Lord of the Flies

#3 Discuss the presence of evil on the island. Is evil inherent or is it created?

• *Piggy is always thinking back to home and civilization. He is mature and thinks logically, but he is constantly made fun of by the other boys
• *No supervision
• *Power struggle between Jack and Ralph
• *Jack would rather let his inner evil take over because it gives him a sense of power
• *Power makes him not want to go back to his old, civilized ways of living
• *Roger throws stones at the little boys for no reason
• *The Lord of the Flies symbolizes the innate evil within all children!!
• *He is present in everyone and is guiding people in the wrong direction
• *Simon’s conversation with The Lord of the Flies foreshadows his brutal, animalistic murder
• *The Lord of the Flies represents the devil!
• *“I’m warning you. I’m going to get angry. D’you see? You’re not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don’t try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else-“ (144)
• *When Simon tries to act and spread the knowledge of this evil to the others, he is killed
• *Simon is the only boy who is not blinded and deceived by inner evil. Simon is also the only one who sees the parachutist as a person and not a beast.
• *After Simon is murdered, all order and structure in society are destroyed.
• *Chaos, violence, and turmoil have completely taken over
• *Almost all the characters participate in the hunts, therefore, everyone is susceptible to turning evil.

Essential #10

"Jane passionately told her aunt that she was not deceitful. Jane claimed that if indeed she were, she would have said that she loved her aunt, but instead she declared that she did not love her at all. Actually, she stated she disliked her aunt the most of anybody in the world, except for her aunt's son, John Reed. Jane believed giving the book about the liar to her would be pointless. Instead, Jane insisted that Mrs. Reed give the book to her daughter Georgiana because Georgiana tells lies, not Jane. Jane was not about to stop sharing her beliefs there though. She continued to tell her aunt that she was glad she was no relation of hers. Jane then promised that she will never call her aunt again as long as she lives. She will never come to see her when she is grown up. If anyone asks Jane how she liked her aunt and how she treated her, Jane will say the very thought of Mrs. Reed makes her sick. Jane firmly believed that Mrs. Reed treated her with miserable cruelty" (34-35).

Re-writing this passage in a third person point of view completely changes my interpretation of the novel. Jane no longer appears as a strong, rebellious, and powerful young girl. Instead, she appears as an ordinary girl who has been mistreated and is unhappy in her situation. Originally, Jane’s innermost thoughts and feelings are presented in a way in which we can relate to and easily enter her world. When Jane reveals her emotions to her aunt in first person, we feel a closer connection and a sense of directness. Witnessing Jane stand up to her aunt first hand, demonstrates her bold and courageous personality. During this time period, children were meant to be seen, not heard. By hearing Jane, we see that she is not afraid to challenge her role in society. We feel that we are involved in the events and observing everything as if we were actually there. When her emotions are simply described, we have a more difficult time identifying and relating to Jane. Jane possess all the details of the story, but in a third person narrative, the story becomes less about Jane, and more about the actual story line. Unfortunately, Jane loses everything that makes her unique and dominant in the novel.

Essential #9

How do Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein compare and contrast as men, scholars, and scientists?

Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein are both ambitious explorers in search of unpossessed knowledge. Robert Walton is an Englishmen, poet, and captain of a ship. He is on a long, difficult journey to the North Pole. Victor Frankenstein is a Genevese, scientist, and extremely passionate about his interest. Once Frankenstein notices Walton’s desire to explore the North Pole at all costs: “I would sacrifice my fortune, my existence, my hope, to the furtherance of my enterprise” (11), Frankenstein immediately feels compelled to tell the story of his destruction. Walton demonstrates the importance of family by consistently writing to his sister. Similarly, Frankenstein values his family through beginning his story with a description of his mother and father. Both men posses a large amount of knowledge and consider themselves self-educated in regards to their favorite studies. While on his ship, Walton starts to feel lonely and is in search of a friend; he is able to find one in Frankenstein. On contrary, Frankenstein begins with an abundance of friends, but he will soon lose them. In Walton’s quest to the North Pole, he shows fear, uncertainty, and doubt about his future; however, Frankenstein has confidence and hope on his quest to find out the mystery of life. Frankenstein reveals that he may have achieved his dream, but it did not come without a cost. He became completely obsessed and absorbed in his mission that he neglected his family, friends, and social life. Frankenstein’s story serves primarily to warn Walton about the state he is currently in and the danger of the acquisition knowledge: “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been” (13).

Essential #8

Are Katherine and Petruchio in love?

True love is the ability to look past the imperfections in your partner and see a beautiful person inside. While everyone saw Katherine as rude, unpleasant, and insolent, Petruchio was able to look past these obstacles. He continually complimented her and was the only one willing to marry her. Her disrespectful behavior was most directly linked to her unhappiness due to jealousy of her sister and fear of never fitting into society. When two people are in love, they are willing to make sacrifices and will do whatever it takes to make the other person happy. By conforming to her new role as a wife, Katherine was forced to obey the difficult wishes of her husband. Even though Petruchio kept Katherine hungry and tired, he did this to help her. Katherine submitted herself entirely to Petruchio when she claimed, “what you will have it be named, even that it is, and so it shall be so for Katherine” (187). By the end of the play, Petruchio gave Katherine what she ultimately wanted. She was able to gain a social position in which she could command respect and consideration from others. Petruchio’s commitment to Katherine’s transformation demonstrated his desire to make a happy marriage. Love cannot exist without trust and loyalty. When the men decided to test the loyalty of their wives, Petruchio demonstrated his trust in Katherine when he raised the wager from twenty to one hundred crowns. His decision to raise the wager proved beneficial when Katherine was the only woman to obey her husband.

