Abraham Lincoln once stated, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” The meaning behind Lincoln’s quote is simply that any man can be resilient after a hardship, but the true identity of the man will seek forth once you grant him power. This quote correlates to the characters Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies, and Julius Caesar in the play Julius Caesar. This quote applies to Caesar and Merridew because both characters are put to the test when they are given power, but their positions of handling vary. Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies held his power in an antagonistic manner. He used his power to manipulate the minds of the other boys stuck on the island. These actions led Jack to his savagery in which provoked his downfall. Julius Caesar, on the other hand, held his power in a more stubborn way but definitely not less controlling. Caesar used his power in an abusive way because it was either his way or no way, and his actions led him to his death. Both Merridew and Caesar held their power in a selfish, governing way, they used their power to control and fear others, and lastly they both created a downfall for their selves due to their uncivilized state. Jack Merridew was selfish with his power as he approached it in a competitive manner. He began to disagree with the actions and opinions of Ralph which caused his eagerness to dictate seek forth. Jack challenges Ralph’s strength and bravery as he threatens to go up the mountain alone. For example, this rivalry was acknowledged when the novel stated, ‘”I’m going up the mountain.” The words came from Jack viciously, as though they were a curse. He looked at Ralph, his thin body tensed, his spear held as if he threatened him’ (Golding 119). This statement shows that Jack wanted to test the manly hood of Ralph, and he wanted to compete for whom was more brave. Ralph had recently climbed up the mountain alone, but now as light was starting to fade Jack wanted to prove he was the best leader because he would climb the mountain no matter what. In addition to Jack’s governing hold on the power he yearns for, Julius Caesar also handles his power in an egotistic way. Julius Caesar’s stubbornness was
A Comparison of Plutarch's The Lives of the Ancient Grecians and Romans and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
In the determination of whether Julius Caesar was an intelligent, political hero or an egocentric, dictating villain, it is important to look at all of the facts. Born in 100 B.C.E. and assassinated in 44 B.C.E., Julius Caesar was legendary. He along Pompey, and Crassus created the first unofficial Triumvirate which was negotiated to appease both the Roman citizens and the power hungry rivals. Still, this agreement would not last long. After Pompey’s wife, Julia Caesar and daughter of Caesar’s daughter given to Pompey to establish the Trimvirate, dies in childbirth, civil war breaks out as Caesar leads his army against Rome. He fights until Pompey is murdered in Egypt. As Rome is “shattered,” Julius Caesar one person should rule. He
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This illustrates the theme in the historical play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Julius Caesar was a man full of arrogance and he had a sense of being self-absorbed. This kind of personality lead to bad things, it eventually led to death. Caesar was a well-known man in Rome. The people of Rome didn 't care what he did. Everyone thought he was perfect. I ii 273 He was married to a woman named Calpurnia. She lived in Rome. At the beginning of the play, Caesar just had defeated Pompey. I i 53 Some of the people in Rome knew that Caesar was getting into deep trouble. Brutus had to make a big decision towards the end. Everyone wanted Brutus to kill Caesar because he was never going to change his personality. He didn 't know what he should do, he didn 't know what is best for Rome.
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a novel about a group of boys who are lost on a deserted island and must do what they can to survive. At the beginning of the novel, two of the boys, Ralph and Jack, become leaders. These differences will form the main conflict in the story. The differences will cause them to hate each other and the anger that results is a recurring part of the plot throughout the novel. These two boys can be compared by the way they change, the reason for their actions, and the way they use or abuse power.
"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” Linking the movie and novel of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” there are many apparent differences. Despite the common plot, Hook failed to give the viewers the right idea of what Golding was trying to convey. Likewise, it is not only a change with the actual story line but also with some of the ways the characters acted. The 3 major differences that were seen are the shattering of the conch, the pilot’s presence, and Ralph’s attitude towards Piggy. Due to these major differences the novel left a greater impact on its readers than the movie on its viewers.
Marc Antony, Brutus, and Cassius are all critical characters in William Shakespeare’s famous play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Due to their distinctive personalities and values, there is no trait that all of these characters share, although they do share some traits with one another. Firstly, Marc Antony and Cassius are manipulative in nature, while Brutus is not. Secondly, the root of Brutus and Cassius’ failure is their personality flaw, while Marc Antony proves strong in all the ways they prove weak. Lastly, Antony and Cassius, unlike Brutus, do not separate their private affairs from their public actions while acts only with honor and virtue and completely ignores his personal concerns.
