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Essay Comparing Lord Of The Flies And Macbeth

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The greatest problem that faces leaders, in the timeless issue that power always corrupts. This struggle plagues many men over history and turned great men into power hungry, greedy men. These issues are displayed in the novel, Lord of the Flies, and the play, Macbeth. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding is a novel that follows a group of young boys as they try and survive on a deserted island with little hope of ever being seen again. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a play that shows how a man without any desire to kill for his personal gain became a bloodthirsty killer looking for any reason to kill anyone in his way. The two pieces of literature are set over nine centuries apart, but they share similar conflicts that power caused …show more content…

The use of the conch in Lord of the Flies brings a sense of order to the seemingly chaotic society. Ralph and Piggy found the conch on the grass and use it to gather the rest of the kids on the island. When Ralph saw it he thought, “The shell was interesting and pretty and worth a plaything... (Golding 15)”. This proves that they like the conch and are willing to respect it as a symbol of importance. It is agreed upon that it will summon meetings and is the right to speak in the assemblies. The conch is the only sense of law that exists on the island as everyone respected this law. Even Jack did not break the conch when he left the main group. On the other hand, nature in Macbeth is important in seeing the difference between the natural and supernatural. When King Duncan died, there were “unnatural” things occurring in nature. Additionally, Lady Macbeth proclaimed, “And take my mike of gall, you murdr’ing ministers... (Shakespeare 1.5 47)” as to proclaim she would ran be an instrument of killing than being a woman with a natural bodily cycle. She relates to the supernatural as she would be power hungry she would sell her soul for power. These example of symbolism demonstrate the conflicts the plague the characters that focus on power and greed and will do anything to get their

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