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Lord of the flies character theory essay
Character analysis essay about a character in lord of the flies
Character analysis in Lord of the Flies
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One may wonder what possesses people to commit the most heinous and disgusting crimes imaginable. Man does not exist as simply evil, just as good does not exist without evil. The doppelganger, also known as the alter- ego, controls the evil in a personality. Sometimes another figure in one's life can represent the doppelganger which influences the good to do horrible, savage acts. To begin, a doppelganger can be thought of as an evil twin or evil side. Ralph and Jack are two major character in Lord of the Flies; likewise, Gene and Finny are main characters of A Separate Peace. Both sets of main characters are friends at some point; however, Jack and Gene are both the doppelganger to their friend within these two novels. The authors use their relationships to show differences in each other and how they influence one another- the bad more than the good. The doppelganger can exist within all people. Not only does the alter ego exist within all personalities, but it lives to destroy good and creates problems within man. By envying others, attempting to eliminate, and influencing the good side, the doppelganger longs for authority and ultimate control in one’s existence.
One example of the doppelganger’s characteristics is envy. For instance, in Lord of the Flies, Jack tries to overpower Ralph and his authority over the children. Jack stated '" I ought to be chief, " with simple arrogance..."(Golding, pg.22) Jack uses fear to force the littluns and some biguns to join his tribe of savages. Also, it is evident in A Separate Peace that Gene envies Finny’s athletic skills and tendency to get away with everything. The author explains that "The deadly rivalry was on both sides after all. " (Knowles, pg.54) Gene believes Finny effortles...
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Overall, the doppelganger or evil side of one’s being can be found within every person. It thrives on destructive power, and control. On the other hand, the alter-ego is needed to sustain the balance in one’s personality. Although the doppelganger is demonstrated as two separate people in Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace, the doppelganger dwells within the depths of one’s mind. It can also surface itself when put in dangerous situations or when faced with a risky decision. Both John Knowles and William Golding illustrated the principle of the doppelganger and its evil characteristics that dwell deep within through their fictitious characters and the situations they faced. Ultimately proving that there is a dark side to everyone. Evil dwells deep within even the most kindhearted, compassionate, and loving person. We all posses that significant alter-ego.
In today 's society, how do we describe someone as "a good person". The judgment falls to other people and how they compare or contrast themselves to the person, who falls under questioning morality. Another problem can lie within the imperfections of the normal human and the few that see through and fix their problem can only improve. Here we will analyze and reflect the comparison between the author Wes Moore’s life pictured within his story of The Other Wes Moore, where Wes categorized his differences between his doppelganger, the Wes Moore in prison for a life sentence, and my life. Each step in the book concludes the beginning of early childhood to early adulthood stopping at the present of the book’s conclusion. Still, we are left questioning the perfection of “good” things in the author’s life, through his schooling, sports, neighborhood and household influences, and opportunities.
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.
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.
Personality and the Beast Within in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Everyone has a dual personality, two sides, good and evil. Robert Louis Stephenson uses the book to explain this, he wanted people to. realise that not only does Dr Jekyll carry a double personality, but the other characters in the book, too. Also the people reading it must see that they too, are a part of this frightening, uncontrollable fact.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 “shilling shocker”, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, has been subjected to various interpretations over the years. While some have assessed the trope of duality in the light of racism, colonization and cultural ‘other’, others have drawn on psychological references of split personality or ‘dissociative identity disorder’(i.e. existence of more than one personality in one body). The popularity of the novella and the idea of binaries existing in one being, has given birth to the phrase ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ which associates itself to a person whose attitude is vastly different from situation to situation. The respectable Dr. Jekyll, in his
Good and Evil in Human Nature in Lord of the Flies and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The construct of a fictional doppelgänger lacks restraints of a definitive denotation, as it has often been familiarized and integrated into literature as a condition limited to the male gender, fortified by the demarcation of a gendered identity. Through the manipulation of the male lens, the feminine personality is subjugated to a classification of sheer obligation and domestication to man. Within doppelgänger narratives, such as Ligeia and Der Sandmann, the incorporation of the uncanny often institutes thematic elements concerning the anonymity of identity and the ambiguity of reality. Though the juxtaposition of the uncanny and the fallibility of vision, relative to the castration complex, denunciates femininity as the absence of the male standard, consequential of a phallocentric society, the doppelgänger’s influence as a femme fatale has revolutionized and transcended societal perceptions of femininity and womanhood.
Duality is a combination of opposites, such as good and evil, love and hate, or life and death. It is used to explore things such as suppression, law breaking, and the unpredictability of human nature. It has been presented in many literary works, such as The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Romeo and Juliet, and “The Fall of The House of Usher”. The theme of duality is used in these three stories to convey new thoughts and concepts.
There are two types of people in this world, good and evil. Some people think that evil comes to us from the surrounding society, others believe it is inside us and we are born with it. William Golding in the novel Lord of the Flies believes that all people are born with evil inside which needs to be restrained by a civilized society. In the novel, there is a stark contrast between the two societies set up by Ralph and Jack. Ralph is restrained by a civilized society, yet Jack is not restrained so his evil comes out at a faster rate. This shows through the personalities and the roles of each leader, in the different qualities in the second in command, Piggy and Roger. Most of all it is noticeable in Jack’s and Ralph’s values.
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.
Wicked, dishonorable, corrupt, villainous, malicious, and vicious all have one thing in common: they define evil. A person or a group of people that display these qualities are often to be defined as evil beings or creatures. Two people that have many of these characteristics developed within them are Iago from Shakespeare’s Othello and Lucifer from the Bible. Both Iago and Lucifer are developed with many “evil” qualities woven intricately into their character development. The representation of each “evil” characteristic gives them something they have in common allowing the description and portrayal of both Iago and Lucifer in literature show the audience they share common “evil” characteristics and that they lead to chaos and downfall.
The Lord of the Flies gives an accurate insight to the problems that we are faced with everyday like violence, greed, fear, and religious power and shows how civilization and savagery contrast because of this. It shows us no matter who we are evil lies within all of us. This is exemplified through the breaking of the conch, the Lord of the Flies (pigs head), and through Jack. This novel shows that even the most innocent of children can turn evil, everyone is capable. Friedrich Nietzsche once said ““Man is the cruelest animal.”
The narrator's life is filled with constant eruptions of mental traumas. The biggest psychological burden he has is his identity, or rather his misidentity. He feels "wearing on the nerves" (Ellison 3) for people to see him as what they like to believe he is and not see him as what he really is. Throughout his life, he takes on several different identities and none, he thinks, adequately represents his true self, until his final one, as an invisible man.
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.
A doppelganger by definition is a double or counterpart of a person or an alter ego of a person (Dictionary.com). Everyone has a doppelganger that influences their lives every day in their decisions they make. Their doppelgangers are their suppressed selves and, if uncovered, will reveal to the world the kind of people they genuinely are. What one may show on the outside could be completely different from what they truly feel. One can really know a person only once he fully knows the person that he is on the inside. Mr. Hyde represents the inner evil of Dr. Jekyll in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde while the painting in The Picture of Dorian Gray resembles his own inner evil as well. In each of these novels, the suppressed sides of the characters are present and influence their every action thus slowly reveal the true identities of the men. The nature of man is composed of inner sinfulness that is masked by outer composure set by society, but once the suppressed half is exposed, only then will the public fully know a man.