Compare the threats to civilisation in the Lord of the Flies by
William Golding and the Stolen Bacillus by H. G. Wells
The threats to civilisation in the two books, Lord of the Flies and
the Stolen Bacillus, are presented to they reader in many ways. There
are many differences between the two but, there are also similarities.
Both show threat to the society in which they live and, therefore,
civilisation.
In the Lord of the Flies the threat and cause of the eventual demise
of society is people, themselves. This threat comes from within
themselves because of the boys love of violence and greed but, also
because of the fight for power on the island.
In the Stolen Bacillus the threat comes from one, crazed, man, and
anarchist, seeking recognition. But this threat also comes from the
science of the time and the Bacillus cholera.
The two books are also influenced by the by the historical period in
which they were written.
The time in which the Lord of the Flies was written, in 1954, was at
the end of World War II. William Golding has used this influence in
writing his book; he is trying to use the situation on the island to
relate to the wider world and the attitude of the time, which was
geared to war and the effects it has on people.
The Stolen Bacillus, written in 1894, has drawn in influence from
science, which at the time was only just becoming known to the world.
Because of this people were wary of the new-fangled discovery.
There are five main characters involved in the civilisation issue in
Lord of the Flies. These characters are Jack, Roger, Ralph, Piggy and
Simon.
The characters that pose a threat to civilisation on the island are
Jack, who becomes a self-elected leader, and Roger, who is Jacks
lieutenant.
Jack is described as being small with red hair, representing anger and
aggression, and "ugly without silliness", this is when we are first
introduced to Jack in the novel. He is a middle class, privately
educated boy and is the head choir boy. Jack is extremely arrogant and
self-righteous as shown in the quote "I ought to be chief, said Jack
with simple arrogance." Jack has a great thirst for power and part of
the way through the novel he attacks Ralph's leadership style and
breaks out to form a group of his own, 'the tribe of hunters'. Jacks
thirst for power and dominance pulls down the once civilised 'tribe'
of boys', to a tribe of killers and cruel and evil small boys'.
Roger is described as 'sadistic' and gets pleasure out of being cruel.
Epstein, E. L. Afterword. Lord of the Flies. By William Golding. New York: Berkley, 1954.
There is evidence in both Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace that display the savagery of man. In Lord of the Flies there is savagery found when the choir boys and most of the bigguns separate from Ralph’s authority and form their own tribe. In A Separate Peace, savagery is found in unnamed characters during Leper’s war experience - he feels such a need to escape from evil and savagery in the war that he takes the risk and actually does. In both of these novels, the archetype and motif of savagery is present in young boys, ultimately resulting in the downfall and degenerating of man.
Lord of the Flies was written by a British author in 1954. The book is about a group of British school boys that crash on an island and have to survive. During their time on the island they turn their backs on being civil and become savages. Ralph is the elected leader and always thinks civil. Jack leaves the group and starts a tribe with the boys and is a savage. Piggy is a boy who is knowable. Simon is compared to Jesus through the book and is the only naturally “good” character. The littleuns are the littler kids on the island. Roger is a cruel older boy who is Jack’s lieutenant. Samneric are twins who are close to Ralph but, are manipulated by Jack later on. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding some of the characters represent id, ego, and superego. Id, ego, and super ego are the three parts of the psychic apparatus expressed by Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche. Golding expresses his message of evil and how it is natural in every person, and how we must recognize and control it through id, ego, and superego.
Golding, William, The Lord of the Flies, New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1954. Print.
Lord of flies is about a group of schoolboys, who got stuck on uninhabited island after a plane crash. On island they struggle with savagery and civilazation while they are waiting to be rescued. William Golding gives the examples of elements what makes society ‘civilized’ which contains rules, laws and morality. He shows the consequences of what happens if we don’t follow the rules which he lead to savagery in his book. This civilazation in book also can be a metaphor for a government, its creation.
Lord of the flies was about a group of boys getting stranded on an island. There was basically to groups I like to identify them as the “civilized group” and the “savage ones”. In this paper I will tell you examples of civilization and savagery in lord of the flies. From the conch to the pig head to the boys that are there .There are mean examples of this theme so let’s get started.
Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding in 1954 about a group of young British boys who have been stranded alone together on an island with no adults. During the novel the diverse group of boys struggle to create structure within a society that they constructed by themselves. Golding uses many unique literary devices including characterization, imagery, symbolism and many more. The three main characters, Ralph, Piggy, and Jack are each representative of the three main literary devices, ethos, logos, and pathos. Beyond the characterization the novel stands out because of Golding’s dramatic use of objective symbolism, throughout the novel he uses symbols like the conch, fire, and Piggy’s glasses to represent how power has evolved and to show how civilized or uncivilized the boys are acting. It is almost inarguable that the entire novel is one big allegory in itself, the way that Golding portrays the development of savagery among the boys is a clear representation of how society was changing during the time the novel was published. Golding is writing during
The novel “Lord of the Flies” was written by William Golding to demonstrate the problems of society and the sinful nature of man.
Golding, William, and Edmund L. Epstein. Lord of the Flies: A Novel. New York: Perigee, 1954. Print.
Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 after being rejected by twenty-one publishers. When it did, it wasn’t a huge success in the United States, seeing as it only sold 3,000 copies before going out of print. However, by early 1960, it was a best seller and was required reading in universities and even grade schools across the country.
Throughout the novel several different characters are introduced to the reader, such as Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy. With all these characters presented to the reader, one can get to see into their minds-eye, which allows the reader to analyze their character. In this case one could examine their basic morals and distinguish between the person’s natural instinct to rely on civilization or savagery to solve their problems. The author of the novel, William Golding, had a “first-hand experience of battle line action during World War II” which caused him to realize, “[that] The war alone was not what appalled him, but what he had learnt of the natural - and original- sinfulness of mankind did. It was the evil seen daily as commonplace and repeated by events it was possible to read in any newspaper which, he asserted, were the matter of Lord of the Flies” (Foster, 7-10). This being said by Golding leads one to the central problem in the novel the Lord of the Flies, which can be regarded as the distinction between civility and savagery. This can be seen through the characters that are presented in the novel, and how these boys go from a disciplined lifestyle, to now having to adapt to an unstructured and barbaric one in the jungle.
Society The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys that were in a plane crash in the 1940’s during a nuclear War. The plane is shot down and lands on a tropical island. Some boys try to function as a whole group, but see obstacles as time goes on. The novel is about civilization and social order.
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, "The Lottery", by Shirley Jackson, "The White Circle", by John Bell Clayton and "The Vigilante" by John Steinbeck all share the theme of mans inherent evil. Lord of the Flies takes place on an island in the Pacific ocean during an atomic war, and there is no adult supervision. "The Lottery" takes place in a small farming community in the present day. "The White Circle" is set in the turn of the century Virginia on a Large farm. "The Vigilante" takes place down south in a town with strong racist beliefs. Jack from Lord of the Flies is an insecure boy who leads a group of savages through injustice and violence. The Townspeople in "The Lottery" are focused as a group to keep up the traditions of their town, that include an annual stoning of a random person(Tess). Tucker, a normal boy in "The White Circle" is driven into violence after consistent torment from his neighbor Anvil. Mike in "The Vigilante" is a mild mannered southern white with racist beliefs that are carried out on a black man. Ralph who is against Jack in Lord of the Flies is being over-run by Jacks violence and bloodlust, until an officer rescues the group to find out that the boys aren’t playing and have reached the end of their innocence. The towns people gather annually to choose through a lottery the victim of a violent stoning for the harvest, when a prominent citizen Tess is chosen she tries to over turn the verdict, she is killed. Tucker is the son of a wealthy farmer and is under constant torment by his neighbor Anvil, he cracks and attempts to kill Anvil in a brutal attack with hay forks, Anvil avoids death and realizes Tuckers deep rooted evil. Mike along with the men of his village decide to take the law into their own hands against a black man, they beat and kill him then hang him from a tree. Mike realizes later how satisfied he is from this act. These violent plots all have a very important
In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows a story of boys who are trapped on an island, and must figure out how to survive. The story represents the fall of mankind, as symbolism is present throughout the entire novel. It is best seen through a historical perspective. Golding uses events from his own lifetime, the Operation Pied Paper, and Hitler’s ruling to compare it to the major events, the beginning of the story, and Jack’s personality.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Great Britain: Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire, 1954. Text.