Human beings are faced with a choice between good and evil, and different factors in their lives lead to their choice. The House of the Scorpion and Lord of the Flies are comparable in terms of theme, symbols, conflict, and setting. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a novel about a clone who chooses to be his own person. Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a story about British boys who are stranded on an island and faced with their inner darkness.
Themes in The House of the Scorpion and Lord of the Flies both show that leaders sometimes have to make difficult decisions. Matt, the main character in The House of the Scorpion, has a friend, Tam Lin, who helps to raise Matt to be good instead of evil. “When you’re small you can
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choose which way to grow” (Farmer 70). Matt is a clone that is expected to be just like his evil master El Patrón. He, however, defies the odds and chooses to “grow” to be good. It is not the easy path, and the choice is difficult, but he does it anyways. Ralph is the main protagonist in Lord of the Flies; he often has to make hard decisions as a leader to benefit the entire group of boys. “Jack, the beast might be on the other side. You can lead again. You’ve been” (Golding 118). Ralph knows that allowing Jack to lead the group of hunters is the best thing to do for the greater good of everyone. Due to the feud between Ralph and Jack, Ralph does not want to let Jack lead, but because he is a good leader he puts the other boys before himself. Matt and Ralph both face difficult decisions, but as leaders they both choose the decision that benefits others instead of themselves. White flowers in The House of the Scorpion and darkness in Lord of the Flies both symbolise a type of evil that things aren’t always as they seem.
White flowers grow outside in the fields where Matt lives. “He’d looked out the window where fields of white poppies stretched all the way to the shadowy hills. The whiteness hurt his eyes, and so he turned from them with relief to the cool darkness inside” (Farmer 6). When the poppies in the fields of Opium (the futuristic place where Matt lives) it gives a pretty and pleasant picture. These poppies, however, are sinister and threatening. This shows that although Matt longs to go into the outside world as it seems exciting, it is actually very dangerous. Darkness on the island in Lord of the Flies symbolises the fear of the unknown. “He says the beastie came in the dark” (Golding 35). The boys fear the dark because they do not understand it, and do not know what it contains. There really is nothing to be afraid of, and there is no “beastie” in the dark. The boys do not understand the darkness so their imagination creates fear. The white flowers and the darkness both show that things are not always as they first appear. It shows that sometimes we view things as dangerous when they are not or view things as fun when they are …show more content…
dangerous. Matt and Ralph both face conflict with their own identity. Matt is a clone and where he is from, clones are treated like animals. “He couldn’t see much difference between himself and Tom, but perhaps he was different on the inside. The doctor once told Rosa that clones went to pieces when they got older. What did that mean” (Farmer 71). When Matt discovers he is a clone he is immediately treated like an animal. He struggles and wonders what makes him different from everyone. He considers that maybe if he is treated like a dirty evil animal then maybe he should act like one. Ralph struggles with his evil side after Simon has been killed; he knows what he did was wrong and he is conflicted. “’I wasn’t scared,’ said Ralph slowly, ‘I was- I don’t know what I was’” (Golding 173). Ralph understands that there is absolutely no excuse for the murder of Simon, but he has done nothing to prevent it. He is battling with his inner evil and wondering why he felt the way he did when Simon was killed and why he did not try to stop it from happening. Matt is faced with the conflict of being who he is or who everyone expects him to be, and Ralph struggles to make the good choices and overcome his inner evil. The House of the Scorpion and Lord of the Flies have very different settings, although there are a few similarities.
