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Lord of the Flies Essay

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Sam Brandt English 10 Honors Ms. Hedrick 8 October 2010 Fundamentally Virtuous As Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung once said, “As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of a mere being.” In other words, man’s purpose in life is to help one another find the good in a world of malevolence. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, it becomes apparent to the reader the contrast in shades between the good and the bad. Each person here on Earth has two parts of his or her being: light and dark. It is the side people choose which defines them. Take for example Ronald Reagan. He could have easily continued with his successful career as a movie star. But instead, he chose to move …show more content…

The conch symbolizes a variety of things, like power, sanity, leadership, and civilization. The author writes, “and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch” (Golding 22). Had Ralph not discovered the conch, who know what kind of chaos the small island might have experienced. The shell is revered and respected, even when the two rivals are fighting. Even the little kids know that when someone is holding the conch, they are not to speak. The shattering of the conch shell symbolizes the end of sanity on the island. Similarly, Ralph, Piggy, and Simon all symbolize different parts of ‘light’. Ralph is the one who keeps stability. He is the leader; he keeps order as much as possible. Piggy is the brains behind the vast majority of the operations on the island. He is clever, and without him, there is a high chance the condition on the island would have deteriorated much more quickly. As for Simon, he shows a sort of connection to nature, an innocence. For instance, “ The candle- buds opened their wide white flowers glimmering under the light that pricked down from the first stars. Their scent spilled out into the air and took possession of the island” (Golding 57). Simon is arguably the most agreeable individual on the island. He does not fight or quarrel, and the reader often sees him doing nice things for the other boys on the island. Without this ancient bond with nature and goodness in society as a whole, one would find that the world would be full of

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