A guiding principle within both Lord of the Flies and Beowulf is that each society heavily gravitates to the significance of loyalty. Likewise, the focus on one's own place in their community also becomes an underlying theme in each. The stories both rely on the confrontation between good vs. evil, but the Anglo-Saxons believed extensively in a ‘heroic code’ that detailed truth and honor when met with this. Golding’s interpretation is somewhat different, he attributes these traits to be inconsistent, and dangerous if misplaced. Because each society discussed has its basis in how their ethics operated, both strove to uphold these traits in the unstable nature of their existence.
The similarities begin with how hazardous life is in each of these
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In the case of Beowulf, Beowulf is brave, honorable, and always loyal. This is looked upon as universally respectable traits in Anglo-Saxon society. Beowulf showed his upstanding character on many occasions and it isn't until his own warriors falter from fear of a dragon does Beowulf die. Wiglaf even gets Beowulf's blessings when he demonstrates selflessness and loyalty to his lord in the dragon fight. The moral to learn is to always abide by the heroic code which the Anglo-Saxons held—no matter the cost. Alternatively, Golding thought of loyalty as a dangerous quality to hold. Initially, everyone was loyal to Ralph, but as the story progressed Ralph was soon all alone with Piggy and Simon both dead. Jack was manipulative in nature and distorted the image of the beast to put him in places of power. Golding warns us of the potential dangers of those who hold power, any person can hold it, whether you are morally just, such as Ralph, or corrupt like Jack. Jack simply used the boy's own fears and hidden desires to make the boys remain loyal to him, while Beowulf was let down by his peers when they were to cowardice to fight alongside
...d Beowulf can be as simple as the fact that the moral values in the late twentieth century are vastly different from the ones of Beowulf's time. While today we seek heroes who are as imperfect as the rest of us, heroes with whom we can identify ourselves with, audiences of old might have preferred a hero to whom they could aspire to. However, one thing remains the same. Both Yossarian and Beowulf shared an interest in their fellowman, and perhaps that is what ultimately defines our notions of a hero.
The issue on whether man is good or evil has been debated over several generations. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of young boys are stranded on an uninhabited island. In the beginning, the boys have fun and are carefree while adventuring on the island. With no adults around to tell them how to behave, the boys declare war on one another and face several conflicts. These conflicts provide Golding with the opportunity to explore the idea that society restrains the evil intentions of human nature.
The hero must be ready to defend himself, and his people. Mythical entities are poised to strike, and gold is to be had by anyone brave enough to fight these beasts. Treasure, feasts, and appreciation are showered onto kings and heroes by their people. In modern society, leaders work at a weekly job, are given weekly responsibilities, and are not appreciated by everyone. The values in “Beowulf’ do not apply to reality. Nothing is given to leaders out of appreciation, and there is hardly time for feasts, unlike the 10th century cultures of Scandinavia. The society of Beowulf is incompatible with the norms of modern society on a multitude of levels.
Out of the themes loyalty, generosity, and reputation, Beowulf strongly expresses the positive effects of these themes. In Beowulf, the major themes reflect the values and the motivations of the characters. However, The Hunger Games expresses the positive effects, yet flaws of the three themes; lastly, The Great Gatsby most strongly exhibits the negative consequences of the themes. While comparing Beowulf, The Hunger Games, and The Great Gatsby, they all three strongly exhibit the themes of loyalty, generosity, and reputation; which can all have both positive, yet negative consequences.
In “Lord of the Flies” William Golding delivers a realistic fiction story in a way no other author can. He tells a story about a group of boys stranded on an island struggling between the forces of good and evil. The story is carried by powerful diction, frightening detail and insightful imagery to show how the shell is a symbol of good that is used by Ralph to show the boys responsibility while the sow`s head is a symbol of evil that is used by jack to instill fear in the boys.
