works and theories that analyze human nature and expose the problems we really face in the wake of freedom, power, fear, and moral hardship. I will discuss how humans often victimize the weak through three important works and theory from Never Let Me Go, Lord of the Flies, and Thomas Hobbes. C: Let's start with Never Let Me Go. This novel describes the lives of human clones, highlighting freedom and fate, love and loss, and the control humans have over their lives and the abuse of their freedom and independence. The clone project hides a kind of greed, and humans taking away cloned organs without wishful thinking is an attack on their dignity and a lack of respect for life. E: The main characters, Cathy, Tommy and Ruth, grow up in the completely enclosed School, where their lives are completely under control, but they want to be free and independent.Cathy's quest for love and friendship, Tommy's quest for art, and Ruth's feeling of self-worth display the emotions and ideals of the clones as individuals. As a quote from the novel says, “It's something they can dream about, a little fantasy. What's the harm?” In these little illusions, the characters find meaning and motivation in their lives. This kind of wish for freedom and fight against destiny is the very challenge we will face in real life. In the quest for our dreams and little illusions, we find the motivation and the way forward. …show more content…
C: In Lord of the Flies, he describes when man loses control over the evils of nature, and the good and evil hidden in human nature. The writer clearly emphasizes the idea of “human
Mankind is innately evil. The allegorical novel, The Lord of the Flies, allows for little interpretation about human nature. William Golding depicts the idea, “evil is an inborn trait of man” (Golding). Throughout the novel the children who have crash landed on the island begin to uncover their savage nature. Although all of the children somehow succumb to a heinous behaviour, Jack, Ralph, and Roger become most noticeably corrupt. Ultimately, it becomes clear that malicious intent is intrinsic in mankind.
This book teaches the importance of self-expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful of what is going on. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
Throughout the novel several different characters are introduced to the reader, such as Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy. With all these characters presented to the reader, one can get to see into their minds-eye, which allows the reader to analyze their character. In this case one could examine their basic morals and distinguish between the person’s natural instinct to rely on civilization or savagery to solve their problems. The author of the novel, William Golding, had a “first-hand experience of battle line action during World War II” which caused him to realize, “[that] The war alone was not what appalled him, but what he had learnt of the natural - and original- sinfulness of mankind did. It was the evil seen daily as commonplace and repeated by events it was possible to read in any newspaper which, he asserted, were the matter of Lord of the Flies” (Foster, 7-10). This being said by Golding leads one to the central problem in the novel the Lord of the Flies, which can be regarded as the distinction between civility and savagery. This can be seen through the characters that are presented in the novel, and how these boys go from a disciplined lifestyle, to now having to adapt to an unstructured and barbaric one in the jungle.
Marion Anderson once said, “Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes man inhuman.” Fear and insecurity fuels the prejudice that is used in man’s inhumanity to others. Even if not for the sake of being inhumane, man criticizes man for lack of compassion; however, it is in nature that men are inhumane to others especially in times of fear and insecurity. As Mark Twain exemplifies in his work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, man’s inhumanity to man, is due to the fear, prejudice, insecurity, and selfishness that every man has experienced in society.
Lord of the Flies: Our Society Suppresses the Evil That Is Presented In All of Us
When the weaker people - “the slaves” – are wronged by stronger people – “the masters” – they are unable to avenge themselves and instead feel ressentiment towards them. Their hate of the masters takes the form of ressentiment and becomes a strong and dominant emotion which defines their morality.
This paper will explore the three elements of innate evil within William Golding's, Lord of the Flies, the change from civilization to savagery, the beast, and the battle on the island. Golding represents evil through his character's, their actions, and symbolism. The island becomes the biggest representation of evil because it's where the entire novel takes place. The change from civilization to savagery is another representation of how easily people can change from good to evil under unusual circumstances. Golding also explores the evil within all humans though the beast, because it's their only chance for survival and survival instinct takes over. In doing so, this paper will prove that Lord of the Flies exemplifies the innate evil that exists within all humans.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go illustrates an alternate world where clones are created for the sole purpose of becoming organ donors. The story follows clones Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy as they are born into a society in which they slowly understand and accept, as they grow older. Kathy, the narrator, reflects on her experiences in Hailsham, the Cottages, and her life as a carer. Conformity and the acceptance of fate are two themes that are present throughout the novel. Kathy exhibits obedience to social norms and never thinks to challenge them. It is only until Kathy looks back at her past where she notices her acts of omission and questions why she never intervenes with reality.
