Horrible Societies: Lord of the Flies, and I Only Came to Use the Phone

1361 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism used in Lord of the Flies

A considerable amount of author’s use their own unique writing style to prove a point, share an opinion, and establish a theme. Lord of the flies and I Only Came to Use the Phone is no different. They use certain symbols such as the conch, the beast, Herculina, and the sanatorium to show the cruelty that happens within these societies. The authors show exactly how these societies would be considered inhumane and cruel, following with the effects of these horrible societies. In Lord of the Flies and I Only Came to Use the Phone, Golding and Marquez use explicit symbolism to show how cruel and inhuman these societies are towards their inhabitants, following along with the gruesome effects that these societies have on people.

In I Only Came to Use the Phone, the writer Marquez uses his creative use of symbolism and manipulates it to show how cruel and inhumane societies are. The Sanatorium was used to show the inhuman, cruel, and detached place Maria and the other patients would be forced to stay at. For example, “The bus was entering the cobbled courtyard of an enormous gloomy building that seemed to be an old convent in a forest of colossal trees.” (Marquez, 72) The author used the word gloomy to describe the building, making the reader realize that things aren’t going to go well while Maria’s staying at the sanatorium, her and the rest of the patients won’t be happy and treated with any type of respect and care that they should. The sanatorium is Maria’s new society, she’s been taken away from what she once knew and is transported to something cruel, unsafe, and dangerous place that will begin to have an affect on her. Also, later on in the story Marquez shows the reader how much Maria hates this new society. “Maria realized ...

... middle of paper ...

...led the pig he became bloodthirsty, almost obsessed. All he wanted to do was kill and that’s not what he was like in the beginning of the story. Jack had begun to lose his mind “The madness came into his eyes again” (Golding 57) Again, Jack shows his obsessiveness to kill, that’s all he wants. Golding wanted his animalistic qualities to be portrayed to show just how living in cruel, evil, downright disturbing communities can affect you over time.

In conclusion, it’s obvious how both Golding and Marquez take different writing techniques such as symbolism and foreshadowing to exhibit the barbaric and evil effects that a society has on its people and how it changes people all together.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 1962. Print.

Márquez, Gabriel. Strange pilgrims: twelve stories. New York: Knopf, 1993. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Denial In Lord Of The Flies

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    The early pig hunt “has been relatively innocent,” (Johnston 12-13) yet to reveal the deeper meanings. Johnston suggests that the existence of pigs leads the boys into hunting in order to satisfy hunger. On the other hand, it highlights and reveals the true danger that lies inside each individual, and to Jack, this loss of innocence only pulls him into evilness more profoundly. Soon after his second attempt in hunting, which turns out to be a success, chantings of "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood." (Golding 96) become popular among the boys. Since the idea of hunting pigs and eating meat appear attractive to the boys, they begin to admire Jack's new skill as suppose to judging for his aggressive behaviors. Merridew, however, fails to recognize that his actions come at the cost of an emerging savagery-like affiliation. At the same time, his original identity as a choirboy with “voices [like]... the song of angels” (Golding 191) slowly subsides from his character. Compared to hunting, the angelic voice does not increase the chances of survival, thus its significance becomes subordinate to that of hunting. From the first encounter with the pig to the complete loss of innocence, adult figures are also responsible for his unsubtle

    Read More

  • Unit 2 Essay Assignment

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    The setting in both Lord of the Flies and I Only Came to Use the Phone contributes to the dehumanization of the characters in each of the readings. The settings are both isolated, which is the cause of all the chaos that takes place because when you take a human being out of the comfort of society, they go back to their natural animalistic tendencies in order to survive. Survival of the fittest is present in these quotes. Also, the island archetype plays a huge role in both of the stories.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Setting in Lord of the Flies and I Only Came To Use The Phone

    1382 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many different fears that one may have including: Monophobia, the fear of being alone, Agoraphobia, the fear of being in crowded places, and Achluophobia, the fear of being in the dark. While looking at these different phobias, one may notice that they all are specific ways that a person may act depending on the setting they are in. It is common for authors to place their characters in a designated setting to reveal the most basic traits of human conduct. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding establishes to his readers the type of isolation that a group of young boys would feel by putting them on a deserted island with no adults, having to adapt to the setting, and learn to survive and get along in a small, confined space. Similarly, in I Only Came to Use the Phone, Garcia Marquez also portrays the big idea of isolation by making the setting of the story a sanatorium for mentally disturbed women. Maria, the main character, whose car broke down in the middle of the desert, was taken to the institution to use the phone to call home, but once she got there she was separated from the rest of the world and was forced to stay there forever. In both stories the setting is very peaceful at the beginning, and so are the characters. As the stories continue, the setting starts to fall apart until the end where the setting is complete chaos, and the characters also become chaotic. One also will see that in the nighttime, characters become immoral about their decisions and actions. Throughout Lord of the Flies and I Only Came to Use the Phone the interaction between the setting and the characters shows a complete parallel. Depending on what the setting is, the characters will act in different ways.

