"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed."-Mahatma Gandhi. Everything man needs is right in front of them, but human nature drives them to be evil. Savagery and civilization is what the humans conscience battles. William Golding addresses this argument in the novel, Lord of the Flies, through an island of lost boys. They are strive to live civilized however, the evil inside begins to seep out, transforming them into savage hunters.…
1. After Simon is killed, the next paragraph begins, "The clouds open and let the rain down like a waterfall " When the boys kill Simon they not only kill him and spirituality, but what they perceive to be the beast. Because the beast was created by them and embodied all of their evils, one of its interpretations can be as mankind's sin. Simon is very similar to Jesus in this book. The Roman's ruled the world during Jesus' life, and now a similar bloodthirsty society rules the island during Simon's life. Both are killed by such a society, and both sacrifice themselves so that mankind's sin can be forgiven. When Simon dies, the rain washes away not only spirituality, but also the beast and all of the sins that accompany it. Golding writes that the water bounded from the mountaintop. Because the mountain top represented the peak of society, this could be interpreted to state that all of society carries sin, even the glorious moments of it, and that Simon's sacrifice was extended to the boys' entire stay on the island and the sin that was committed during that period of time. This is also similar to Jesus' sacrifice that was for all of mankind's sins, not just the sins of the Roman society that killed him. After Simon has been killed, the figures stagger away. By referring to the boys as figures, they are no longer individuals, but the nameless men who are the vehicle that society uses to carry out its evil deeds. It is no longer of relevance who did what because it was the entire society that killed Simon. This can be related to other societies, such as Nazi Germany. Today Hitler is credited with most of the responsibility for World War II. We do not like to blame German society for it because that would mean that we are also capable of this if we had to endure the circumstances of 1940's Germany. We cannot blame the German race for these problems, as they are a characteristic of humanity. We fought World War II against the forces of racism, but we ourselves treated…
The second character trait Simon possesses is that he is devotedly faithful. He is an enormous believer of God and loves sharing his faith with other people. This is proven during various conversations with Reverend Russell and his best friend, Joe Wenteworth. When Simon is talking to the reverend, he suggests that God made him the way he is for a reason and says, “I think I'm God's instrument - that he's gonna use me to carry out his plan.” The last occurrence when Simon is faithful happens when is continually encouraging Joe to be joyful. Simon claims, “Your problem is that you have no faith.” Joe responds, “I got faith. I just need proof to back it up.” Joe is more of a pessimist and practical person therefore Simon is there hence he can cause Joe be further positive.…
As the novel progresses, the two main characters have changed in their characteristics, which show the fault in civilization through temptation and human nature using symbolism for each individual. At first, Ralph and Jack got along with teamwork and split their parts and works among the boys. During the building of the rescue fire, Jack and Ralph were working together to lift up a log to the fire, “Together, joined in the effort by burden, they stammered up the last step of the mountain. Together, they chanted One! Two! Three! and they crashed the log on to the great pile” (Golding 39). This quotation uses the repetition of the word “together” because the author is trying to express the positive relationship between the two boys. This passage also symbolises the beginning…
First of all, the government doesn’t always protect the patriot and defend the patriot the same way the patriot does for the Government. This is evident in numerous moments in American history and it is also shown all throughout the novel,\ “Lord of the Flies”. Simon was a very devoted and efficient member of the island community. He often listens and follows what Ralph and Piggy say. Although, this sense of loyalty and trust that Simon had toward Ralph ultimately lead to his demise. One of the major issues that the community of children had in the island was the constant fear of the beastie, an imaginary monster that lives in the jungle, that cause the “Littluns” to have nightmares. Simon finds out there isn’t a beast, instead it was a dead skydiver. He runs back to inform everyone that there is no beast but his community turns on him and kills him (quote). When the oldest of the community realize what they have done, they covered up his death by dragging his body into the sea and convince the littluns that he was the beast by saying "I expect the beast disguised himself”. Simon died trying to help his community,…
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist” Pablo Picasso. This…
