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How violence is used as a tool in literature
How violence is used as a tool in literature
Human relationship in the novel lord of the flies
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In the words of Eric Burdon, “Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.” In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of schoolboys are marooned on an island with little to no chance of escape. The boys are in a seemingly endless battle within themselves and each other as they fight to decide what should be done. Golding’s symbol of the beast conveys his belief that there is a clandestine evil that corrupts humanity. When a small boy expresses his fear for a beast, no one takes him seriously as they still remain disciplined by the shadow of civilization. The littluns are completely controlled by this fear however; the older boys try to …show more content…
laugh it off. Ralph has just called an assembly after exploring when a small boy assisted by Piggy interrupts him about something he saw in the forest. Piggy relays, “He says the beastie came in the dark,” (Golding 36). After this, one of the boys points out how he wouldn’t have been able to see it and is rewarded with laughs and cheers. The jeers of the boys shows how hard they are trying to not to be afraid as they wish for the island to be a “fun island”. They still have not realized their own drastic situation as they choose not to respect this perspective threat. Eventually, they learn to recognize the beast as is seeds fear into the backs of their minds. During this assembly, they continue to discuss the beast, searching for a practical conclusion to its existence. Ralph claims, “He must have had a nightmare. Stumbling about with all those creepers,” (36). Ralph seems almost eager to put a rational explanation to this beast as he is a new chief and would like to maintain order. Nightmares are home to terrible creatures so it would seem fitting for a beast to live in one. The boys would rather suppress the beast and disregard it but later, the beast impacts them greatly. As a result of their suppression, a significant amount of hostility has formed between them. The boys become increasingly cruel as they interact with one another and as they hunt for food. Jack and his hunters are out hunting and they come across a drove of pigs; they quickly pick out a nursing sow. The boys chase down the pig in a ruthless venery and cruelly murder her. After Jack cleans the carcass, he has Roger sharpen a stick at both ends and they leave the head as an offering for the beast. Their reactions are that, "The silence accepted the gift and awed them. The head remained there, dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood-blackening between the teeth. All at once they were running away, as fast as they could…” (137). The murder of the sow shows how evil and unforgiving the boys have become and their offering to this malevolent beast conveys how desperate they are to be free of it. Jack’s heartless behavior mimics that of the beast and illustrates how he has embraced it and almost reveres it. Despite Jack’s closeness to the beast, Simon is the only to speak with the beast directly. As a result of possible illness or dehydration he confronts the beast as a hallucination. Simon approaches the pig’s head after Jack and his hunters leave and becomes acquainted with the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies says to him, “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” (143). Suddenly, the beast is no longer a physical being but, rather an idea forged by the mind of these boys. The beast tempts them to do evil and acts almost as a devil on their shoulder. The boys have become increasingly savage and cruel due to an intense fascination with the beast. With regard to the beast’s new found form, the boys take the final plunge into complete savagery.
Because of Jack’s uncanny closeness to the beast, he realizes that the beast can be used to manipulate others. After Ralph and Piggy join Jack at his feast, a huge tempest lets loose and the boys are driven into a primal frenzy. To keep everyone under his control Jack shouts, “Do our dance! Come one! Dance!” (151). The boys are captivated and even Piggy and Ralph become consumed by Jack’s intense hypnotism. This violent dance coupled by the harsh thunderstorm causes the boys to become consumed by the beast and it’s destructive nature. Jack again gives into the beast when the boys are gathered on Castle Rock. When he was speaking to his tribe after stealing Piggy’s glasses, he declares that the beast tricked them and wasn’t dead. To explain this claim he says, “He came—disguised. He may come again even though we gave him the head of our kill to eat. So watch; and be careful,” (160). Jack uses the beast as a way to control the boys through their overwhelming fear of the beast. The children have fully transformed into savages, with the exception of Ralph, because they have let the beast run rampant through their
minds. In Lord of the Flies, the image of the beast suggests that there is an evil lurking in the depths of the human soul. At first, the boys are still confined to society and are hesitant to let themselves go but, as time passes and they remain trapped on the island, their thoughts begin to stir and they become belligerent towards each other. Soon violent thoughts turn to violent actions and they all embrace the beast within. Their barbaric behavior sheds light on human behavior and the evil that is veiled by the strict rules of civilization.
The evil in man is seen in many parts of life and it could be only be brought out when they have the power and position to do it. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding symbolism is used to show the theme of the Inherent Evil of Man through the conch, the Lord of the Flies, and the fire. The breaking of the conch shows how the boys forget authority and destroy their only symbol of civilization. The Lord of the Flies shows the violence of the boys, and the temptation of the evil Lord of the Flies. The fire shows how something used for rescue and hope is turned into something violent and evil. The fire burns down trees and parts of the island when the savage boys are trying to kill Ralph.
The beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible. Page 162
At Simon’s murder the boys, “Leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit and tore.”
When we hear the word “beast,” most of us will immediately think of some enormous hairy creature with razor sharp fangs and massive claws coming to kill and eat us. Although these types of beasts do exist, the boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, show that a different, much more sinister beast is present in all of our everyday lives, and, like the boys in the book, most of us don’t even know about it. Throughout the book, the existence and meaning of the beast go through significant changes. In the beginning, the boys believe the beast to be a substantive being. At first no one believes it, but later they begin to believe its existence. Later though, the beast reveals itself as an internal flaw within everyone on the island, and slowly begins to take over the children’s free will. As the belief in the beast goes up, its manifestation as the “typical beast” that we all think of goes down, which is ironic because they are creating the beast in their minds, while also living it out in their actions.
The beast symbolized both fear and the darkness of humanity, though the darkness is also what the boys feared.... ... middle of paper ... ... In the end, the power of fear got the better of them and the lord of the flies, alongside the evil of humanity, prevailed.
All of the boys but Simon are becoming the beast at that moment. In Lord of the Flies, Golding proves that fear draws out man’s inner evil and barbarism. Within the novel, Golding uses characterization of the boys and symbolism of the beast to show the gradual change from their initial civility to savagery and inhumanity. Learned civility, order and humanity become ultimately futile in the face of fear. The author teaches that without logic, fear consumes us endlessly.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence.
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.
Throughout the novel Lord Of The Flies, the boys on the island are continuously faced with numerous fears. Subsequently there is nothing on the island which they fear more than the beast. The beast is not a tangible object that can be killed or destroyed by conventional means, but an idea symbolizing the primal savage instincts within all people. Its Golding’s intention to illustrate the innate evil inside man through his view of human nature, the actions of the Jack and his tribe, and the relationship between the beast and the school boys.
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...
There are myriad symbols in the novel which incompass human nature.The beast in the novel represents the religious aspect all societies ability to generate a common fear.The need for fear is one of the most powerful tools in development due to the way in can hold a generalized accountability. Jack 's reign reflects the very depths of human instinct and how humans are inevitably malicious. He used the fear of the beast to control all of the people that followed him. On the other end of the spectrum the conch represents order, which is broken as soon as they let fear govern their morals. The lord of the flies is a sow 's head that jack impales on a stake which is used to symbolize the devil just as simon alludes a christ like figure. The sow 's head makes the reader visualize a palpable evil in the novel. The behavior of the boys in general determines that environment directly regulates
"'Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us.'"(Golding 80) William Golding’s 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies, depicts a world where children are the main source of government. After a tragic plane crash, a group of English boys growing up in a warring country are left to build a civilization on their own. In the writing of this novel Golding incorporates many Christian symbols. In particular the biblical concept of good and evil is brought to light. These allusions demonstrate underlying irony which criticizes both the old and new testaments. Golding’s novel parallels the bible by recreating the concept of evil all around us, telling the story of a prophet, and setting his novel in a place untouched until the crash by humans.
"In each of us to natures are at war the good and evil all our lives the fight goes on between them and one must conquer." In Lord of the flies, Golding shows how fragile the line between good and evil is. He does this through a number of symbols and motifs. We can see the boy struggle from the intense challenges of the island, everything starts well as civilisation thrives but in time a number of factors including the beast begins to influence the boys into savagery. However the two who best portray the two sides between good and evil, are Simon and Jack with Ralph representing the cross between. Lord of the flies depicts the message that evil will try to overcome you but in the end its up to you to let it in
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the beast gives the children a sense of fear throughout the story. It also shows that it is one of the children's top priorities, as they hunt for it and try to protect themselves from it. The children use the beast to work together, but as the novel progresses the group goes through a separation. The beast is an important role in the novel, having many forms of concepts about it. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the concept of the beast as a whole is used as fear, reality, and evil.
Using the character of Simon, author William Golding in the Lord of the Flies weaves the concept of religion, morals, and good and evil throughout. At first glance, the novel may appear to be only about a group of young schoolboys stranded on an island, but it goes far deeper than that concept. Instead, the core of the book is about the presence of evil within all of mankind, no matter what the age. Simon helps to bring together all of society. In the end, society begins to crumble without him. William Golding utilizes the character of Simon to portray spirituality and religion through Simon’s desire to know the truth of the beast, which is the evil in all humans.