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Cynicism In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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Cynicism has a prominent role in the creation of Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This characteristic of the author’s writing is found in every symbolic expression this book holds; the author ended this book in such a way that the pessimism throughout the novel is enhanced and elevated. The novel, Lord of the Flies, exhibits a pessimistic ending when Ralph is close to death, when the Navy arrives shortly after Piggy’s death, and when the boys are robbed of their innocence by selfishness and poor judgement. Ralph nearly dying at the end of the novel shows the readers that although Ralph had the utmost positivism for his time on the island in the beginning, the absence of rules and regulations of civilization can change the views of many for the worse. “Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs, then sheared off and fell in the water. Ralph stumbled, feeling not pain, but panic…” (181). Jack violent towards Ralph in this quote, which puts Ralph into a panicked state. Negative thinking for the fate of Ralph and the boys is imbued into the readers’ thinking as pages of the novel seem to dwindle; there are no elements towards the closure of the writing that show any optimism that …show more content…

The death of this unacclaimed leader heavily impacted the tone of the events to follow. Piggy was influential in many ways, but was highly underappreciated by many. His death in Chapter 11 greatly affected Ralph’s emotions. “And in the middle of them . with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (202). The Navy coming in Chapter 12 right after Piggy’s death is pessimistically placed by Golding. Unfortunately, Piggy was killed at a time where the boys were extremely savage and the Navy was close to finding the

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This passage signifies the passion and control of a clear mind. Ralph wants to get rescued at all costs since doing things to survive on the island is easier. He is trying to set an example and clear the path of all trouble to get back home. The island must be kept in peace. 9.

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The schoolboys were in another frenzy to hunt down Ralph. Ralph knows there is no going back to how they were. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true , wise friend Piggy” (Golding 202). Once Ralph was found by the naval officer, he knew that the schoolboys innocence was gone. He knew that Piggy would never come back, and that all of this could've been avoided.

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That is a microcosem of retreting in battle. The novel describes, "Ralph turned and ran" (181). With Piggy being killed and the twins being tied up as prisinors it makes sence that Ralph would run away, scine he was the last one in his tribe. Many times in battles in real life soilders offen retreat because they aare outnumbed. When Ralph is hidding in the busses Jack's tribe lights where Ralph is so that they can get him out and kill him.

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However, like Simon, Piggy’s death is more about what it symbolizes than the violence that actually caused it. Piggy is a symbol of wisdom, as he is mostly the voice of reason among the boys on the island. His death is the end of any notions of making a somewhat functional or intelligent society on the island. Also, his dead body being compared to

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Golding shows this when Ralph gives in to groupthink as he participates in killing Simon. Ralph and Piggy "found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society. They were glad to touch the brown backs of the fence that hemmed in the terror and made it governable"(152). Even though Ralph realizes that this group is full of savages, he decides to join in regardless. When everyone else joins Jack's group and he is by himself, he "screamed, a scream of fright and anger and desperation...

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“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy,”(202). This is when Ralph, one of the main characters in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, finally realizes all of the terrible things loss of civilization and innocence have done to him and his friends. Written during World War II, Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of young boys whose plane crashes on an island. Without adult supervision or the shelter of civilization, the boys have to fend for themselves, as they regress towards savagery. Their innocence is taken from them when two of their own are brutally murdered by the boys themselves, and their loss of humanhood causes them to spiral out

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Ralph and Piggy held onto order, with the death of Piggy “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart and [...] the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (Pg. 202) Chaos and savagery show the true darkness of man’s heart, bringing out the ugliest within us. This is a powerful ending to a meaningful book that wraps multiple themes into one statement. Including darkness of man’s heart and that order is chosen. We weren’t born in tuxedo’s, our appearance show’s how we have chosen to live our lives.

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“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy”

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Piggy valued civilization most out of all the boys, as he always sought the option that would support the entire group, and keep them all safe. The safest that the group of boys had been was when Ralph was appointed as the leader, and he and Piggy had gotten the entire group to work on getting them back home safely. The group isolated Ralph, Piggy, and Simon and eventually attacked them, despite their efforts to bring order and rules: “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.” pg 202. Piggy and Simon were killed by Jack’s boys, and with that, the most thoughtful and civilized of all the boys were gone and they lost their chance to be saved.

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Power and manipulation takes over people’s minds and turns us into egotistical people without even knowing and the sense of having control or authority can brainwash us into the people who we despise. William Golding fabricates his ideas around the time period 1933 after he received his English degree where he mostly wrote poems. Golding’s world consists of writing novels, pulling ideas from the real world into his own creative words on paper, this is where he developed his most famous book, Lord of the Flies, throughout 1954. The perspective of Lord of the Flies is through the eyes of the Second World War and since he was in this war, his point of view on violence changed and gave him a different outlook on society. In the 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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Ralph’s realization of power shift, loss of innocence, and whom he considers a friend changed. He learned the effects of jealousy and fear that lead to murder and betrayal. Most of the boys betrayed him and joined Jack, teaching Ralph the lesson of who his friends are. He learned Piggy may look different, but in the end, he had the most loyalty and reason. Jack’s envy of Ralph led to his outburst his disrespect for the boys’ right of speech and the animals’ right to live.

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