H2>Question: The Lord of the Flies by William Golding might be described as a novel that explores The darkness of mans heart. Discuss. The question I have chosen to do this essay on is to discuss the way the novel is described; it is described as exploring the darkness of mans heart. The novel is set in the not too distant future where war is waging between nuclear powers in the world. Because of these circumstances a large number children have been evacuated from their homes but before they reach their destination their plane is shot down and the survivors land on a tropical almost paradise like island, unspoiled by man. This island is a microcosm representing the world. On the island the survivors all meet together and create a chief Ralph.
Things soon go wrong due to members of the original group creating trouble and they decide to form their own tribe with a new chief Jack. I am going to look at how the events on the island have created an idea that the novel is exploring the darkness of mans heart. There are many areas within the novel which give evidence to support the view that the main theme is about the darkness of mans heart.. The first part of the novel is a very important part as it sets the scene of how these boys have such beautiful surroundings and how they are keen to think of ways to be rescued and just the pleasures of day to day life they enjoy. During the opening stages you can sense that the boys still have a strong memory of law and order and how to conduct themselves. One thing that shows this is when Roger an almost non existent character with little dialogue throws stones at a small child, not to hit him as he is circled with the taboo of old life Another time when we are shown the way the children have been restricted in their basic instincts due to the fact that they have been subjected to societys rigid rules, is when they go on their first hunting expedition.
The Essay on T.S. Elliot's "The Hollow Men," With "The Heart Of Darkness," By Joseph Conrad
The poem by T.S. Elliot, The Hollow Men and The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad embody apathy and indifference. Both Conrads Station Manager and Elliots hollow men present a profound intellectual and emotional lack of interest or concern as well as being devoid of distinguishable humanity. The two texts highlight the grave characteristics of both the station manger and the hollow men by ...
Jack could not bring himself to kill the pig because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood. All these games are all right to begin with but the darkness of mans heart ie the evil which many are capable of but lies hidden, needs to be controlled or else it will flourish. This shows us how we need to have rules in society or else anarchy and savagery will reign. The way in which the children remember the rules and power of the old life is through the conch. The conch is just a shell to you and me but through it they see power and authority as whoever holds the conch has the right to speak. The conch represents in our own world today the mace in the House of Commons; this mace has the greatest of importance, as without its presence the House of Commons cannot begin.
The conch I think holds them all together for a while, but its when they try to bend its rules by suggesting to remove its power in different areas of the island and eventually destroy it along with Piggy. Then I believe the darkness of mans heart becomes clearer as the conch symbolises law/order and authority. Another important part of the novel is when the beast takes on a physical persona. The beast we learn at the start is non-existent and only an empty shell that the younger children and some of the elders talk about. But it is when Ralph appeals to the adult world for help, if only they could send us something grown-up a sign or something, then from the sky a dead airmen falls from the sky. The sign the adult world gives them is one of death and destruction and we soon realise that it is not a beastie they are afraid of it is themselves, its mans own nature.
The Term Paper on Ralph And Jack Simon Beast Piggy
Lord Of The Flies Reading Journal Chapter 2 The assembly: What tensions exist How does each of Ralph, Jack and Piggy attempt to relieve the tension The tension: one of the little ones recalled that he saw a snake-thing in the forest. Ralph tried to calm the boy down by saying, . You couldn t have a beastie, a snake-thing, on a island this size. You only get them in big countries, like Africa, or ...
This is confirmed by Simon later what I mean is maybe its only us, he is the only one to make the connection and he pays dearly for trying to communicate it to others. In a particular part of the novel which really begins to display how the children have lost their sense of morals because of the already inner existing evil which is beginning to come to the surface of even the strong willed like Ralph. In this section there is a hunt re-enactment and the boys are dancing and singing and stabbing with their spears into an imaginary pig. Then one of the smaller children gets caught in the middle of this and he becomes the pig. … The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering. Here is the first time we see Ralph having trouble suppressing the Beast.
