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Dark Optimism In Lord Of The Flies

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In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding has many “dark” moments. Golding shows how he’s seen as a dark optimist in many ways. Being a dark optimist shows many different things. For example, a dark optimist sets out to find the truth, even if the truth can feel overwhelming. Also exploring the unknown to see it for what it is, rather than what people might fear it to be. An example of this, when the author writes, “Well. We shan’t find what we’re looking for at this rate.” (Golding 115). The reason this shows that the author is a dark optimist is because the boys are setting off on a journey to find what the beast. To find out if it is real or not. Even if it means that they could get
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Fear has the ability to manipulate people into believing there is danger when there is not, causing them to make rash decisions. These decisions can result in a disobedience to one’s cultural beliefs, as seen in Lord of the Flies and Beowulf. Even though the characters from Lord of the Flies and Beowulf come from cultures built around nobility and loyalty, fear tears them apart from the society they had worked hard to achieve. Although the boys from Lord of the Flies tried to keep their culture’s morals, the fear of the unknown caused the children to betray their Culture.

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Golding utilises characterization and symbolism in Lord of the Flies to portray the theme that evil is an inborn trait of mankind. Through Jack’s character, Golding emphasises man’s cruelty and initiates its inherent corruption. Specifically, the beginning of the plot when Jack’s innocence is starting to fail and the evil inside of him is spurring showed it. As the meeting is called between the boys, Jack spoke in

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The author of the science fiction book Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury is taken by most readers as pessimistic. The reason for this is because of the plot of the book being that instead of firemen stopping fires they create them. In addition to that, he seems pessimistic because of occurring events that happen throughout the book. The main character of the book is a "fireman" but his job as a fireman is to burn all books and houses with books in them. This seems very pessimistic, but as the book goes on and throughout the book it shows that Bradbury could also be optimistic.

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Although the other boys laugh off Simon’s suggestion, Simon’s words are central to Golding’s philosophy of anti-transcendentalism, that innate human darkness exists. Simon is the first character in the novel to see “mankind’s essential illness” which in turn, shows the beast not as an external force but as a component of human nature. Simons deep understanding of the beast is further expressed in his hallucination or his “discussion” with the lord of the flies that he has after one of his fainting spells, “There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And I'm the Beast...

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The novel, Lord Of The Flies, demonstrates that humans are essentially evil through the literary elements foreshadowing and symbolism, for that it is their nature when apart from civilization along with being in a state of fear, they will then unleash their true primitive selves. Through Jack's character, it is clearly evident that with the literary element foreshadowing, humans are essentially evil for that it is their true nature. William Golding’s article, “Why Boys Become Vicious” explains how humans are initially bad and how nurture affects the boys’ personality. It is stated that “when children go wrong” they can consistently “go wrong with a vengeance” and the amount of energy in children is more “powerful than any bomb” (Golding).

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Lord Of The Flies Jaedyn Clavelle Per 3 Lit comp 1. Imagine you're on an Island stranded, filled with fear trying to survive. Do you feel you could stay calm and handle it in way an “adult” would or could the fear bring out the inner beast which hides deep down inside all of us. The novella Lord of The Flies by George Orwell, tells a story about a group of british boys who crash a plane on an inhabited island. These kids have to work together with the help of a leader to govern themselves yet they find the results to be disastrous.

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Every human has a somber attitude hidden inside oneself that is exposed only in certain situations. The novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is an excellent example of the evils that escape one in dangerous matters as it occurs to it’s characters. With Goldings rigorous tale of a group of stranded young boys and their suffering on an uncharted island, he creates an intensely frightening mood for his readers, which allows his tone to be portrayed. William Golding provides a clear description of his cynical and apathetic tone, using Imagery, Language, and Syntax. Golding uses Imagery on setting, objects, locations, and environments to interact with the readers senses, which creates a fearful mood, allowing an apathetic and cynical tone.

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Golding’s views on human nature is very deep but it influenced the theme of the novel. The Theme of Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, is influenced by his early life, his experiences in the war, and his view of human nature. Golding’s childhood consisted of him being a bully and life in the war was awful because he saw things happen that humans just became inhuman and just kill and last of all his views on human nature is the evil is in everybody no matter who you are, or where you come from. In the novel all of his life event were summarized at different parts of

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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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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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The Power Of Fear in “Lord of the Flies”: No Greater Illusion Than Fear Fear is intangible yet has perceptible effects. It plays a significant role in human behaviour. Each individual reacts to fear differently, some overcome it, while others give in to it. In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” the theme of fear is discussed and it becomes clear that fear has the power to take over not only one’s mind but also control one’s actions.

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Golding says “The boys broke into shrill, exciting cheering” (41) in the beginning of the novel, then at the end of the novel says, “A great clamor rose among the savages” (164). William Golding who wrote The Lord of the Flies changes his word choice from “boys” to “savages” to emphasize the fact that the boys change into savage creatures. Three symbols represent civilization and change into chaos over the course of the novel. The three symbols representing change are Piggy’s glasses, The fire, and the conch. These figures demonstrate the important theme that the calm civilization will soon break out into disorder.

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Overall, The Lord of the Flies was a very graphic novel that sought to depict the dark side of human nature. Every aspect of the novel contributed to the overall theme. From the Golding’s decision to use teenage boys as the main characters because of their disposition to behave recklessly to his use of the pig’s head to represent the devil, the story is a very effective cautionary

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Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.

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