my new essay is on lord of the flies.
sc15pcz
Mar 26, 09, 12:14am
#1
you can combine topics as long as you show how they are connected in supporting your specific thesis on human nature and society.
1. character interpretation: choose one of the main characters and interpret the changes he goes through. what do these changes suggest about the novel's message regarding society and human nature? or, compare 2 or even 3 characters to show what ideas these characters represent regarding society or human nature.
2. symbolic interpretation: choose one or more of the main symbols and interpret the importance of that symbol in the novel. what do the symbols suggest about society and human nature. you might analyze changes in the conch throughout the novel and the changes in the tribe it represents. or compare changes in the conch to changes in the lord of the flies (pigs head) to explain how these changes reflect changes in the tribe. or compare different uses of fire. or examine piggy's specs, face paint, or any combination of these symbols. make sure that you compare each of them as you go and link them all together with a thesis regarding human nature and society. use symbol and symbolize only once or twice.
3. interpretation of irony: interpret various ironic situations and their importance in developing the novel's message regarding human nature and society. you might examine the boys' assumptions about grown-ups, the use of fire, their assumptions about the beast, the death of simon and their eventual rescue by the naval commander. in each case make sure you explain exactly how the situation is ironic: how is the reality or outcome of the situation the exact opposite of the characters expectations? what do these ironies suggest about human nature, society, or the nature of reality?
topic should have to do with human nature and society and the novel's message about them. you might also analyze what effect society has on human nature. what kind of societies or governments best keep human nature under control? can any government really suppress problems of human nature completely? why/why not?
i was thinking of maybe doing the symbolism one, the boys clothes fall apart as the novel goes on, and so does their social interactions, and their "humanity".
but then again this is humanity in a way, so i wasnt sure.
also maybe something about how golding uses piggy to keep the novel going, if they didnt have him for the other boys to ridicule and taunt, then they might just end up running around and hunting instead of hunting eachother.
maybe the littluns role, they serve as a gauge of the older boys' morality, how they treat the littuns is how they are. but maybe they might represent something else, innocence... maybe...
how golding uses the gentler characters, simon and piggy to enrage the other boys and get them to the point where they show their true humanity and loose all ties to society.
if you didnt read this book ill just post it somewhere else. i want to have an original topic, and im not sure what i am the most interested in.
sc15pcz
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sc15pcz
Mar 26, 09, 01:04am
#2
some ideas, a little more developed than the first. still cant choose one.
Are the littluns filler, or do they mean something more?
The littluns seem to just be in their own little group that does whatever they want, they build castles and play on the beach all day, but they can be useful. Golden uses the littluns to gauge the older boys morality, if they are cruel to them, then they are cruel in general. But they also seem to symbolize the connection between the boys and society, they are innocent and remind us of how people behave in society. The littluns cry a lot, and they are not scared to admit that they are frightened, and they don't go off and hunt or do any of that, they link the boys with their last shreds of normal behavior, and are not caught up in the older boys war.
Piggy, Ralph and Simon Made Me Do It
Would the boys become killers without Piggy, Simon, and Ralph?
Well, obviously they couldn't kill Simon and Piggy if they never existed, but if they were like the others, blood thirsty and savage, the others may have never been driven to kill at all. These softer characters are used to create a contrast between them that brings out the truth about humanity.
No Clothes, No Morals
As time on the island passes, their clothes fall apart, and with them their links to society, and their true human nature emerges.
sc15pcz
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lowryder49
Mar 26, 09, 09:50am
#3
history shows us that Humans tends to commit the same mistakes over and over again
Killing, rage adn anger are parts of human nature as well as loving, caring and nursing
lord of the flies topics are war, power, superiority,frienship these are a few
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]
Mar 27, 09, 12:28am
#4
I agree that symbolism is always a safe bet... and it can make for such a great essay. Symbolism is fascinating.
I really like your section about whether the Littluns are filler or something more!
Who is the kid that turned all evil? It would be cool to write about the changes he went through... but that would not be original.
Your ideas are good. Write some more of it!