    Read More

  • Corrupt Power: Lord of the Flies and I Only Came To Use The Phone

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Americans as they go through their day to day lives, do not very often see corruption of power here at home, so they very frequently forget the sufferings of other nations under the power of oppressive regimes. It is important to remember that human power, in its pure form, will tend to be used for evil rather than good. In fact Golding creates such a situation in his book Lord of the Flies which will later be seen. It is also important to know that even if a person is conditioned to use his human power for good and not for evil, the temptation to use that human power for evil is often so great that the user will succumb to the temptation and could use that human power to do something terrible. This is seen in both I Only Came to Use the Phone and Lord of the Flies. Another important aspect of human power is that human power with good intent is often stamped out by human power with evil intent. This is demonstrated by some characters in Lord of the Flies. So basically, human power is an indiscriminate force which can be used for either good or for evil depending on the human who is yielding said power; however, in general, human power is used to achieve selfish and evil desires.

    Read More

  • The Transformation of Jack in William Golding's Lord of the Flies

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jack is made the leader of the hunting tribe. He and his hunters have much trouble trying to hunt and kill a pig. Since he was raised as part of a sophisticated and wealthy family in England, he has not had any experience with hunting before. He struggles to become a hunter. But Jack is shown to have savage urges early. The author says, "he [Jack] tried to convey the...

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies

    3305 Words  | 7 Pages

    Significance: While Jack's first attempt to kill the pig failed, his quote "next time..." foreshadowed his future of savage hunting.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    Golding uses many symbols in the novel, Lord of the Flies, to represent good and evil in society. He uses Simon to represent the peacefulness of life and the kindness of a good heart, while Piggy represents the civilization on the island and the adult viewpoint of the children. The conch symbolizes order and also adult behavior. It is a symbol of strength and knowledge as well, as the evil of the beast represents the fear in the boys. All of these symbols change as the story goes on, some changes are less obvious and are the result of the readers new perspective while others undergo dramatic, and quite obvious, change.

    Read More

  • The Lord Of The Flies: The Hunts

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jack has always been an ill-natued boy even from the start of the book when he told Piggy to "Shut up, Fatty." (p.23). Dispite Jack’s unpleasent personality, his lack of courage and his conscience preventing him from killing the first pig they encountered. "They knew very well why he hadn’t; because of the enormity of the knife decending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood." (p.34)

    Read More

  • The Continual Breakdown of Society in Lord of the Flies

    433 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a variety of symbols to represent ideas, or abstract notions or conceptions about people, places, and things. A symbol, according to the Webster's Dictionary, is an object that stands for something in addition to its literal meaning. In the book, there is a continual breakdown of society and civilization on the island. During this breakdown, Golding uses symbolism to further explain the process. Some of the things he symbolizes in the novel are the island itself, the conch, the boys clothing, and the violence.

    Read More

  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    Piggy had an appetite to be needed and accepted as a person in the boys' society. Jack had to kill a pig; he saw no other way.

    Read More

  • Jack Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jack’s negative effects on others are shown when “Maurice pretended to be the pig and ran squealing into the center, and the hunters, circling still, pretended to beat him” (75). This quote displays Jack’s evil influence because he has made perfectly normal British boys act like mindless savages and participate in this sadistic ritual. The hunters seem to regress to more prehistoric times as they enjoy performing this act. Jack also changes the boys’ behavior when, “The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (153). This quote is essential because it conveys that Jack has altered the boys’ minds to such a degree, that they are blinded by their bloodlust and can’t even tell that the “beast” that they are mutilating is really Simon. It also shows how delirious Jack has made these once civilized children. As you can see, Jack is not a necessarily evil person, but he creates evil

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies; An Attempt To Trace The Defects Of Human Nature

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the story progresses it shows how the boys change from disciplined school boys to savages. Jack is the first to show the transition. When Jack, Simon and Ralph go exploring for the first time, they come across a piglet caught in a curtain of creepers. Jack couldn't kill it "because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood (31)." From that moment on, Jack felt he needed to prove to himself to the others that he's strong, brave and isn't afraid to kill. When Jack says, "Next Time…(31)" it's foreshadowing his future of savage hunting.

    Read More

  • 'Lord Of The Flies' By William Golding: Character Analysis

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    Golding shows the drastic change in the boys’ behavior using symbolic dialogue and the characters’ actions. At the beginning of the story, Ralph puts Jack in charge of hunting so the boys can eat some meat. Jack finds a pig while hunting, yet he cannot kill it, his reason being, “because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting living flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (31). Because of the strictly regulated society Jack has grown up in, he finds it disturbing to kill an animal, even if he must do it to have food.

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in Lord of The Flies by William Golding

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jack begins the novel partially innocent, cruel enough to yell at the boys yet pure enough to hesitate when faced with the task of killing the pig. Jack obtains the tools necessary to kill the pig, yet claims to need help cornering the animal. Jack, not truly needing help to kill the pig but rather needing the support provided by the mob mentality, acquires the support of his choir and together the boys hunt and kill the pig, all the while chanting, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood”...

    Read More

  • A Sociological Perspective of Lord of the Flies

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    During World War II, the United States killed 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima with an atomic bomb. The bombing of Hiroshima demonstrated the uncivilized behaviors of humankind: hunger for power, misuse of technology, and subconscious reactions to conflicts. Lord of the Flies, an allegorical novel by William Golding, illustrates a horrific tale of boys who are stranded on an island and lose their ability to make civil decisions. Throughout the book, Ralph and Jack fight for power, Piggy’s spectacles are constantly taken to create fire, and several of the boys become “savage” and act upon their subconscious minds. From a sociological perspective, Golding’s novel portrays man’s voracity for power, abuse of technology to the point of destruction, and his venture to inner darkness.

    Read More

More about Horrible Societies: Lord of the Flies, and I Only Came to Use the Phone

Open Document