The House of the Scorpion takes place in the future in a place called Opium and Aztlán. “Opium, as much as possible, is the way things were in El Patrón's youth. Celia cooks on wooden fire, the rooms aren't air-conditioned, the fields are harvested by people, not machines" (Farmer 245). El Patrón, the leader of Opium, makes Opium as it was when he was a child. The surrounding country Aztlán has developed into a very modern country with many new technologies, but El Patrón has kept Opium old fashioned, and not allowed it to become modern. Lord of the Flies takes place on an island in the Pacific Ocean. When the story takes place is unclear, but it most likely happened during World War Two. “The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coco-nuts and palm saplings” (Golding 4). The boys are quite obviously stranded on a tropical island, which is shown by the “palm saplings” and “coco-nuts”. The island is uninhabited and the boys have no contact to their home or any help. The island is somewhat like the land of Opium as it is cut off from the rest of the world, and not touched by modern
technologies. In conclusion Lord of the Flies is comparable with The House of the Scorpion by theme, symbols, conflict, and setting. Themes in both novels show that sometimes leaders have to make hard decisions and symbols show that things are not always as they seem. Matt and Ralph both face character verse self when they struggle with their own identity, and settings in both novels are similar as they are both cut off from the rest of the world. Everyone is faced with the choice between good or evil, different situations lead to this choice.
The examples of light through the book like the fire, Ralph’s fair hair, and the pale skin of the boys, are symbols of the good and safety. The examples of darkness such as the face paint, the night and the density of the forest’s foliage symbolize shady dealings and frightful encounters. Jack, one of the more savage boys, truly descends into a hateful madness when he smears on mud as face paint. This not only makes him look more gruesome, but it hides his pale skin away from the world. Also, it should be noted that throughout the book there is a common theme of hair color being an example of foreshadowing towards the mindset of each boy. For instance, one of the notoriously good characters, Ralph, has very fair hair whereas Robert, a sadistic and violent boy, has dark hair. Jack is one of the few characters to break this mold because his red hair shows his progression into madness as well as the fire’s steady decline from light imagery into something darker. In the beginning of the book, Jack is tasked with keeping the fire lit. However when the fire goes out around the same time Jack catches his first pig and paints his face, Jack descends into depravity and the fire becomes an ominous symbol. This, along with the hunters want to live deeper in the woods where the sun does not reach shows the darkness as a symbol of malicious intent. However, it is here in the forest where one of the characters discovers the Lord of the Flies and becomes enlightened. It is this sort of contrasting imagery that shows the books love of blurring the lines of the good and the
Lord of the Flies was written by a British author in 1954. The book is about a group of British school boys that crash on an island and have to survive. During their time on the island they turn their backs on being civil and become savages. Ralph is the elected leader and always thinks civil. Jack leaves the group and starts a tribe with the boys and is a savage. Piggy is a boy who is knowable. Simon is compared to Jesus through the book and is the only naturally “good” character. The littleuns are the littler kids on the island. Roger is a cruel older boy who is Jack’s lieutenant. Samneric are twins who are close to Ralph but, are manipulated by Jack later on. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding some of the characters represent id, ego, and superego. Id, ego, and super ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus expressed by Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche. Golding expresses his message of evil and how it is natural in every person, and how we must recognize and control it through id, ego, and superego.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and The House of the Scorpion are both books about unique children and their experiences while growing up. They both grew up in a society far different from society nowadays. It can even be said that the two books have comparable themes. Although the overall themes may be similar, the way the themes are portrayed are different.
In Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Flies, the characters are alike in some ways. In Fahrenheit 451 the characters are Montag, Faber, Clarisse, and Beatty. In Lord of the Flies the characters are Ralph, Piggy, Simon and Jack. Jack and Beatty, Ralph and Montag, Simon and Clarisse, and Piggy and Faber all have some similarities. Jack and beatty both want to take control over everyone and sells fear. Ralph and Montag want to move on and find a better plan to make everything work. Simon and Clarisse are Christ-figures. Piggy and Faber are very intellectual and are wise men. The books may contain different story lines but have very similar types of characters.
...n conclusion, both novels represent the true nature of human kind, with no barriers. The Maze Runner, almost being the modernized version of Lord of the Flies, shows how although there aren't adults in their society, left along humans can flourish and keep a structured society. Lord of the Flies however, deals with a more dark view on human nature, and brings about all of the savage impulses that reside within all humans. The leaders in both novels conduct themselves quite differently, yet it shows that all leaders don't have to be the same in order to "get the job done". Finally, both novels represent innocence in some of their characters. This shows that although everything else may fall apart, some people's true reason in life is to bring about strength and innocence in others. The novels resembled each other, yet still compared and contrasted quite well.