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EF_Sean [Moderator]
Mar 28, 09, 06:16pm
#5
I like where you seem to be going with the clothes as symbolic approach. Clothes conceal us, after all, hide our bodies. If, then, as the clothes decay, we see the children's true nature, which is animalistic and brutal, it is presumably the case that the children's nature doesn't decay, so much as get revealed as the civilizing veneer of socialization wear's off. So, the clothing would then actually represent socialization. You can definitely build on that to create a solid essay. Good luck.
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sc15pcz
Mar 30, 09, 05:13pm
#6
i wrote this before i got any of your comments, but i couldnt decide so it is kind of a mixture of all of them. some of my classmates read it, and they didnt think it was too random but i do... does it fit together at all? it seems to me to just be a jumble but im not sure...
They Made Me Do it
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sc15pcz
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]
Mar 31, 09, 04:16pm
#7
Everyone feels this way at one time or another; and no matter how much society tries to force it out of us, we still have our human nature under it all the facade of civility, and we will do what is necessary to survive.
How about that, with the semi-colon and a slight tweak.
This essay is great! I like the way you expertly attended to all the important things: narrative hook at the start, clear thesis, logical sequence of ideas. It is great!
The only gripe I have with you is that you oversimplify Golding's message. The story obviously shows that we have savagery beneath our civilized appearances, but I don't think he meant to say that we will always revert to our animal instincts. Instead, his exposition of the mechanisms that give rise to violence, and the factors that work against good leadership, gives readers real wisdom and insight. Golding shows a model of the human societal process... shows it in the form of a sort of experiment on an island, a "what if" scenario. Golding is showing something about human nature, and, more importantly, he is exposing the demons that need to be conquered if we are to succeed in keeping the violence out of society.
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EF_Sean [Moderator]
Mar 31, 09, 05:23pm
#8
The great flaw in your argument is that Ralph and Piggy don't in fact lose their morals. Both remain decent human beings standing up for what they believe is right to the very end. Piggy is murdered, and Ralph would have been, if not for the arrival of adults, or course, but they die, or come close to it, precisely because they refuse to give up their moral nature. So, perhaps you need to go a little deeper into your analysis than merely saying that everyone loses their morals when they don't have supervision. Why does Ralph lose out to Jack in the political battle? Why does Jack set the entire island ablaze in an effort to destroy him, even though he is smart enough to realize that this must surely end in his own destruction too? You might want to throw in some Freudian analysis here -- id, ego, superego. Also, what could Ralph have done to change the outcome? Why doesn't he?
"We need societies structure to keep us from reverting back to animals" But the larger society in the book is essentially on the verge of WWIII. That is, the planet itself is about to burn as the island does, only in a nuclear conflagration. So, even with society's structure, our destructive impulses can still emerge and destroy us.
Good essay overall, then, but try to dig a bit deeper to make it even stronger.
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sc15pcz
Apr 1, 09, 02:11am
#9
sean, i get what you mean about ralph and piggy, but there is one point where they are so caught up in the hunters dance that they want to join in and kill simon. they do not loose their morals, but they arent completely intact either.
will work on the rest, just wanted to say that.
sc15pcz
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sc15pcz
Edited by: sc15pcz Apr 1, 09, 02:47am
#10
maybe a little better, not sure if i caught everything. ill change more of the stuff you said sean, i just need to have this done tonight for the second draft to show my teacher, and i already blew it by falling asleep.
They Made Me Do it
Have you ever been so mad you wanted to kill someone? Been so angry you just wanted to rip their head off? Everyone feels this way at one time or another; no matter how much society tries to force ...
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sc15pcz
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]
Apr 1, 09, 05:25pm
#11
The boys are all "going native" to one extent or another, and loosing their footholds that keep them from going over the edge; however, it is sometimes hard to tell ...
Above, that was a run-on sentence without the semi-colon. I had not noticed it before! You tried to use "however" in the way you would use "but"; however, "however" cannot be used as a conjunction. "But" can be used in a compound sentence, but "however" needs its own sentence.
This is really quite a great essay, and the last paragraph leaves no doubt tha you understand the theme. It would be better, though, if you add a few sentences about how the society on the island is like a model that shows how larger societies sink into violence -- as a result of the savage ways to which we resort we are frightened.
