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Archetype In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

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In literature, an archetype is a prevalent character or action that seems to represent a universal characteristic, trait, or pattern of human nature. Derived from Carl Jung’s theories of the unconscious mind, The Oxford English Dictionary defines an archetype as “a primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors, and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious.” William Golding’s Lord of The Flies is an excellent example of modern literature that exhibits and establishes this archetypal thinking. During which seems to be the Cold War an airplane carrying British schoolboys is shot down onto an unexplored island, at first the boys find themselves lacking adult supervision, but soon discover that freedom is theirs …show more content…

Thus, as long as the fire exists on the top of the mountain, the boys will continue to preserve hope. However, as long as the beastie is atop the mountain, their hope will discontinue. Although the beastie takes a physical form, it serves as a metaphor for the fear of the unknown. By allowing the fire to burn out, the boys lose hope of rescue and surrender themselves to the forces of the unknown, which include their own behavior. Golding again employs the archetypal fire when the boys call for an assembly later. During this meeting, Jack breaks off into his separate tribe. After Jack departs from the original group to form his own tribe, Piggy attempts to restore hope by proposing that fire does not have to be necessarily atop the mountain but instead could burn on the beach. Ralph, still possessing an adverse mindset, contemplates the situation but soon comes to a conclusion that because the beast is guarding the original fire, the boys will be unable to create a new fire. Ralph, then says, “Of course the smoke won't show so much, not be seen so far away. But we needn't go near, near the--”(181). For Ralph, their collective fear of the beastie forces them to relocate their fire to a place that diminishes their hope for rescue. …show more content…

After the boys behead the sow Simon discovers the pig head in the forest, and his reaction to its appearance causes him to legitimize the reality of the head as a beast. Simon then finds himself having a conversion with the newly-discovered head. Simon contemplates the offering, “A gift for the beast. Might not the beast come for it? The head, he thought, appeared to agree with him. Run away, said the head silently, go back to the others”(192). The archetype forest symbolizes a place of evil presence. Simon finds himself conversing aloud with the spirit of the beast. The beastie is a product of the forest where evil can lead individuals away from finding hope. Later, the boys debate whether they should care for the rescue fire or join Jack’s feast. Simon remains engaged with the pig’s

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By this point every child on the island has some belief that the beast is real and it is in the jungle. Jack uses this idea to ruin any hold on civilization the boys may have left. He leaves them worried and scared and the hold that Ralph had on them in the beginning fades quickly. He is longer able to control them or keep them safe from their nightmares. By the end of this chapter the boys slowly fade into Jacks group and thin only increases his savagery and furthers him from civilization.

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Over the course of the book, Ralph wants to create a positive society for the boys in which they will get rescued, while Jack as a Machiavellian, manipulates and twists the boys into a problematic society. In the quote, "The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don 't keep a fire going?” (80), we see Ralph fighting hard to focus the boys on the bigger picture of getting rescued. Despite Ralph’s valiant efforts, we see in the quote, “Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him.

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Ralph proposes that they build a fire at the top of mountain on the island so that if ships were to pass by they would see the fire and potentially rescue them. Although they fail at keeping the fire going at first, Jack and his hunters nominate themselves to make sure the fire keeps going. As they attempt to reignite the fire, it results in trees nearby being set ablaze. Golding describes the fire in a way of giving it animal-like movements: “the fire laid hold on the forest and began to gnaw.”(44) In this quotation he foreshadows that eventually power and fear will start to eat away at the civilization the boys have created with each other and in their own minds.

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This encounter with the “beast” was not a fight against a physical being, it was a manifestation of the boys’ savagery. As time passes and tension amongst the boys rises, the inner evil and savagery becomes more evident through the murders of Simon and Piggy. The true “beast”

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At first, the beast is nothing more than a product of the boys ' imaginations. The smaller boys are afraid of things they see at night; rather than be blindly afraid of The Great Unknown, they give their fear a name and a shape in their minds. The boys fear the beast not even realizing that the are committing the evil actions of the beast. Only Simon reaches the final realization of what the beast for what it truly is, their own evil existing inside of them when he says “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it 's only us.”.