The epic poem, Beowulf, is one of the oldest European epics in existence. When Beowulf was written, the writer incorporated many of the ideals of the Anglo-Saxons. Some of these ideals included loyalty, bravery, selflessness, and justice and were demonstrated in the hero. Both the characters Beowulf and Grendel represent aspects of both good and evil, Christianity and Paganism, and what occurs when they collide with one another. A characteristic of an epic poem is the concern over struggles that humans face, which is presented in a serious manner. The hero often embodies the religious, national, and cultural values of his homeland and abroad. The premise of the story is quite simple: the Danes were in distress because of the great monster Grendel, so Beowulf, a native of the Geats, sails to engage in battle with Grendel and become victorious in saving the seemingly faithless Danes. Throughout the epic, there are many instances where examples of the thirteen epic conventions are used in the writing of Beowulf and in describing both the ideals of the Anglo-Saxons and the underlying challenges with mortal problems, such as good versus evil.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
Throughout the poem of Beowulf, he shows great loyalty in a few different passages. The first bout of loyalty is when he is a young boy, he showed his loyalty to his father from the very start when his father gave him a task of guarding a small cub in the yard and comfort him. Showing his loyalty as a young prince showed the people in his land that he will one day be a great ruler and supporter. Giving the people in his land a "Behavior that is admired" shows them that when they need someone to protect them, Beowulf will be there.
Back and forth from building to building Spider Man is swinging chasing Hobgoblin they’re going from street to street messing up window panes. Spider Man snatches Hobgoblin and takes him to the ground. Strength. Bravery. Selflessness. Spider Man has a lot of the same qualities as the heros from the Anglo-Saxon time period. Like Beowulf he has the same exact heroistic qualities to be a hero. Beowulf shows the characteristic qualities of an Anglo-Saxon hero by being selfless, brave and being really strong.
Loyalty in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Odyssey by Homer and Don Quixote by Cervantes
Questions fly, whether to put first loyalty with the government or put first loyalty with one’s spouse. Which is better? Loyalty comes down to which is better for the society, whether having first loyalty with the government or first loyalty with spouse. The government protects the society, by creating a happy society, which can keep people out of jail. For the betterment of society, a citizen’s first loyalty should be with the government.
Beowulf must be careful how he approaches Hrothgar about killing Grendel. He does not want Hrothgar to think that he is only willing to save Denmark so that he can steal the throne from right from under Hrothgar’s nose. Hrothgar is an established king and has been for many years. He will need to approach Hrothgar with humility.
When viewing the atrocities of today's world on television, the starving children, the wars, the injustices, one cannot help but think that evil is rampant in this day and age. However, people in society must be aware that evil is not an external force embodied in a society but resides within each person. Man has both good qualities and faults. He must come to control these faults in order to be a good person. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding deals with this same evil which exists in all of his characters. With his mastery of such literary tools as structure, syntax, diction and imagery, The author creates a cheerless, sardonic tone to convey his own views of the nature of man and man’s role within society.
... and his own Lord of The Rings Trilogy. The theme of good versus evil is found in both Beowulf and The Lord of The Rings and main characters are used to represent good and evil, showing how much power good or evil can have. The second theme, Christianity versus Paganism, contrast in both books, and show sides of Anglo-Saxon religions and of possible allegories that lye beneath the surface of the story. Lastly, bravery and loyalty are shown in characters of the books, and shine through, showing values of Anglo-Saxon Literature.
Beowulf is a well-known Anglo-Saxon poem that has been in English classes around the United States for almost as long as there have been schools around. Beowulf is not an actual picture of historic Denmark, Geatland, or Sweden around 500 A.D., yet it is on a general view, a self-consistent picture, a construction bearing clearly the marks of design and thought. Beowulf to us can only truly be enjoyed if one reads it in the old English version. The effects of the poem are not the same, although the sense of the heroic beast is very true. The story of Beowulf is still relevant to today’s society and relates to problems faced in current everyday life. In our society we face simple problems and difficult problems and all problems have a good and bad about them. It all depends on the person’s outlook for the course of action that they will take.