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sc15pcz
Apr 10, 09, 12:33am
#12
so, my teacher didnt really think the ideas were connected. he said to have two of the paragraph topics be the theme and the other two the body, but im not exactly sure what he meant. i tried rewriting it like he said but i got stuck. help? suggestions? im pretty much at a block and cant seem to write anything else. thanks.
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sc15pcz
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EF_Kevin [Moderator]
Apr 10, 09, 01:59pm
#13
Have you ever wanted to kill someone?
I like it! You toned down this opening in a good way. The mention of killing someone is enough to grab the attention. In general, it will be good for you to eliminate unnecessary sentences in your writing. Same for all of us.
Most would say no; however, if you think about it we get outraged very easily, and sometimes it takes all our self-control to keep from lashing out.
sc15pcz:
Humans fear what they do not understand, and unfortunately we understand very little. It is up to us to try to explain the mysteries of our world in order to maintain civility, and refrain from aggression.
Excellent! Now, reread your whole essay and think of it as advice you were writing for kids who were about to become policy-makers, senate, congress, etc. The essay is all very good. But I think you are neglecting the fact that the lessons in the story are most useful for those who would participate in government -- an important thing to at least acknowledge.
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sc15pcz
Apr 13, 09, 11:47pm
#14
i had to rush at the end but here it is. i kind of lost interest in the topic because i didnt do it right away...
56093
An Adaption to Ruthlessness
What would it mean to be the lord of the flies? William Golding entitles his work the Lord of the Flies leading one to wonder weather he refers to the decapitated pigs head or to Ralph. The fly is an ignoble creature. It is small. It is a bearer of germs. It is known to feed on feces. If Golding perceives the boys as flies, his view of human beings is completely pessimistic. His premise is that if left alone on an island away from the supervision, rules, and laws of adults, boys would revert to a state of total savagery and would proceed to murder one another. Survival of the fittest would be enacted. To become a lord or ruler of such creatures would require becoming the most violent and vicious person among the group. In short this ruler would rule over insignificant creatures and thus be no true lord at all. Ralph is not able to maintain his rule over the boys because his power stems from his ability to think with forethought rather than physical strength. Ultimately Ralph's intelligence cannot overcome jack's force. One of the true marks of maturity is learning that simply because you can, doesn't mean that you should. In a human context, what does it take to maintain rule, intelligence or strength? Golding puts forth the idea that force is superior to intelligence in the quest for power.
In the beginning it appears that Ralph is the logical leader of the group, but if Ralph hadn't been so calm, Piggy so smart, and Simon so gentle, the other boys would still have come to kill. These softer characters were used as a catalyst to expose the true nature of the boys. They were all just looking for food and playing at first, but when the hunters start messing around and let the fire go out, Ralph says the "smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one" (81), and he is not impressed by their kill. They are angry because they think their game is impressive, and they do not appreciate him telling them that all their manly efforts were not of any use. Jack uses this annoyance towards Ralph to his advantage; planting the idea that Ralph is an annoying know-it-all and causing the rest of the hunters to want to show off more to spite him. He revs them up into a frenzy until all they want to do is "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood" (69), and all Ralph's ideas about keeping the fire going seem to be a joke. The hunters feel that they are too strong to take orders from a weakling that "[is] not a hunter. [And would] never have got [them] meat" (126). They don't know anything about him, so when Jack says, "He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing" (126), the hunters start to question the idea that they will be rescued with fire, and begin to follow Jack even more. Piggy and Simon are similar to Ralph, being smart and unique. They consider the consequences of their actions, rather than just going for whatever whim comes their way. The hunters don't like this. They want to be able to do what they want, when they want, so when the odd ones tell them to behave, they get annoyed and think they are better than them and shouldn't be ruled by the ones who are not the most vicious or violent. They are not the lord, and therefore are nothing.