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Realizing Ralph's reliance on the fire and in otherways Piggy, Piggy begins to trust Ralph to protect him from Jack. His insecurities cause him to obsess over the idea of the fire to show that he does have some importance, while the savages are focused on power and hunting. Golding uses the struggle of power to demonstrate how destructive it can be. The desire for power causes the boys' civilization the crumble, discord and rivalries, and ends up destroying their island.

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The first fire is built to signal ships for their rescue; it symbolizes hope here. Once the fire is burning brightly, the boys “paused to enjoy the freshness of [the fire]... they flung themselves down in the shadows that lay among the shattered rocks,” (41). The fire comforts the young island inhabitants because it lets them relax with the hope of getting rescued. The boys on the island start to lose hope, even Ralph. Ralph tells Piggy “let the fire go then, for tonight,” (164), showing that he has stopped caring about getting home.

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In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, he created this book about a group of proper british boys to show that even the most civilize of all can turn inhuman and go savage. Also being in the war helped Golding to see what people were capable of even if they were good at heart. The themes in Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, were influenced by his childhood, his experiences in the war, and his view of human nature. Golding’s early life influenced the theme in Lord of the Flies.

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In Lord of the Flies, Golding explores the idea that human nature, when left without the regulations of society, will become barbaric. As one of the prevailing themes in his work, the dark side of human nature is represented through the novel, not only in symbols and motifs, but in his characters as well. The dark side of human nature is an integral part of the novel 'Lord of the Flies.' William Golding, a British novelist employs symbols, motifs and characters to create the idea that human nature, without civilisation will become barbaric.

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In the book Lord of the Flies, there were two small societies. The main one, which will be the one focused on, was made in the beginning. It was established with rules from the beginning. That then built the social hierarchy that is the group. There are different jobs and positions, these are what separates everybody and made the social hierarchy in Lord of the Flies.

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Everyone has this underlying darkness within them that is hidden away deep inside the nooks and crannies of their hearts. Golding demonstrates this through the use of his major characters, Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding utilizes character development to suggest the idea that when individuals are separated from civilization, dark forces will arise and threaten unity and harmony. Golding presents the protagonist, Ralph, who is decently intelligent and completely civilized, to demonstrate how once individuals are pulled away from civilization, the dark forces within them will arise and change how they are for the time being.

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We must make a fire.’” (Golding 37) This quote explains the need for fire and that Ralph has a clear view of what the boys need to be rescued. The other boys do not understand the true importance of the fire since they remain unrealistic in their pursuit of following Jack. Jack is putting all of his focus towards killing a pig because he thinks on the scale of events, that is the more important task to complete, therefore Jack and the boys have lost focus.

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In society, there are many standards that people must uphold to. In western society, it is uncommon for men to have long hair or for women to have short hair. Naturally, people will be conscientious of their differences between other people and try to change them or cover them up, and often times people who do not follow the standard are looked down upon. This leads to people trying to fit into the groups around them almost thoughtlessly. However, when people conform without thinking, it can lead to dangerous consequences.

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Being on the island everyone is contsantly faced with the fear of the unknown the younger boys need someone to protect them from the fears on the island. Although nothing manages to scare the boys as much as the beastie does. When a little boy with a mullberry birthmark informs everyone that he has seen a beastie. The older boys emitiatly belive its his imagination but even later in the novel the boys start to question the exsitance of the beast. After the killing of simion, jack is belives ut was simon disguised as the beast, and that the beast is not dead.

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In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the head of the pig becomes an ongoing and important symbol. When Jack goes hunting, he is able to kill a mother pig. He cuts off its head, places it on a stick and the pig's head becomes an offering for the beast. The pig's head represents the evil and violence that lies within the boys, it also shows a loss of innocence in the boys and it represents the title of the novel, ‘Lord of the Flies’.

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