This is warning of what the darkness of mans heart is capable of and will perpetrate. The character of Simon is one surrounded with mystery, I believe he is representing the peace and harmony on the island almost a Christ like figure. I think this because of the things he does, he keeps hope of being rescued even when Ralphs hope wavers, he gives fruit to the younger ones and he goes away into the jungle to be by himself to think. He is unlike any other of the boys as he is a thinker also like Piggy but he is different, as he seems to be more like Philosopher. Simon in the novel takes time to go to a place that is secluded from the rest of the boys and there he takes time to puzzle out some of the events on the island. It is here where he falls into some kind of fit and dreams of the stick that the pigs head is placed on he seems to come face to face with the lord of flies.
He tells him that you know perfectly well youll only meet me down there so dont try to escape. This shows us that the novel is indeed about the evil and the devil in everyone that can become them. Simon tries to get to the group and explain about the dead airmen and how the beast does not exist but has the unfortunate luck to stumble into the middle of a hunting re-enactment where the tribe of savages and Piggy and Ralph are dancing and mimicking the hunt. Simon stumbles into the ring of dancers and the savages, Ralph and Piggy are involved in his brutal murder. This key moment of the novel is extremely important as it is now glaringly obvious that the angelic school boys and choir boys are now evil creatures who knew what they were doing but have forgotten the manner in which to behave due to the absence of societys rigid rules. The novel does not have just one major theme, there is other themes which are working in the background that I believe its Goldings intention to show use .
The Essay on Lord of the Flies- The Evil & Primitivism in Man cliff notes 2493
The Evil & Primitivism in Man In the story Lord of the Flies Ralph, the democratic character, and Jack, the dictator are the most important main characters. Ralph is the voice of hope on the island, and without that, the boys would have turned to savagery much faster, and under the control of Jack. William Golding uses Ralph and his character foil, Jack, to show how civilization works and how ...
One theme, which is shown to us through Jack, is that people will abuse power when it is not earned and Golding I believe is trying to show us what happens when someone has power. This fact is important as during the writing of the novel the world was recovering after a massive war and discovering the truth about Hitlers ethnic cleansing program, and was also preparing for another hard time with Stalins abusive rule. I believe Golding may have been trying to put Jack forward as some kind of Fascist or communist ruler. There is other less important themes as well like singling out another to degrade them to improve their own security. The deterioration in the boys sense of moralitys through the novel are ever so clear. And when we reach towards the end of the novel we see how that has happened, through the lack of authority and law.
The boys have now become savages, they have gone through a massive transformation because of their surroundings and their ability to destroy and kill, and this is shown through the scar made in the island. It does this by showing mans destructive powers he is capable of. There are many things each of the characters symbolise at the end of the novel, Roger is evil a Satan like creature who has no conscious, Jack is savagery and anarchy, the beast is the inner evil in everyone (darkness of mans heart).
The whole novel is symbolic in nature except the rescue in the end where adult life appears, dignified and capable, but in reality enmeshed in the same evil as the symbolic life of the children on the island. The officer having interrupted a manhunt, prepares to take the children off the island in a cruiser, which will presently hunting its enemy in the same way. And I believe the cruiser is very important as it makes you think who will rescue the adult and his cruiser.
The Essay on Darkness in Heart of Darkness
Every man and woman has a dark side to them. The characters in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness are no different. In this novella, a man named Marlow travels into Africa because he wants to fill the “blank spaces’” on the map, but what he encounters there is not at all what he expected or hoped for (Conrad 373). He finds that the colonists who came before him have turned into violent and covetous ...
This novel message about the darkness of mans heart means that society holds everyone together, and without these conditions, our ideals, values and basic choices of rights or wrong are lost. Without societys rigid rules anarchy and savagery can and will come to light. This novel is valuable not that it tells us of the darkness of mans heart, its valuable as it shows it by allowing us to enter into the island..