That which we want the most is often the worst possible thing for us. It is important in life to know when to draw the line. To know what is ok, and what is going too far. The flies have lost this sense. They can no longer tell the bad from the good, they simply do what they feel is necessary to survive, so when they attack they never think to stop. Never think it is wrong to kill another boy. Thus as the boys forget about their civility, the reader begins to wonder how far they have really gone, and Golding uses the littluns to remind us of the empire waiting for them back home. They act as a gauge, to tell us how far each character has fallen. The littluns are around six, terrified of everything, spend all their time eating and playing, but are essentially harmless. They aren't expected to do anything, but what really shows a persons character is how they act towards those who cannot protect themselves. If you go and poke a baby with a stick, you cannot be a very nice person. Some people pretend, but on the island with no consequences, how they act towards the weak shows a lot about who they are. Ralph, being the leader, is not mean to them, and tries to include them in meetings by using "simple words so that even [they] would understand"(79); however, he doesn't find them useful. This demonstrates his nature. He is a pensive boy who finds delight in swimming, and simple things, and does not find the affairs of others particularly intriguing unless they directly affect him. This is displayed when he tells them to make sure they do not go to the bathroom near the food, water, or tents, and also when they start all the talk about the beast which makes all his followers begin to question him. Piggy is similar to Ralph in that respect, he is not mean, but does not think they warrant his attention. He feels that they are childish, and he is above their games, saying, "If the littluns climb back on the twister again they'll only fall off in a sec. So they might as well sit on the ground and listen" (84), in a rather irritated manner. Correspondingly, Piggy always feels that he is smarter than everyone else, and he comes up with most of the good ideas, even if no one listens to him. Simon on the other hand goes out of his way to be kind to them, bringing them "fruit they [cannot] reach" (56), and looking out for them when no one else does, which exemplifies his kind, caring nature, to sacrifice himself for the well-being of others. One of the middle kids (neither bigun, nor littlun), Maurice throws sand in their eyes and rocks around them; however, when they are all at a meeting he "save[s] them" (87) crying out, "Look at me!" (87), and pretending to fall over in order to make them laugh and avoid their crying. This is not a completely selfless act, in that he would have to wait for them to stop, nonetheless, he still tries to help, which is illustrated later when he follows the rest of the hunters, not exactly wanting to kill, but simply trying to avoid being singled out like the other three, and saving his own skin. This leads to Jack who is mean and thinks they are a "useless lot of cry-babies!" (83), and it would "serve [them] right if something did get [them]" (83) for causing all the trouble about the beast. When Jack's tribe splits off, he leaves all the littuns with the nicer characters who care if they are unhappy or in danger, which shows how he is savage, and will waste no effort in trying to help out little children, simply hunting and killing whatever he can. It's like stealing candy from a baby, if you do it to make yourself happy, then you are a horrible person, and you can't deny it.
Golding uses clothing as a symbol for civilization. Every morning we put on clothes without thinking about their function. Clothes provide warmth and preserve modesty. They also maintain cleanliness and give a protective covering to the skin. The first description of Ralph is that he is trailing his school sweater by one arm and that the clothing he still wears is causing him to sweat. Thus his clothes do not suit the climate or circumstances in which he finds himself. As the book goes on, the boys' clothing deteriorates with their morals. It is a logical response to a tropical climate to wear less clothing. The boys take off their shirts and shoes to remain cool. This is liberating in a physical sense as well as a mental one as they would not be permitted to do this at home. They run around and play enlivened by this new freedom from the restrictions of vestments. The longer they live in this state of virtual nakedness, the dirtier and more ragged they become. The longer they exist without the restrictions of civilization, the mental reaction to autonomy is moral deterioration. Even at the beginning of the book when Ralph pulls off all his clothes, he stands "among the skull-like coconuts" (10), which foreshadows the future. A person who sheds all clothing and discards all morals is less protected from death. Near the end of the book when all the boys' shorts are in tatters and are being held up by mere threads as well as their links to society, Ralph makes one last attempt to rein them in. He puts on his shirt from the first day even though it is stiff with sweat and very uncomfortable. Just as in a restaurant a sign will warn "No shirt no shoes no service", the wearing of clothing represents accountability and responsibility or the consciousness that human nakedness requires covering to be civilized. As the deterioration of morality intensifies, the boys begin to rely more on their fear of danger to make decisions. Unlike animals who navigate their world with instinct, the fear begins to overshadow their common sense. They completely loose their minds when the "demented" dance starts. "Out of the terror (rises) another desire, thick, urgent, blind"(152). They are overcome by their fear and their instincts turn to bloodlust. They are possessed with the urge to kill and they cannot stop themselves. Then at Castle Rock, all the hunters chant and yell, and the "storm of sound beat at them, in an incantation of hatred"(180). Roger is gripped "with a sense of delirious abandonment" (180), and he leans on the lever, causing the boulder to crush piggy. Every time the boys start to chant someone dies. After that the hunters give up all control, and Jack shouts, "There isn't a tribe for you anymore!"(181) They all proceed to attack him with spears and every last trace of humanity is gone. The alpha instinct in Jack to lead overcomes him and he gets the whole tribe to attack. The bloodlust is summoned and the façade of civility is discarded like an unwanted garment.