Challenges or distractions need to be overcome in order to have a positive journey. There are many situations concerning challenges in ‘Lord of the Flies’. One of these occurs when the young schoolboys are stranded on a deserted island during World War II. This major obstacle must be overcome for the journey to be resolved. The boys are very young, and at first see their situation as an opportunity for adventure. Golding shows this through the use of language relevant to children, highlighting the innocence and naivety of the boys when they first arrive on the island. An example of this is when Ralph assures the boys that his “daddy” will rescue them soon. The only sign of maturity comes from Piggy, who realises the danger of their situation, as he tells Ralph “We got to find the others. We got to do something.” Piggy is a symbol for intelligence, and tells the boys and the reader that being stranded on the island is in fact a challenge that they need to overcome.…
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel, where a group of young British boys are lost on an island after their plane crash lands. Throughout the novel William Golding utilization of literary devices are in place to reveal a theme of the novel, civilization and innocent are destroyed due to the savagery of the boys', desire for power, and fear of the unknown. William Golding utilizes three important literary devices throughout the novel, symbolism, of when the conch is destroyed civilization on the island is gone, foreshadowing the deaths of the boys on the island and irony as the civilize British boys turn savages.…
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding depicts morals and the boundaries of society in the form of characters. This essay will compare and contrast the differences between four pivotal characters: Ralph, Jack, Simon and Roger. The goodness and order in society is portrayed by Ralph and SImon. The darkness in human nature is explained through Roger and Jack.…
The central theme of the Lord of the Flies is the influence of others. Each boy had to pick between a set of rules and morals to live by, dividing them into two groups. The conflict consisted of Civilization versus savagery. In one group the influence of Ralph was a sense of order and everyone lived by rules. The influence of good beliefs and values generated these boys from committing sinful crimes. In Jacks group, the boys were influenced by evil. The killing of animals empowered them to become sinful people. Jack would measure value in the group by ones immediate desire to kill coldblooded. To obtain authority you needed to act violently. These acts shaped how the boy’s mental state developed. Damaging the human they will grow up to be.…
The character Piggy in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies helps to develop foundations of truth and understanding in the story. Throughout the story, Piggy is associated with intellect, logic, and often an adult voice on a child’s island. Piggy offers direct and to the point advice as to how to go about doing daily chores and running the government of the island. Piggy functions not only as a character in the novel but also as an important element to develop symbolism and theme.…
When life throws scary and dire situations at you, some believe it is a test to see a person's true colors, and how that person reacts under extreme pressure and conflict. In situations like these, leaders are born. In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph becomes a frontrunner as the “chief”, or leader in the story. Ralph struggles to maintain a civil relationship between all the boys, but still remains the more appropriate leader, including his civility, his conflicts, and his purpose.…
Published in 965, Joseph Krutch’s article, Can We Survive the Fun Explosion, exemplifies man’s capacity for evil. Making the specific claim, “when pleasure becomes the summon bonum, the pursuit of happiness may be getting out of hand,” he underlies the idea that every man has evil within them. William Golding makes the same claim in his novel, The Lord of the Flies. To portray this claim, The Lord of The Flies places a group of school children on an abandoned island. As they fail to maintain a civilized order and their innocence, it becomes clear that several of the boys ae capable of evil. Golding uses he literary devices of characterization, diction, and…
Lord of the Flies is based on human nature and how evil is upon every human. William Golding believed that no matter how good a person is, there’s always an evil side. In the Lord of the Flies, children are tested if they could keep their insanity or not.…
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding presents a harsh yet realistic view of the individual, namely that within each person there is a struggle between right and wrong. Initially the boys listen to their consciences and act according to the rules they were taught during their upbringing. They set rules, allocate jobs, and democratically elect a leader just like in today’s society. As time goes by, boys such as the elected leader Ralph, the rational Piggy and the kind Simon manage to remain disciplined, but others indulge and let their morals decay little by little, particularly the proud Jack and his group of hunters who are ambitious and only thrive from mutilated power.…