In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, we find a group of British boys stranded on a tropical island while the rest of the world is at war. Their plane has been shot down and they find themselves without adults to tell them how to act. As they struggle to survive, they encounter conflicts that mirror the decayed society from which they have come. We see Golding's theme come about as we watch the boys begin to lose their innocence and let their natural evil overwhelm their otherwise civilized manner. While formulating the theme of the story, Golding utilizes much symbolism, one of these symbols being the masks, or painted faces, that the boys wear. The masks, and painted faces, became a producer of evil circumstances, give a sense of anonymity, and represented the defiance of social structure.
The Lord of the Flies takes place on a island in the middle of the ocean. Since there are no adults too watch over the kids they get caught up in the freedom and make very bad immature decisions. Eventually they become fully savage and stop attempting to be rescued. "The Lottery" takes place in a small, old fashioned town. Since they are mentally separate from the rest of the world they do not realize what they should and should not be doing. But that is not the last of the differences between these two
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.
Fear was the real danger on the island. Although the boys did not see the hidden danger that they believed to be a beast, they let it take control of them and change who they were. The beast was created in the littluns minds because they wanted to make their fear of the dark and being trapped and alone, into something tangible. They created an object that could be stopped, otherwise it would be undefeatable, and they would be trapped and vulnerable. Each new fear fed to the story of the beast, growing it and its power over the boys. Kirstin Olsen stated, “Lord of the flies remains an influential and powerful commentary on human evil… It explores some of the most intense urges and emotions in our repertoire: the desire for power, the fear of the unknown, fear of other people, anger, and jealousy.” These emotions shaped the beast, filling the littluns heads with fear. The beast symbolized both fear and the darkness of humanity, though the darkness is also what the boys feared. When the boy...
Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, took place on an isolated tropical island. There were many symbolic items within the story, and their meanings changed as the story developed. The fire was the symbol of hope and civilization at the beginning of the novel, but at the end it had become a fire of destruction. Ralph, in the beginning of the book, stood for leadership and almost perfection, however as the story progresses, he was nothing more than a normal human. The beast, upon its first appearance, symbolized fear, but soon, it represented the savagery within them. The different symbolic figures within the book, such as the fire, Ralph, and the beast, shifted in meaning as the story develops.
...religious allegory. He depicts a story in which the boys are stranded on an island and need to fend for themselves. However, instead of focusing on rescue and building a fire, the boys ultimately shift their priorities to hunting and killing. They turn a once beautiful and majestic island into a place of terror and evil. Additionally, they maul and kill their only hope of ever changing, Simon. Lord of the Flies is reminiscent of the television series “Lost.” Just like in Golding’s world, “Lost” is staged on a remote far away island after a plane crash. However, these people are not children. They are adults, which makes the story even more chilling. These adults eventually succumb to murderous acts and violence, further proving the point Golding sets out to make. Humans are inherently evil, and without any system to keep them in line, they will destroy the world.
In his novel, The Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbolism to illustrate the theme that darkness of the heart is a trait within all of us- some people fight against it while others allow it to take over.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies shows man’s inhumanity to man. This novel shows readers good vs. evil through children. It uses their way of coping with being stranded on an island to show us how corrupt humans really are.
Another similarity between the two novels is that the parallels between the protagonists and the antagonists are quite similar. Both the novels have a character who willingly gives into his heart of darkness, and a character who sees the savagery of those who are consumed and fights to return to civilization. For example, in the Heart of Darkness Kurtz gave into his heart of darkness and let his evil tendencies take over. He was a one point a man who values morals but gave into his evil side when removed from civilization. Marlow on the other hand also journeys away from civilization but he does not let his values deteriorate such as Kurtz. In Lord of the Flies Jack gave into his evil side and becomes savage like, and begins turning against the ones who were his friends. Ralph on the other hand was not as easily consumed by his evil side. Until his death, Ralph realized the savagery of the others especially Jack.