Essential #7

How are Prince Hamlet and Polonius similar?

Both Prince Hamlet and Polonius devised secrete plots to prove their beliefs as true. For example, Polonius believed that Hamlet’s madness came from his love for his daughter Ophelia. He decided to hide behind a curtain while Ophelia confronted Hamlet. Similarly, Hamlet believed that Claudius was guilty of his father’s murder; however, there was a possibility that the ghost was actually the devil. Hamlet had Claudius watch a play that resembled his father’s murder which would hopefully drive Claudius to confess.
Both Polonius and Prince Hamlet have multiple personalities. Polonius first appeared as a compassionate, nurturing father to his son, Laertes. He gave Laertes a blessing and valuable advice to live by. Not long after Laertes left, Polonius ordered Reynaldo to spy on Laertes and make malicious rumors about him. In the beginning, Hamlet was slow and careful to act. He did not immediately kill Claudius, instead he chose to wait hoping Claudius would admit his sins. While Hamlet appeared cautious, his actions at the end of Act 3 were far from cautious. Without even knowing who the man behind the curtain was, Hamlet instantly thrust his sword through the curtain, killing Polonius. Hamlet had no intention of killing Polonius; he wanted to kill the king. His actions were arrogant and extremely impulsive.
Hamlet and Polonius only cared about themselves and tried to exert power over the female characters. Polonius did not want Ophelia to have a relationship with Hamlet because he felt it would hurt his reputation with the king. He ordered her never to speak to Hamlet, and she obeyed. Similarly, Hamlet was outraged by his mother’s marriage to his uncle. He felt his mother had committed one of the greatest sins. In reality, Gertrude was only a queen without a king. She needed to marry in order to do what was best for the country. Hamlet ordered his mother to refrain from going to bed with Claudius. Both Polonius and Hamlet wanted to have power and would do whatever it took to get that power.

Essential #6

What parallels can be drawn between the Pardoner's Prologue and his tale? How is this tale different from the other two that we have studied?

Every vice the Pardoner lists in his tale are vices in which he is guilty of. For example, the Pardoner does not start his tale until he is finished drinking his ale. Soon after beginning his tale he claims that “wine is a lecherous thing and drunkenness, a squalor of contention and distress” (247). In addition, the Pardoner attacks swearing and perjury: “let me speak a word or two of swearing and perjury; the Bible is unsparing. It’s an abominable thing to curse and swear, it says; but perjury is worse” (249). It is obvious the Pardoner is guilty of lying when he tries to sell the relics to the pilgrims after admitting they were fake. He also subtly swears right before the beginning his story, “O for the love of Jesus Christ who died (250).” In his tale, just as the “young man was utterly content to kill them both and never to repent” (255), the Pardoner is content to lie and disregard his lesson. The central theme of the Pardoner’s sermons are all the same; greed is the root of all evil. Before reading the tale it is evident that nothing beneficial comes out of being greedy, and therefore, we can infer that all three men are going to lose their lives due to avarice. Unlike the Knight’s and the Miller’s tale, the Pardoner’s tale has no suspense. Both the Knight and the Miller use vivid imagery to show us a message. Contradictorily, the Pardoner repeatedly states the message. Courtly love is a subject both the Knight and the Miller touch upon in their tales, whereas the only reference to love the Pardoner makes is the love of money. The Knight stresses the importance of positive characteristics, such as honor, friendship, and loyalty. The Pardoner emphasizes the significance of negative characteristics, such as greed, gluttony, and perjury.

Essential #4

Where do we see seduction and lust start to destroy Gawain, our young hero? What is the author trying to tell us?

Sir Gawain may be one of the most courageous, noble, and audacious knights in the kingdom, however, since he is only human, he is going to give into temptation and make mistakes. The Green Knight enters Camelot abruptly, and immediately challenges the knights to a game. The game is simple: someone strikes him with the ax, and then in a year and a day, he can return the strike. Sir Gawain is enticed and the first to agree to the challenge. As he took the heavy ax to the green knight’s neck, Sir Gawain did not get the result he wanted. The Green Knight was still alive; he picked up his head and was off. While on his journey to meet the Green Knight, Gawain comes across a castle. The host was welcoming, but he also challenges Sir Gawain to a game. The host requests that as he goes off hunting with his men, Sir Gawain stays in bed and around the castle. He also requests that he spends time with the ladies. In the end, whatever the host wins in the woods he will give to Gawain, and whatever Gawain earns, he must offer to the host. Similar to the Green Knight’s challenge, this game is not as innocent and as easy as it seems. By staying at home, Gawain is expected to be seduced by the ladies. The five knightly virtues are friendship, generosity, courtesy, chastity, and piety. Sir Gawain is required to uphold these virtues at all times; however, by having an affair with the host’s wife, Gawain has already disobeyed them. The code of chivalry which has formed Sir Gawain’s moral policy has been totally shattered. If lust overcomes Gawain again, he will run into more trouble, for he cannot give back what he has given to the ladies. The author is trying to tell us that if we do not uphold our values at all times we will face negative consequences.