Analysis Of I Stood Upon A High Place By William Goldberg

Adversity is presented in many forms during ‘Lord of the Flies’ for the main character Ralph. It comes not only in the form of other people but a corruption of what society the boys on the island have managed to hold onto.

For a character to be morally ambiguous the reader cannot determine whether the character is purely evil or purely good. Readers must take into account everything such as actions, dialogue, descriptions, and interactions with other characters, weighing each as good or evil. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays Ralph as a morally ambiguous character struggling to repulse the innate beast within him and the boys. Ralph’s morals are undetermined as the leader on the island, the role he plays in Simon’s death, and the civility he tries to maintain.

In Lord of the Flies Golding expresses the opinion that all humans are capable of savagery and brutality , no matter where they came from or who they are. In the novel, the stranded boys begin the book by establishing a society similar to the one they left behind in England, but soon their society breaks apart into rival groups ruled by lead by Ralph and Jack. We soon find that the boys (and through their example all human beings) have an inherent capacity for violence and brutality no matter no matter their background or place of origin. The boys behaved according to the norms of their society when they first arrived on the island, but without the restraining hand of adults soon begin to reveal their basic natures. These different traits are revealed in each character: Ralph represents order and goodness.

“I Stood Upon a High Place,” a poem by Stephen Crane, depicts the speaker looking down upon devils living in an ironic paradise characterized by sin. In order to get his theme of the mindlessness of savagery, Crane utilizes several structures, including, foremostly, the first line (which happens to be the title). Stating “I stood upon a high place,” signifies the narrator’s sense of superiority over the savages below him on which he looks down upon. This “high place” contrasts with the “devils” below, potentially suggesting that the narrator is the opposite of a devil: an angel or saint of sorts, demonstrating that they are probably more morally correct and level-minded when it comes to making the right decision. Furthermore, the fact

Human nature is complex. It may take over an individual’s mind in many desperate and threatening situations. In Golding’s compelling novel, Lord of the Flies, it is implied that the evil, or bad side of humanity will overshadow the good. However, there are certain situations present in the novel that portray the opposite. The depiction of human nature in this novel creates a nice balance between the positive and negative aspects of humanity. Although Golding’s novel is portrayed as pessimistic, Ralph’s words and actions when dealing with various situations, Sam and Eric’s loyalty to Ralph, and the boys’ rescue at the end of the novel contradict this idea, creating a commendable balance of pessimistic and optimistic situations.

The novel " Lord of the Flies" focuses on the conflict that exists between two competing impulses that Golding, suggests exist within all humans; these being the instinct to follow the rules, act in a peaceful manner and comply to moral commands compared to the instinct to act violently in order to gain control over others and to satisfy our own greed and personal desires. The conflict exists within the novel in several forms; law and order vs. anarchy, civilization vs. savagery and the basic term of good vs. evil. Golding uses these themes consistently throughout the novel, clearly associating instinctive savagery with evil and the instinct of civilisation with good. The representation of this lies in Ralph and Jack, the two central

In the novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of English boys in their adolescence are stranded on an island. They crash-land while being evacuated because of an atomic war, so the boys must learn to cooperate with each other in order to survive. The boys are civil at first, but the bonds of civilization unfold as the rapacity for power and immediate desires become more important than civility and rescue. The conflict between Ralph, the protagonist, and Jack, the antagonist, represents the conflict between the impulse to civilization and the impulse to savagery, respectively. In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses Ralph and Jack’s struggle for power to show that greed and lust for power can corrupt the best

To fully understand the connection between “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, and the poem “I Stood Upon a High Place” by Stephen Crane, one must have an in depth comprehension of the true meaning of humanity. Humanity is made up of the qualities of being a human being, which refers to living civilized, being humane, and working together. However, in the novel and the poem people forget their values of living civilized lives of their qualities that make them humane, and become their inner evilness that turns them into angry savages.

This story shows that the evil around us can sometimes deceive us into wrongdoing if we do not trust our moral instincts or trust those in higher positions than us. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, used his work to show the public that fear can lead people to destruction and evil ways if we do not attempt to control the beast within us. The way that Golding showed his audience this, was by carefully and thoughtfully placing symbolism throughout the novel and in each and every character.

Thesis Statement: The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding portrays the theme that regardless of each person’s different background and characteristics, every individual has the ability to commit brutal acts. While this book depicts Ralph and Piggy as the most civilized characters, and Jack and his hunters as young English choir boys, their actions reveal that they all have the capability to act violently.

“’Which is better – to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is? Which is better – to have rules and agree or to hunt and kill? Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?’” (180) In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding gives the reader a look into a society made up of a group of young British boys, all raised in a sophisticated and civil manner, who crash landed on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. While fighting to survive on the island, most of the boys gave in to the Beast or their savage side that is inside them. Others, like Ralph, find themselves in a battle with their own mind and the rest of the boys. Without rules and order, the boys quickly change

A philosopher named Peter Singer once said, “All the arguments to prove man’s superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering animals are our equals.” Human beings always look for ways to make themselves feel superior to one another. Whether it be by looking down upon those whose come from different backgrounds, or feeling superior because they are part of a privileged group of people, it is natural for humans to disdain the inferior and place themselves on a higher social level. Children will often scorn others for things such as status, but how far can immature teasing lead them? This idea of power imbalance is exemplified in William Golding's novel, Lord of The Flies, where we see young boys look down upon each other based on their status before they were isolated from the rest of the world. Golding describes Jack, Ralph, and Piggy in a way that establishes that each boy represents some class in society, which affects their decisions and the overall outcome of their stay on the island.

In William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, a large group of privileged English schoolboys are stranded on an island in the Pacific with no adults after the plane they were on crash-landed. The boys are brought together by the Conch that is blown by Ralph in the beginning of the book. The conch is symbolic of order and authority in the book. The boys go under a transformation of these privileged schoolboys to a group of rag tag savages trying to kill each other for power throughout the course of this book. This essay will be outlining the transition from good boys that listen to authority, into boys that rely on their id of savagery, and the descent to evil, destruction and panic through the journey and

The human mind is made of up two instincts that constantly have conflict: the instinct to live by society’s rules and the instinct to live by your own rules. Our civilized will has been to live morally by law and order, and our savage will has been to act out for our own selfish needs. We each choose to live by one or the other depending on how we feel is the correct way to live. In this allegorical novel, William Golding represents the transformation from civilization to savagery in the conflict between two of the main characters: Ralph who represents law and order and Jack who represents savagery and violence. Lord of the Flies has remained a very controversial novel to this day with its startling, brutal, and truthful picture of the

“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.