Lord of Flies (Evil Nature) Essay Example for Free

Lord of Flies (Evil Nature) Essay In life, there are a lot of things that hold people back from doing what they want to do. One of the major things is the laws of society. William Goldings novel, Lord of the Flies, illustrates what would happen without society. The boys behaviors change significantly throughout the novel. The boys carry their civilized behaviors with them to the island but, as time goes by without society, those behaviors are lost. When the boys are first dropped off on the island, they still have their civilized behaviors with them. Shortly after Jack is given the responsibility of leading the hunters, he is given the opportunity to kill a pig. However, Jack hesitates as he begins to â€Å"understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be† (etext) and misses his chance. Jack is still too civilized to kill the pig. The boys are also unable to come to terms with death in general at the beginning of the novel. When the boy with the mulberry birthmark dies, the boys never really talk about it and Ralph doesn’t do a count of the boys because he doesn’t want his death to become real. This illustrates how the boys still feel how normal, young boys feel and that their societal ways are still very much present on the island. As the novel progresses, the boys’ evil nature begins to become more and more present. It starts off with their hunting. Jack goes from not being able to kill a pig because he is hesitant to killing them very violently. The hunters chant, â€Å"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood† (etext). Although killing an animal doesn’t seem bad, especially because they need to in order to survive, it allows the boys to think that killing is acceptable in general. Which leads to the hunters murdering Piggy and the near death of Ralph. The author of the novel, William Golding, states that the theme of the novel involves the evil nature humans naturally have that is held inside of them because of society. This is true to a certain extent because some of the boys evil nature may be coming from the circumstance they are in. However, this is true because Golding shows as society and civilization deteriorate, so does the boys good human nature. As the boys start to realize there are no laws or other people on the island to hold them back, they start to show their true colors which is the evil nature they possess. The way humans behave is very much controlled by the type of society they are in. In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the normal society is not present causing the natural evil behaviors humans have to be presented. Eventually, as the boys begin to realize their are no laws holding them back from doing wrong, the boys start to display this evil nature.

The Voice of Victorian “Longing like Despair” Essay -- Literary Analy

Matthew Arnold’s Poetry: The Voice of Victorian â€Å"Longing like Despair† John Stuart Mill defined the Victorian Era as â€Å"an age of transition†, where â€Å"Mankind will not be led by their old maxims, nor by their old guides.† Other contemporary minds saw in this transition the main source of profound intellectual and moral confusion, â€Å"that may validly be described as a crisis of personal identity.† (R. A. Forsyth) The poet and Victorian literary and social critic Matthew Arnold distinctly expresses his age’s deepest anxieties, rising from a world being utterly redefined by industrialisation. Much of his poetry is infused with intense personal and emotional discussions of love and loneliness, which spring the rising feeling of isolation and alienation. His writings respond to the disintegration of the traditional Christian social order and to the Victorian human condition. Arnold’s voice is one of despair, although it is also one of longing; one that seeks comfort in intimate companionship. â€Å"To Marguerit e: Continued† (1852) and â€Å"Isolation: To Marguerite† (1857) are primarily love poems where Arnold expresses his struggle with personal isolation and his hope in the potential remedying power of love. â€Å"The Buried Life† (1852) is a reflection on the Victorian human condition, notably man’s identity crisis founded on social and self-alienation. Finally, â€Å"Dover Beach†, often characterised as a historical poem, mourns the disintegration of the traditional Christian order, as the Church was a pillar of England’s society for all of modern history. Despite these distinctions, Arnold’s verse responds to the Victorian human condition, as he weaves together his despair of the present industrialised world with a longing to overcome its darkness a... ...ety. Ed. J. B. Schneewind. London, 1965, pp. 30-31. Print. "Matthew Arnold : Dover Beach." Representative Poetry Online. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . "Matthew Arnold : Isolation: To Marguerite." Representative Poetry Online. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . "Matthew Arnold: The Buried Life." Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3.0. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. . "Matthew Arnold : To Marguerite: Continued." Representative Poetry On-line: Version 3.0. Ed. Ian Lancashire. University of Toronto Librairies, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2012. .