As the boys deteriorate, they begin to rely more on their fear to determine danger than common sense, more animal than human. When the "demented" dance starts they loose their heads, and "out of terror [rises] another desire, thick, urgent, blind" (152). They are overcome by their fear and it turns into bloodlust, they are possessed, and cannot stop themselves from killing, nor do they want to. Then at castle rock when all the hunters are chanting and yelling, and the "storm of sound beat[s] at them, in an incantation of hatred" (180), Roger is gripped "with a sense of delirious abandonment" (180), and he leans on the lever and the boulder crushes Piggy. When they let themselves be taken over they let all their human thoughts fall away. The sound revs them up, and every time they start to chant, someone dies. After that the hunters give up control all together and Jack shouts "there isn't a tribe for you anymore!" (181). They have fallen into an animalistic state, and Ralph is forced to run for his life as they stab at him. Every last trace of their attempts at society is gone. The alpha instinct in Jack to be leader overcomes him and he gets the whole tribe to attack. Underneath it all, the bloodlust comes out, the façade crumbles, and there is nothing you can do about it, its just human nature.
We need society's structure to keep us from reverting back to animals. When all the hallmarks of civilization have been striped away it is all we can do to refrain from using our instincts to make decisions, and attacking whatever we fear. It is important to try to understand what we fear, or we will live in fear forever, and that fear will turn to aggression and we won't be able to resist. It is our ability to consider the consequences of our actions that separates us from animals. We can consider all angles of a situation, and determine weather it is better to stay and fight, or run and hide. Golding uses the island as a model of larger societies to illustrate how they sink into violence, which makes everyone scared, which in turn brings more carnage. Just like Bush's "war on terror", everyone fights out of fear, fear of loosing what they have. Most do not simply fight for the sake of fighting. Humans fear what they do not understand, and unfortunately we understand very little. It is up to us to try to explain the mysteries of our world in order to maintain civility and refrain from aggression, or we will undoubtedly be doomed to repeat, over and over, all the violence.
sc15pcz
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Winpapamon
Apr 14, 09, 03:54am
#15
Should parents be responsible if their children behave badly?
Most children in the duration between childhood and adulthood may be problem-makers of society because they start to learn about the life only at that time.In some places,parents neglect or do not know what their children did wrongly and they have not been nothing to do with their children did.This essay will discuss whether parents should pay attention to their children' committing.
Parents are the very first teachers of their children.Only parents should guide when children start to observe about the environment.In addition,children do not have anyone to rely on except parents.That is why,parents should keep an eye on their children's deed and always take care of their children's behaviors.
There are many excuses for which parents should not take responsibility if their children commit some crimes.One of those is because parents are earning money to support their children's requirements such as educational fees,living,food supplies,clothes and others.For these reasons, they cannot care well about children.What is more,adolescents do not want to stay under the control of parents.They desire to make own decisions and to face everything and to be free from parents' management.Furthermore,some adolescents do not let their parents know what they will do and they did.They want to be secretive on parents.
From my point of view,the phenomenon of that children act badly does not deal with parents because parents are responsible to guide them right from wrong. That is why they are called parents.In my opinion, humans should be effected by the consequences of that they did.It is not for their parents.
Winpapamon
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