Comparing the Characters of Lord of the Flies and Of Mice and Men

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The Brave Characters of Lord of the Flies and Of Mice and Men

J.F Clarke said that "The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience". This statement means that the special people, who listen to their conscience, are the bravest because it is not easy to listen and act on what your conscience tells you because many people are afraid of the consequences of doing so. In The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters truly do show this trait of being brave. I agree with the statement because I know myself that it isn't easy to act on what your conscience tells you. Many times the consequences stop me and also it is very hard to base a decision on pure "instinct".

In The Lord of the Flies, one of the main characters, Piggy, is truly brave. Although it may not seem like he is, however, he is one of the only persons in the novel who follows through with what their conscience says. An example of when Piggy follows his conscience is when he tells Ralph that they need to confront Jack to get his glasses back. Piggy very well knows that Jack would kill him if he had the chance, however, Piggy listens to his conscience and he goes to get his glasses. This is also a perfect example of why people are afraid to follow their consciences because when Piggy goes to get his glasses, he is killed. This is an example of a consequence and because of the possibility of consequences; people usually don't follow through with their conscience.

The novel Of Mice and Men is also a perfect example of how obeying your conscience is hard. In the end of the novel, George has to face the fact that he has to take care of the problem that Lennie causes when he kills Curley's wife. George's conscience tells him exactly what to do and George knows what he has to do. In this example it is a little different. In other situations people would be afraid of what might happen after, however, in this situation George knows that he will be losing his best friend and in this situation it takes a tremendous amount of bravery to follow your conscience.

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