Death of Marat Essay

I love the story of a conversation that took place at an English country house during a dinner party, where the host had just started up the discussion of death and asked the various guests what will happen to them after they die. Some thought about reincarnation and others though about different plains of being, and others thought that they were going to be annihilated. All of the guests had answered the question except for sir Roderick, who was a military type, a very devout man to the church of England where he was also the church warden, chief of the vestry, in the local county of Parish. The lady said â€Å"sir Roderick you haven’t said a word, what do you think is going to happen to you when you die? † oh he said â€Å"I am certain that I will go to heaven and enjoy everlasting bliss, but I wish you wouldn’t indulge I such a depressing conversation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  The polarity of death; It is talked about with such anguish and fright yet portrayed through art as something that represents relief or enlightenment that all together are emotionally wrenching idea’s that have been both subject for artists and served as an incentive for artistic production throughout history, perhaps as much as, perhaps more than, any other subject since artists have dealt with death, dying, the threat of death, escape from death, thoughts of death, and preparation for death through the centuries. For me, death in neo-classicism was the obvious choice because it so strongly reflects the change that was going through Europe at the time, where plagues, revolution and war scattered the common wasteland. Through the age of enlightenment death began to play a different role amongst artists and scientists where the interest in mortality and old age, the decayed body and the anatomical structure layered in lifelessness took new forms. With death came the peeling back of layers, skin, muscles, organs – embalming and mummification, posing the question on whether there is an immaterial soul or whether the body is only a complicated organ capable of immense things. This is something I felt is strongly expressed in the painting that I have chosen. The Death of Marat, painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1793 is a story that relates to the French Revolution, in which a radical journalist, Marat, is murdered in his bath by Charlotte Corday, who believed that his death would end the violence throughout the country. It has been described by T. J. Clark as the first modernist painting, for â€Å"the way it took the stuff of politics as its material, and did not transmute it†(1). However I believe that the painting also allows a portrayal of a philosophical confrontation on the subject of death. Through this essay I will argue how the painting demonstrates the struggle between the polarizations of death through a neo-classicistic point of view. Analysis The painting Death of Marat depicts the death of a murdered radical journalist during the French revolution. Charlotte Corday, the murderer, was a Girondin(2) from a minor aristocratic family and a political enemy of Marat who blamed him for the September Massacre. She gained entrance to Marat’s rooms with a note promising details of a counter-revolutionary ring in Caen. Marat suffered from a skin condition that caused him to work from his bath. Corday stabbed Marat, who died. She did not attempt to flee, and was later trailed and executed. While the painting is done in a realistic style, it has elements of being idealized, so that Marat’s death is almost graceful. His head is resting peacefully on the edge of the tub, and despite being stabbed in the chest he is still holding a quill in his right hand with which he was writing a letter, which he still holds in his left hand. This along with the dramatic lighting and overall calmness of the scene betrays the actually brutality of the stabbing. In fact, it’s a very peaceful painting. You could almost be forgiven for not thinking him dead. The Death of Marat is designed to commemorate a personable hero. David intended to record more than just the horror of martyrdom. In this sense, for realistic as it is in its details, the painting, as a whole, from its start, is a methodical construction focusing on the victim, a striking set up regarded today by several critics as an â€Å"awful beautiful lie. (3)† To fully understand this artwork there are essentially two aspects to consider: first the style used by David, i. e. Neo-classicism, and secondly the artist’s purpose, i. e. turning Marat into a hero of high moral virtues according to the classical tradition. Neoclassicism as the name says was essentially a rediscovery of classical art from the Greek and Roman time. This style prescribed rigorous contours, sculptured forms, and polished surfaces and was based on ideals of harmony and austerity. By applying such technique, death is glorified and allows further depth for the beholder, which makes the message of the decisive clash of life and death stronger. Marat is dying: his eyelids droop, his head weighs heavily on his shoulder, his right arm slides to the ground. His body, as painted by David, is that of a healthy man, still young. The scene inevitably calls to mind a rendering of the â€Å"Descent from the Cross. (4) The face is marked by suffering, but is also gentle and suffused by a growing peacefulness as the fangs of death loosen their grip. The significance of this is the inference that Marat sacrificed himself for the good of the people, just as Christ is said to have done. Other religious elements are also prominent, the halo like turban around Marat’s head, and the heavenly light shining upon Marat’s angelic face. The portrayal of Marat in this way contrasts with other accounts describing him. Marat up until the moments before his death was a violent man who totally supported the executions of all those who opposed the government. Marat was once known to have said, â€Å"In order to ensure public tranquility 200,000 heads must be cut off. †(5) It was David’s aim to â€Å"construct images of a secular saint. † David believed that Art must have a social mission (appeal to the beholder’s moral sense instead of merely giving him pleasure). â€Å"Art must contribute forcefully to the education of the public. † However in a time when violence was so prevalent â€Å"actuality† was replaced by inaccurate images resulting in historical misrepresentations. This was partly due to the fear people experienced, due to sympathies people held. David supported the Jacobins and so this representation is biased, giving only the Jacobins perspective, not at all representing the views of Corday or the Girondins who particularly hated Marat. All reflections in history are biased documents, but that’s another discussion. My interest with the Death of Marat lies within two philosophical notions, dualism and physicalism, Most religious views have a belief in the afterlife and the continuation of living in some other form after life has been completed. For Christians death leads to heaven, or hell to nonbelievers. For Buddhists death restarts the life cycle in reincarnation, the person becoming another living entity in another shape. Death in this piece of art has the power to confront the viewer with their own mortality, their own livingness, in ways that surpass normal emotions. In most modern countries, death is something that is hidden away from people, separated into cemeteries and funerals. Most would agree that death is an inherently bad thing, that living surpasses death in possible everyway. Death in culture has such wide ranging importance between nations and societies that one simple analysis does little justify the range of connotations. Conclusion The theme of death in art has been around for centuries. Death and the last living hours are present in the passion of the Christ, a subject matter that has been present strongly through art’s history. The dramatic use of neo-classicistic art techniques allowed David to capture not just a painting but also a symbolic gesture that death represents. By taking the fundamental pillars of neoclassicism and romanticizing them he was able to gain entrance to a certain presence. If there’s ever a picture that would make you want to die for a cause, it is †¦ Death of Marat. But that’s to separate it from the appalling moment of its creation, the French Revolution. For David, Marat wasn’t a monster, he was a saint. This was martyrdom, and part of David’s manifesto of the revolutionary virtue. When analyzing representations from the past we must recognize motivating factors behind representations. Subsequently we must question representations of the past, such as Davids â€Å"The Death of Marat† and the validity of opposing views. However death is far from being a radically new idea, it contains a wide range of philosophical concepts, depending and varying on cultural differences. The belief that human beings survive death in some form has profoundly influenced the thoughts, emotions, arts, scripts and actions of mankind. The belief occurs in all religions, past and present, and decisively condition the evaluations of man and his place in the universe.

F. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby Essay - 1490 Words

In one sense, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ seems to suggest that Gatsby s rags-to-riches success story makes him an embodiment of the American Dream. However, upon deeper of his character has yielded that there are aspects of Jay Gatsby that call into question his so called success. As a result, I have concluded that F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, although still displays the overarching theme that is the American Dream it, in fact, portrays ‘The disintegration of the American dream’ through the character that is Jay Gatsby. The American Dream is the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, regardless of their origin and history, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved (â€Å"Website,† n.d.-a). The dream is an outlook on life deeply embedded in American culture. The ideals the American Dream is based on being present in the foundation of American society, the United States Declaration of Independence. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness† (â€Å"Website,† n.d.-a, â€Å"Website,† n.d.-b). Although interpretations of the Dream vary from era to era, between different social classes and even between individuals, it has a common trait. The American Dream is about hope â€Å"Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms out further†¦ And one fine morningâ⠂¬  we will reach â€Å"theShow MoreRelatedF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby974 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty in the Valley of Ashes: The Great Gatsby â€Å"This is a valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and raising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air† (Fitzgerald 26). In the novel, â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† the author F. Scott Fitzgerald, mainly depicted lives of the rich and their luxuries but also showed theRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby1289 Words   |  6 Pages and many people realized their own version of the American Dream during this period. The American Dream is one that many people want to achieve. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates his true feelings about the American Dream in his classic novel, The Great Gatsby. 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Scott Fitzgerald is an acclaimed American author, popularly recognized for his novel The Great Gatsby. In addition to his literary work, Fitzgerald is noted for his unstable personal life. Originally coming from a low-income background, he could not marry the woman that he first loved. Even when he met another woman, he had to acquire wealth to marry her; this drove him to publish his first novel. He married her shortly after. However, a couple years after, heRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby1258 Words   |  6 Pages What Killed Gatsby? Love or Greed? To certain people, Gatsby’s death was a cruel and surprising conclusion to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But there is still some mystery around the cause of Gatsby’s death. Upon meeting Gatsby for the first time, one can tell that he has an obsession centered around Daisy Buchanan, his old love, and was dead set on getting her back. 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The narrator, Nick Carraway, is disparate from others due to the place he grew up which is exemplified when he moves to New York from the Midwest. Tom Buchanan satisfies his desire for love by having women in his life as well as his wife Daisy. Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan