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Lord of the Flies 5th Period Man's Inherent Evil (Themes (the defects…
Lord of the Flies
5th Period Man's Inherent Evil
Religious
Fire is a symbol for hell/chaos
Ralph is a symbol of Good
Ralph can also be portrayed as Adam, who can become tempted as a leader
evidence, why
Jack is a symbol of evil
pg 126 "He's not a hunter. He would have never got us meat. He isn't a prefect and we don't know anything about him. He just gives us orders and expects us to obey for nothing". - Jack
He is similar to Satan wanting to rebel against god
Jack is focused on savagery and the hunting of boars, where his excitement was focused on the "lashings of blood" from his hunt (Golding 69).
When floating out to sea "creatures...buried themselves round his head" and represented a halo. (Golding 154).
Chanting and dancing is the boys' own religious ritual that they use to combat fear.
"...the complementary circles went round and round as though repetition would achieve safety of itself" (Golding 152).
Simon represents strong moral values juxtaposed against the savagery and social conditioning of the other kids trapped on the island. While jack descends into primal instinct and Ralph clings desperately to the order of the civilized world, Simon maintains the kindness and spirituality he had before the island. Golding uses simon to show the contrast of the other characters. It could also be argued that Simon is the Jesus figure of the group for his natural connection to the island and moral character, however the fact that the boys in their savagery killed simon can show Golding’s view on true human nature. Once the boys loose the shackles of society they kill the very symbol of innocence on the island- Simon.
"Someone's got to go across the island and tell Piggy we'll be back after dark."
Bill spoke, unbelieving.
"Through the forest by himself? Now?"
"We can't spare more than one."
Simon pushed his way to Ralph's elbow."
"I'll go if you like. I don't mind, honestly."(Golding 124).
Quote shows Simon's lack of fear and almost resigned fate towards going through the forest similar to Jesus and his willingness to go upon the cross.
Rhetoric
Appeals
Logos
To get the boys to vote for him as the new chief, Jack appeals to their need for sustenance.
evidence, why
Ralph uses logical thinking to persuade the boys.
Ralph's logic is that they need the smoke signal from the fire because "without the smoke signal [they'll] die here" (Golding 139).
ethos - credibility
Ralph - elected official
Once all the boys gathered at their first assembly, they decided they need to establish a government. The boys saw Ralph with the conch shell and thought to "'Let him be chief with the trumpet-thing'" and then voted and chose Ralph as leader (Golding 22).
Ralph had credibility as the leader and reminds the boys he's "'chief...because you chose me'" (Golding 150).
Piggy - most decisions are based off of Piggy's ideas - clever
Jack - displays strength
Jack tell the boys he "'gave them food...and [his] hunters will protect [them] from the beast'" if they join his tribe (Golding 150). This given him credibility to be the chief.
Pathos
Ralph tries to negotiate/appease with Jack to make him happy
When Ralph was elected chief and he saw "the freckles on Jack's face disappear under a blush of mortification" Ralph became "eager to offer something" to appease Jack (Golding 23). Ralph gave Jack control of the choir to try to please him.
Jack's use of fear to control the boys
evidence, why
Strategies
Symbolism
Adam and Eve reference
While in the forest the boys see green candles but realize they "can't eat them" (Golding 30). This is similar to how Adam and Eve couldn't eat the fruit off the Forbidden Tree. This allusion shows ties to Christianity.
Killing Simon
Symbolizes the death of Christ; someone innocent dies after learning about the true nature of man
Halo is portrayed on creature
"...with their fiery eyes and trailing vapors, busied themselves round his head" (Golding 154).
Killing Piggy in chapter 11 shows that peace is lost, logic is lost. Complete anarchy and war will go on. Piggy was the most logical and reasonable person on the island and only wanted to help everyone get off, and now that he is dead all chaos will break loose.
Piggy's glasses in the novel symbolize reason and intelligence, credited that Piggy is the smartest and most logical boy on the island. Piggy's glasses are the only thing that the boys can do to start a fire and help them get off the island.
Imagery: Color, Nature, Animal
Color Imagery: The color pink symbolizes the boy's innocence.
Ralph describes the rock on the island "'Like icing,'" said Ralph, "'on a pink cake"' (25) to show the boy's initial excitement upon arrival.
Personification & Nature Imagery: "The branch crackled, the leaves curled, and the yellow smoke expanded." (Golding 138)
Simile
"High up among the bulging clouds thunder went off like a gun" (Golding 138).
"When the sun sank, darkness dropped on the island like an extinguisher and soon the shelters were full of restlessness, under the remote stars" (Golding 58).
"A rock almost detached, standing like a fort, facing them across the green with one bold, pink bastion" (Golding 38).
Alliteration
"The skirts of the forest and the scar were familiar, near the conch and the shelters and sufficiently friendly in daylight" (Golding 130).
"Life became a are with the fire and the boys scattered through the upper forest. To keep a clean flag of flame flying on the mountain was an immediate end and no one looked further." Golding 41
personification
"Boys were making there way to the platform through the hot, dumb sand." Golding 22
"A golden light danced and shattered all over his face." Golding 15
"Far beneath them, the trees of the forest sighed, then roared" (Golding 139).
Motifs
Storm
I see dark clouds, humid, hazy light, drained colors. It means something bad is about to happen/happening
"Colors drained from water and trees and pink surfaces of the rock, and the white and brown clouds brooded" (Golding 145).
Blood and Dung are symbolic of evil and impurity of the boys.
The boulder hitting Piggy shows that all peace and reason on the island is gone now, any establishment of hope is now turned into chaos.
irony
In Chapter 12 when Jack lights the entire forest on fire Ralph runs away and passes out near the ocean. As he wakes up he is greater by a naval officer. The whole time Ralph insisted on starting a fire to get help but it never worked, but as soon as chaos began to go out and Jack burned down the forest to try and kill Ralph, a naval officer comes to save the boys.
In chapter 12 when the boys are saved by the naval officer he is chastising the boys on their anarchy and civil disobedience, "I should have thought that a pack of british boys- you're all british boys aren't you?- would have been able to put on a better show than that- I mean-." (Golding 201) The officer is criticizing the boys for going to war and causing chaos as the naval officer is in the middle of a war.
Political
Democracy : :
Their society is an example of a democracy because they decide to elect a chief. The boys agree to "Vote for chief" (Golding 22) who will be the ruler of their society.
The conch is a symbol of power, and whoever has the conch has authority over the group of boys
The conch is what brought all the boys together and because it was blown by Ralph he has the ultimate authority.
“The group of boys looked at the white shell with affectionate respect. Piggy placed it in Ralph’s hand and the littluns, seeing the fimiliar symbol, started to come back.(Golding 141)
Power shifts to Piggy's glasses
evidence
Totalitarian government - Jack's tribe
"Before the party had started a great log had been dragged into the center of the lawn and Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol" (Golding 148-149). Jack is such a dictator that he has all the kids pander to him. They treat him almost like a God--like something to be worshipped (religious ties).
Psychological
Mental frustration with others
When Jack was not elected as chief the "freckles on [his] face disappeared under a blush of mortification" and he was upset he wasn't elected (Golding 23). Jack's frustration represents Id because he is being selfish and expected himself to be chief.
Ralph=Strength
evidence
Ralph shows his strength and his authority in the beginning as he blows the conch to get all the boys together to establish an order. ch 1
Piggy= Weakness
Piggy is shown as weak many times, his physical appearance alone is a trait of weakness as he is described in chapter one....
""I cant swim...My asthma--"(Golding 13).
Ralph and Piggy are struggling to keep a fire going, but the other boys keep stealing it. The fire could be a symbol of safety and the other boys want it as well.
"' Course it's no use, Ralph. Now we got no fire..." "They've got our fire." Rage shrilled his voice. "They stole it!""(Golding 169).
Fire is a symbol of hope
"'There was a ship. Out there. You said you'd keep this fire going and you let it out!' He took a step toward Jack, who turned and faced him. They might have seen us. We might have gone home--" (Golding 70)
Ralph feels if they "can't have a signal fire...[they're] beaten" because the fire the the only way they can get off the island (Golding 125). Without the fire, there is no hope of leaving the island.
"A naval officer stood on the sand, looking down at Ralph in wary astonishment." (200). Without the island catching on fire they wouldn't have been saved. The fire symbolizes hope for them to saved one day.
The boys shedding their clothing is symbolic of losing their ties to civilization.
The Conch shell represents socialization and civilization against the anarchy and savagery of the Island
Ego
Piggy symbolizes the ego in the dynamic structure, making rational decisions when the others follow their emotions or social conditioning.
Superego
Ralph symbolizes superego due to him wanting to please everyone, many times he complains to Piggy like, "why dont they want to be with me, or why do they prefer Jack". Ralph is too busy trying to please everyone and isnt focusing on himself.
Jack symbolizes superego because of him always wanting the upper hand and wanting to be the strong one. Earlier in the book Jack fighting for power with Ralph and not getting it at first made him mad then when he started to gain it back little by little he soon gained it all and controlled all the little boys. He failed to notice that his ego blinded him from what really needed to happen.
Fear
Fear is shown by the beast, it is a symbol of fear that scares all the boys on the island. Fear of the unknown. The beast could also be the true evil nature of man and all the boys are scared of it until it is truly revealed by all.
As fear takes over their senses they become less human. At the beginning they are too preoccupied with surviving to fear their surroundings but their nerves get the best of them. The beast changes their decisions throughout the last chapters.(especially Jack)
"This had is for the best. its a gift" (Golding 137)
Physical/Social
fire = physical - warmth
Fire = safety
The boys would gather around the "dark circle, a glowing fire...They would be savoring food and the comfort of safety" (Golding 186).
Self-Esteem: Jack playing with the blood of the pig and having the hunters joke about its death is a symbol for evil and savagery
Chapter 8- "We hit the pig, I fell on top and cut the pigs throat, said Jack proudly.
Blowing the conch shell - belonging
The boys all come to Ralph when he blows it. It's the first sign of authority among the boys.
"As [Ralph] recieved the assurance of something purposeful being done he began to look satisfied..." (Golding 18).
Piggy's Spectacles
The conch has been the main source of order and unity but so have the spectacles that give fire which offers warmth and safety. But after the order starts to diminish the conch starts to lose its value and is then replaced with everyones now savage instinct to think for themselves and take what they want which is the spectacles.
Jack steals the spectacles without regard to anybody else but his tribe, and everyone's chance of survival. "
Maslows Hierachy: Safety
If there's light and there's a fire lit, they feel safe. Otherwise they're scared of the monster coming out of the dark.
"As long as there's light we're brave enough. But then? And now that thing squats by the fire as though it didn't want us to be rescued" (Golding 125).
The beast
The beast caused the boys to split and change the system they had been living by for a while. Ralph leads and provides intelligence, while Jack hunts and provides the food. But from the moment the idea of the beast surfaced everything started to go downhill because their safety level on the heirarchy of needs triangle had been compromised.
Ralph and Jack both want a sense of belonging and dominance in the beginning as they both try to become leader and prove why they are better.
Themes
the defects of society trace back to the defects of human nature
the shape of a society must depend upon the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system, however logical or respectful it appears
the need for social order
the inability to see the consequences of one's actions
the corruptive nature of power
the loss of innocence
loss of identity
fear of the unknown