Man’s inhumanity to man literally means human’s cruelty towards other humans. This is a major theme of the story and is seen throughout it. Golding himself even states that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” A review of the book states how Golding portrays this “because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.” Piggy, Ralph, and Simon are the “rational good of mankind” portrayed in the book, and Jack and his hunters are the “evil savagery of mankind.” “The beast” is a symbol for the evil in all humans, and Simon and Piggy, or rationality, are almost helpless in his presence. Simon, though, in a book filled with evil, is a symbol of vision and salvation. He is the one to see the evil as it truly exists, in the hearts of all humanity. When he tries to tell the others of this truth, however, he is killed, much like Christ was trying to bring salvation to the ignorant. Simon being there gives us hope; the truth is available to those who seek it. In the book, Jack and his hunters become so evil that they end up killing two boys while on the island. Man’s tendencies towards evil in The Lord of the Flies are also compared to the book of Genesis in the Bible. Nature, beauty, and childhood can all be corrupted by the darkness within humankind. The ending of this truly dark and evil story tells readers how Golding feels about evil within society and where he thinks humanity is headed. Evil will triumph over the intellect and good, unless some force intercedes. In th...
The society in question is refuses to reciprocate the equality envisioned by the narrator and without any intention of compliance continually uses this man to their own advantage. It is not only this exploitation, b...
It is set in alternate “England, late 1990’s where human beings are cloned and bred for the purposes of harvesting their organs once they reach adulthood. These "clones" are reared in boarding school-type institutions” (Cusk. 2011). The reader follows retrospective and episodic accounts of these experiences through a series of flashbacks from the main protagonist and point of view of ‘Kathy H’ introduced in the beginning of the novel as a “thirty-one year old carer” the only option available to the clones in which they can experience any sense of normal societal life i.e. employment, their own transport and accommodation (Ishiguro. 2005: 3).
The three main characters, clones who are lepers of Ishiguro’s dystopian society, attempt to find purpose in their existence beyond containers of vital organs. The clones’ background at Hailsham gave them insight into culture, art, and the world for everyone else but there identity was always predetermined as was their fate. They may have experienced sensations of existentialism through art and life experiences but they were destined to donate and that was all. Their true identities lived and died with the people they connected with, both at Hailsham and in those they met on their paths to completion.
The atrocities of slavery know no bounds. Its devices leave lives ruined families pulled apart and countless people dead. Yet many looked away or accepted it as a necessary part of society, even claiming it was beneficial to all. The only way this logic works is if the slaves are seen as less than human, people who cannot be trusted to take care of themselves. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved the consequences of a lifetime of slavery are examined. Paul D and seethe, two former slaves have experienced the worst slavery has to offer. Under their original master, Mr. Garner the slaves were treated like humans. They were encouraged to think for themselves and make their own decisions. However, upon the death of Mr. Garner all of that changes. Under their new master, The Schoolteacher, they are relegated to a position among animals. They are seen as beasts of burden rather than equals. Paul D and the other slaves are stripped of their free will and their manhood. The Schoolteacher treats them as though they were animals without emotions. The schoolteacher is not the only one; he is representative of society in general and its mindset towards African Americans. The system of slavery by nature devalues the lives of slaves and demotes them to a status below humans.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an author’s painting of the evil that resides in all of the human race. The tropical island setting presents an environment free from civil order introducing a battle ground for the war of good and evil. Showing different side of human nature one can ponder the question “What would I do?” Golding explains the good, bad and balance of human nature, revealing that in times of despair man can easily regress to a primitive state, leaving the strong willed to promote civil order, but often be extremely out numbered.