Jack demonstrates leadership qualities at the first place when coming up with a plan of being rescued. Nonetheless, as the time passes, he begins to enjoy a sense of power. He becomes forceful, hazardous, and is willing to kill. Jack and Ralph attempt friendship even though they have extremely different personalities. Their original feelings were
Shakespeare shows how power and the prospect of power changes people through the character of Brutus. Brutus’ attitude changes as he acquires power and detects the possibility of being powerful. Originally, everything Brutus does is for the good of the people and Rome itself. He recognizes that he has “no personal cause to spurn at [Caesar]” (I.I.11); however, he considers doing it “for the general” (I.I.12). Power has not yet changed Brutus’ attitude; he still focuses on the good of Rome as a whole and not just gaining power for himself. As the play continues, Brutus’ ongoing internal struggle of whether or not he should kill Caesar ends when he decides to kill him. He wants to kill him in a very specific way so that the people hate Caesar rather
In Lord of the Flies, British schoolboys are stranded on a tropical island. In an attempt to recreate the civilization they left behind, they nominate Ralph as their leader, with the smart and rational Piggy by his side. But Jack wants to lead, too, and one-by-one, he lures the boys from reason and humanity to savagery and a survival and inhuman state; they become the hunters. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding gives us a glimpse of the savagery that controls even the most civilized human beings. In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses interesting characters to explore civil rights and racism in the segregated Southern United States of the 1930s. Narrated by Scout Finch, you learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly fights to prove the innocence of a black man wrongly accused of rape; and about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbour who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed.
Jack was a very power hungry young boy. Although he doesn't have any power at the beginning of the novel, he took every opportunity to take the position of chief and was eventually successful. Jack's dictatorial style of leadership contrasted very directly with the more democratic and passive style of Ralph. Jack ruled with an iron fist, allowing no one to question him or his leadership. Jack represented the wanting for a single, all-powerful leader to guide the followers of society using any means he feels necessary.
In William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,William Golding’s Lord of the Flies , and C. S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet all depict how mankind is born innocent and turned to evil. The stories show that this conversion to evil is caused by the influence of society or characters acting in the place of a society. The corruptibility of mankind is illuminated in these texts. The treachery, dishonesty, and murder as shown in the stories are not acts of innocence. In their books, the authors point out that mankind is not innately evil but instead born innocent and converted to evil by society.
Jack Merridew is presented as the indifferent, older character of the novel. He is the antagonist and could be seen as a devil figure in the story. Jack is the hunter, the dictator and, throughout the story, is at constant battle with Ralph for his leadership. Jack wants to be in control of the island and the kids but the type of leadership that he offers is brutal and similar to that of a dictatorship and communism. Jack also believes that the group should have fun and stuff oneself with the food they hunt. He is not very concerned with the future of being rescued. On the other hand, Ralph wants order and work and is much more concern with being rescued.
Harry Hook did an amazing job of producing the movie “Lord of the Flies” though not a lot of people enjoyed it as much as William Golding’s book. The novel was published in 1954 when the movie was first released the year of 1990. But, the movie had so many amazing details you didn’t want to miss, it was fascinating to watch as well. On the other hand, the book had many action and meaning to it. For me, both the movie and book were captivating, however, some parts were completely different. Before I start talking about the differences of the award-winning novel and the movie, it is evident that in the book the kids were all English schoolboys, but in the film, the boys appeared to be
“Even the noblest men can be seduced by power; it has the power to kill, to distort, and to corrupt” Through this passage, Matthew Sims captures in essence how individuals often turn to betrayal and deception in order to gain their heart’s desires. This characteristic is not only present in life, but can also be seen in modern and classical literature, including the well known work of Julius Caesar. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the lust for power transcends any one individual and ultimately leads to death and corruption of not only Caesar, but also of Brutus and Cassius. The play begins with Caesar parading through the streets of Rome as he triumphs in his victory over Pompey. However, Brutus, Cassius, and many others hatch a plot to
This quote shows Jacks power at the beginning of the book in chapter one where he still thinks he is very high-class, when he still had power over the decisions the boys had to agree with. “Why should I be Jack? I’m Merridew.” This is another example of how jack is high-classed he would rather be called by his surname than his first name, as though he were an adult or someone in charge.