Xi 1
Grace Xi
Mr. Halter
Literary Style N-104
10/1/14
Every group of people has a leader, object or mantra that represents what the group needs or treasures the most. This can be observed in the newest fashion trends that symbolize beauty and sophistication to a group of teenage girls, the newest iPhone or tablet to symbolize wealth to a group of rich businessmen, or even a flag to symbolize our nation. William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies explores this concept of giving a normal object great power by using it to convey an ideology of a group of people. Golding describes a world where there is no civilization, and the only connection to the civilized world is through the objects that represent different aspects of it. This essay will
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In the beginning of chapter 4, Golding describes Ralph using the conch to call a meeting within the group of boys. He writes, “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority;”(59). Here, Golding uses alliteration of the words “adult” and “authority” in order to emphasize that the reason the conch has its authority and power that it does, is because it is the object that ties the boys to the adult world of civilization. This emphasis illustrates that the conch itself, as an object is not powerful, but it is the hopes and belief that the conch is bound to, the meaning behind the object that gives it the power it has. Therefore, this quote implies that …show more content…
As Jack starts to form his own group, we see even more people straying from the belief of civilization, the belief that order is even necessary. Golding writes “[Jack] And the conch doesn’t count on this end of the island”(150). This phrase suggests that the hunters have already abandoned their previous ideals and instead turned to instant gratification rather than stability and safety. They now achieve a feeling of security by hunting and killing aimlessly instead of clinging to reminders of the outside world, such as the huts and meetings . Therefore, they are not affected by their old ideals of civilization, represented by the conch, and do not need the conch because they have already lost their ties with civilization, making the conch almost powerless. This passage implies that when the ideas represented by an object become obsolete, the object’s power is lost. This proves that it is only the representation and people behind that object that makes it
Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his bold novel, The Scarlet Letter tackles a variety of themes that include: sin, guilt, redemption, postfeminism, and organized religion's abuse of power. Hawthorne spoke in a somber and grim tone, designed to arouse a sense of suspense for his readers. The audience in which he was addressing would have been conservative Christians and women suffragettes, all of whom reflected the ideologies during this time period. By instilling clever diction, Hawthorne exposes hypocrisy in Puritanism and objects against the religion's superfluous punishments; which force individuals to endure unnecessary and extreme suffering.
Many college students have the misconception that reading Shakespeare is a waste of time. Michael Mack presents a different view in his speech to college freshmen “From Why Read Shakespeare?” Mack’s speech constructed an effective argument that reading shakespeare will help you in life through his use of rhetorical devices and counterclaims.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner is an action, adventure, science fiction book. It is about a teenager named Thomas, who arrives in an enclosed environment with no memory of his past. He lives with other teenagers, all boys. Everyday, they try to figure out a way to escape the maze, and seek freedom, but Thomas figured a way out. All of the gladers (the nickname of the people, due to them living in a place called the glade) ran out in the maze, most of them were killed by grievers (monsters that live in the maze), but some of them survived including Thomas. The survivors escaped the maze.
Sometimes whats ideal in a situation is not what the truth of the situation and can cause your ideals to be lost. In William Golding’s novel, “Lord of the Flies”, he demonstrates a shift in some of the characters from the thought of idealism to the reality and truth of the world. Ralph is a good example of this shift, he starts out thinking the island will be a fun place and they’ll have fun waiting to be rescued, but soon he realizes that there is going to be more hardship and struggles to keep up the moral and hope of rescue. In the book Ralph wanted to keep everyone safe and get them off the island, but Jack wants to be a leader and messes up his plans, making it so that Ralph is alone in his plan to get rescued.
The conch was used to call meetings and whosoever held it, had the power to speak. Jack starts to disobey the conch because he is turning more and more savage-like. “[T]hey closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge that they had outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink,” thought Jack. As the story progresses, Jack realizes he wants to kill pigs, not keep fires going for rescue. Jack shouted, “We don’t need the conch anymore.” At this point in the novel, Golding is showing the reader that because Jack is lusting for power, he is turning into a ferocious monster. By turning into a savage, he has lost all sense of civilization and democracy.
