Adam Trask: The Struggle Between Light And Dark

“All human beings are commingled out of good & evil” was a quote once said by notable Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. This quotation discusses and supports William Golding’s, the author of Lord of the Flies, belief that all humans have a distinct character flaw that, when left unchecked by morals and laws of society, will eventually corrupt the individual. In Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, it’s shown how due to their environment and lack of supervision, the young boys slowly progress and evolve into barbaric, bloodthirsty individuals.

In East of Eden, Steinbeck explores the inherent power of choice over evil by characterizing Cal Trask and his struggle to recognize this power within himself. From a young age, Cal feels condemned to act on his sinful impulses because of his mother’s evil constitution. Despite this, he wishes to lead a pure, honest life, highlighting the complexity, difficulty, and importance of choosing good over evil.

Through the initial characterization of young Tim, O’Brien suggests that when faced with unexpected life changing dilemmas people will more often than naught end up clouded judgement and panic. Young Tim is ambitious and well educated, he is on his way to Harvard University on a scholarship. His life is heading in the best direction possible. This is until he receives the draft letter. His ideals “hurtling down a huge black funnel” and all he can do is “nothing …wait.” His helpless soon becomes rage, rage towards the government who’s motives for the war “were shrouded in uncertainty”. He is “too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything.” “Why don’t they “draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk?” Why must he, who doesn’t support this “uncertain” war “put [his] own precious fluids on the line.” As “the rage in [his] stomach” “burned down” he soon

At its core, is mankind essentially good, or does it use law and order to mask its evil? Through his book The Lord of the Flies, William Golding causes questions concerning the ethicality of humanity to rise to the surface of the mind. The stripping away of distractions and structure he depicts in his all-too-real novel reveals society’s true nature. As a reader studies the settings, characters and plots of Lord of the Flies and how they relate to significant events in recent times, Golding’s message of the evil nature of humanity becomes increasingly clear and impactful.

In the tragic, real life story about Ellie Wiesel and his book Night, we learn how people can change and act differently when certain events happen. We witness formerly moral men committing deeds that seem so vicious and cruel. Hitler and his followers were the epitome of cruel men. People still today still don’t know how anyone could act this way. Some people don’t even believe they were human. The men hanging a child, beating up Ellie’s dad, and the Rabbi’s son ditching his dad are only three reasons that showcase crusely and how moral men can change.

Asher’s desire to investigate and live within darkness ultimately aids him in discovering his own purpose because it enables him to recognize his own placement in the struggle between light and dark and thus motivates him to continue the healing work of his travelling ancestor. When he was a young child, Asher was encouraged to draw pretty birds and flowers, such as the ones he and his mother Rivkeh had observed during their many pleasant outings. However, Asher was also often reminded often of his mythic ancestor, a Jewish man who made a despotic Gentile lord rich; a man who travelled in order to atone for aiding the gentile in his greed before receiving an axe in the skull from an anti-Semitic peasant on the eve of Easter. This familiarity

Alexander Hamilton presents his knowledge of human nature in this statement, “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased”. In 1954 William Golding Published the novel Lord of the Flies in order to get a deeper look into the flaws of society that are related to the flaws of human nature. During WWII a group of British school boys were being transported by airplane, nevertheless the airplane was shot down, killing the pilot and leaving a group of boys on an island where there is no adult supervision. Today our topic will be focusing on the pessimistic views of

When placed in the right situations and circumstances, all human beings are capable of revealing a darker side of them-a side that almost everyone is afraid to show. No one will admit to having a dark side in them, until nature forces them to face it. Lord of the Flies by William Golding and A Separate Peace by John Knowles are two books that emphasize man’s savagery through their characters, themes, and plots. At first, all men have hidden savagery, then something triggers the savagery within them, and they complete the transformation.

In Burke Salsi’s personnel essay, “Bad News” he tells his story about how he was cheated out by the government in the draft. Burke had everything going for him, college and a football star and with these titles he should have been deferred but was not. The essay “Bad News” was made for a reason and it uses a large amount of pathos with a narrow eyed view on the subject of being drafted.

This passage helps the reader understand how the emotional burden of uncertain death weighed on the soldier. However, it also acts as a symbol by giving light to the fact that the emotional baggage they carry was brought about by their own fear of humiliation and shame. Many of the soldiers are there only to avoid the persecution that ensued those who evaded the draft. Through the use of symbolism, O’Brien is able to effectively highlight the burdens faced by the soldiers who conformed to the expectations of society.

In Burke Salsi’s personal essay, “Bad News” he tells his story about how he was cheated out by the government on the draft. Burke had everything going for him, college and a football star and with these titles he should have been deferred but was not. The essay “Bad News” was made for a reason and it uses a large amount of Pathos with a narrow eyed view on the subject of being drafted.

Although humankind attempts its best at preventing evil actions, eventually evil rises above all else. While humans are living ordinary lives and living in ignorance, evil is always scheming and waiting to slide up behind the turned backs of society as depicted in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. One could argue that this is not the case and that good deeds always overshadow evil and that evil is just an occasional blip. However, what one’s opinion of society does not outshine the cold hard facts of humankind’s natural tendencies; specifically, how things are never as they seem, how easily humans can betray their emotions and how humans choose to ignore difficult situations in the search for an easy

It is astonishing to witness the extent people will go an act out against instead of compromise to achieve their desired outcome. Following the court case in Harper Lee’s To KIll a Mockingbird, there is evidence that suggests the jury was uncertain of a verdict- although in the end they were willing to come to the conclusion that a black man’s life isn’t as important as accepting the true reality. The jury and it’s verdict reveal and support the uncanny truth that in 1930’s Alabama, black and white’s were not viewed as equals among any terms. In James Kinneys The Cold Within, each of the men exhibit different demeanors, yet in fact, each of them expose a human flaw found in society.

How maybe he was a scholar and maybe his parents were farmers.  Then O'Brien goes on to talk of maybe why this young man was in the army, and maybe why he was fighting;  these are something’s that are taught in the schools.  O'Brien states that the man may have joined because he was struggling for independence, juts like all the people that were fighting with him.  Maybe this man had been taught from the beginning that to defend the land was a mans highest duty and privilege.  Then on the other hand maybe he was not a good fighter, and maybe in poor health but had been told to fight and could not ask any questions.  These reasons are all reasons that are taught in textbooks; they go along with the idea of the draft.  Some people go fight because they want to and others go because they are told they have to. How do you tell these people apart in the heat of battle or when they are dead?  The way that O'Brien starts to describe the young man as someone who was small and frail, and maybe had plans for a bright future puts sorrow in the readers heart, in that all his plans can not happen for him or maybe the family that is longing for his return.  It also shows the regret that maybe going on in the killers’ mind.  For O'Brien to be writing on how this young mans life has come to a sudden end and his plans for the future is over is intriguing.  Then to add to that he had the story written through the eyes of the soldier that ended this young mans life.  The

In the words of the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Our greatest evils flow from ourselves.” In other words, humans harbor an ever present looming evil nature within themselves. Evil is the force in nature that governs and gives rise to wickedness and sin, or the wicked or immoral part of someone. This concept of inner evil rising to the surface permeates William Golding’s dystopian novel Lord of the Flies, that evil exists in every human, proven through the characterization of the marooned boys. There is foreshadowing of the dangers of the boys’ inner immorality from one of the boys, Simon. As the novel progresses, evil starts asserts itself as the boys cast off their innocence and humanity, and turning against each other. Even the