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Richard Cory And Lord Of The Flies By Edwin Arlington Robinson

980 Words4 Pages
According to Mental Health America, 1 in 5 adults suffer from a mental illness. That’s more than 40 million Americans who live with a disorder every day, oftentimes invisible to other people. “Richard Cory” is a poem by author Edwin Arlington Robinson that touches on the idea of hiding mental illness and problems behind a MASK. The work goes hand in hand with William Golding’s Lord Of the Flies, which also touches on different points on the map of huMAN flaws and how a viel permits them to come into fruition. While Golding uses MASKs both physically and symbolically in order to illustrate the concept of instinct SAVAGEry in MAN, Robinson relates the use of MASKs by society to conceal their flaws. “Richard Cory” and Lord Of the Flies utilize the idea of MASKs symbolically in order to commentate on the mosaic of mortal MAN and its plethora of pitfalls. MASKs in Lord Of the Flies operate as a catalyst for SAVAGE evolutionary instincts to MANifest themselves in Jack’s hunters. As blood spills, the pillars of civility and learned decency of British society crumble, and the boys fall into a blind rage of bloodlust. The group is aware of this sharp plunge into barbarity, as stated in the text, “They understood only too well the liberation into SAVAGEry that the concealing paint brought,” (Golding 172). Despite this cognizance, the hunters continue to wear the paint. There are two likely explanations for this continued embellishment: 1.) The boys feel an urge to hide behind a face
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