One’s behaviour can have an substantial impact on a society's outcome. There is a common notion that humans are nurtured to be peaceful and civil. However this belief is contradicted by the action of the boys, in William Golding’s, “Lord of the Flies”. A group of schoolboys are abruptly thrown out of their controlled and civil circumstances into an inhabited tropical island in the middle of the Pacific. The novel is Golding’s attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature, by using symbolism to delineate this theme. Golding’s extensive use of symbolism, such as the conch, the signal fire and the painted faces helps demonstrates the defects of society. These symbols are used by Golding to illuminate the subsequent effects on the boys’ behaviour, which undoubtedly illustrates the defects of human nature on society.
In the story The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, I find that Hosseini uses an abundance of symbolism to get his point across to the readers. The collection of quotes Hosseini writes had me stop to think about what the meaning behind his words was. It really made me think deeply about the meaning of each quote. He states the quote, and leaves it for the reader to decide his or her own musings to it. His words truly caught my attention. “With me as the glaring exception, my father molded the world around him to his liking. The problem, of course, was that Baba saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can’t love a person who lives that way without fearing him too. Maybe even hating him a little”
In 1929 the effect of The Great Depression echoed throughout The United States. Forcing many farmers to sell their farms and give up on their pursuit of the widely sought after American Dream. Although in third person Steinbeck centers the novella around the two main characters George, and Lennie. Using strong rhetorical strategies such as diction, imagery, novel structure, and literary devices. Steinbeck crafts a story that expresses the hardships of achieving the American Dream.
In Hawthorne's description of Hester on the pedestal he paints this shameful picture of Hester. He describes her in a guilty manner and emphasizes the pain Hester is feeling from this shame. Hawthorne expresses all of this guilt and pain in his first set of parallel phrases. For instance he repeats "a fixed gaze" twice in order to show the reader the intenseness of this part and then goes on to say the sun is "lighting up her shame" and making her "sin" clear to everyone watching her. He also refers to the "midday sun" as lighting up her shame and therefore making it more visible to the "whole people." He even goes as far as to describe her child as "sin-born" when she makes eye contact with the stranger, who is found out to be her husband. This adds to her feeling of guilt as Hawthorne makes it clear the baby in her arms is not her husband's child. Yet when he gets to the second set of parallel phrases he has this complete rhetorical shift and this whole guilty look of Hester disintegrates into one of almost sympathy. He goes from shaming and making Hester look guilty to describing how her privacy has kind of been torn away from her because of this whole situation. For example, he makes note of private affairs and compares them to the event taking place, he says things such as "features that should have been seen only in the quiet gleam of the fireside."
The conch was well respected and it had brought discipline to the group. An example of this respect and obedience is shown in chapter four: “They obeyed the summons of the conch, partly because Ralph blew it, and he was big enough to be a link with the adult world of authority [...]” (Golding 152). In this quote, the narrator is telling us that the boys had respected the conch and obeyed it. They also considered Ralph as the leader since the conch was basically under his control.
Ralph came to Jack’s tribe and they had a conversation: “‘I’m chief, said Ralph tremously. ‘And what about the fire? And I’ve got the conch-’ ‘You haven’t got it with you,’ said Jack, sneering”(150). Jack showed no care for the conch and its uselessness to him and his leadership.
“No one said anything but the faces turned to Ralph were intent. He flourished the conch. He had learnt as a practical business that fundamental statements like this had to be said at least twice, before everyone understood them. One had to sit, attracting all eyes to the conch, and drop words like heavy round stones among the little groups that crouched or squatted. He was searching his mind for simple words so that even the littluns would understand what the assembly was about.
The conch is a symbol of democratic power at the beginning of the story. First, it is used to gather the boys. Ralph blows the conch to assemble them
Symbolism is a very important factor in many books. The use of symbolism in William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies is the most essential aspect to the function of the story. At first glance you may not think the symbols are very important, but with some in-depth thought you can see how it is necessary to explain the microcosm of an island.
In Marjane Satrapi's word-specific panel about refugees fleeing north on page 89, she indicates the perilous situation of the war through taxis escaping flaming iconography. The bombing of border towns in the Iran-Iraq war forces residents to abandon their homes and belongings in the hope of finding refuge in the northern cities. The foreboding, chaotic scene underscores a period of turmoil in Iranian history. The words of the panel state, “After Abadan, every border town was targeted by bombers. Most of the people living in those areas had to flee northward, far away from the Iraqi missiles.” Satrapi sets the backdrop of warfare with intense, slightly militaristic words such as “targeted,” “flee,” and “far away”. This being a word-specific panel, the graphic