Lord of the Flies Essay Example for Free

Lord of the Flies Essay William Golding’s Lord of the Flies follows the tale of a group of boys stranded on an isolated desert island, after their plane crashed. It takes place during an unspecified nuclear war; which was a major threat post WWII. Throughout the book Golding explores how a difficult situation can transform middle class English boys into having a much more savage nature, as well as splitting the ‘good’, from the ‘bad’. By the end of chapter 1, Ralph and Piggy have already formed some sort of order, and by the time Jack and his choir are introduced, Ralph is already being looked up to by the other boys; especially the younger ones, or â€Å"littluns†. Jack appears, and instantly attempts to take over Ralph’s role and enforce his power by ordering his choir about as though he should be chief. The choir at first appears orderly and immaculately dressed, soon after this they are addressed as ‘hunters’, and due to the heat strip down their uniform, which causes them to look much less civilised. This also happens with the other boys in their school uniforms. The transformation of the choir marks a significant loss of order from the boys former lives. This could also symbolise the first step in a slow change towards savagery on the island and influence the behaviour of others. Soon after the arrival on the island a clear hierarchy is visible with leaders such as Ralph and Jack on top closely followed by Simon and the other â€Å"bigguns† with â€Å"littluns† and Piggy being at the bottom; having to accept insults and jeers from the other children, especially Jack, who seems to house a special hatred for piggy from chapter one. Near the beginning of the book Ralph and Piggy find a Conch horn near the platform where they have their meetings. The â€Å"conch† as it is then refered to, is a major aspect in the rest of the book as it brings all the kids together, (â€Å"we can use it to call the others! ). The conch could also be seen as a symbol of power and a link back to authority and their families; it is very unlikely that the other kids would look up to ralph without the conch, â€Å"and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch. † Shortly after finding the conch horn and prenouncing Ralph as chief, Jack, Simon and Ralph, decide to go on an expedition up the mountain, which will play a major part later in the book, as it is where they have several meetings, maintain the fire and cook. In chapter 2, the idea of ‘the beastie’ is introduced, by an unknown ‘littlun’. Not only does this idea scare him, but also all of the other smaller kids, and to a point , the ‘biguns’ as well. This symbolises, not only to us, but the kids as well, that the island might not be all good, and they might not only be having fun as they thought they would. Other subtle words and phrases used, such as â€Å"harsh cry† may also be a sign of events to come. The fact that the unknown boy who died in the forest fire would have been a massive shock to all of them. Not only is it the shock of someone actually dieing, but it is also the antipode of what they are used to, being safe at home. It might also slam the realization that they are in fact stranded. In the beginning of chapter 3, Jack’s â€Å"obsession† with hunting is clearly apparent, right from the start. It describes him like an animal, â€Å"Jack was bent double†¦ His nose only a few inches from the humid earth†¦ bolting and nearly mad† However, like in the first chapter with the pig, he is still unable to kill. This is probably on of the most frustrating aspects for Jack, whereas Ralph and Simon think from an entirely different angle, with the fact that they should build shelters and find fresh water, rather than eat meat. In chapter 4, Jack manages to don a mask which allows him to behave in a much more animalistic way, finally allowing him to kill; however it is also a massive step towards total savagery. Towards this point in the book, all of the kids are starting to behave in a much more savage manner. Jack’s change in behaviour comes from the first killing of the pig which engulfs the entire group and encourages them into savage behaviour. By painting their faces, they are able to kill and perform awful acts which they would have never considered doing at home due to feeling like different people. With the masks, and the change of personality that it brings, they also behave much more aggressively, â€Å"Kill the Pig! Bash her in! Slit her throat! † Even to the reader, this seems totally crazy and disrespecting of life. Jack especially changes his behaviour out of all of them. After the first kill, it’s obvious that all of his frustration is let go and the taboo of killing is lifted; he also acts a lot more aggressively, even without the addition of the mask. As in the beginning of the book, when they were planning to build shelters and houses, they now plan to kill a pig every day, even they were lucky to find one, and it took seven of them to catch it. Jack’s evolving hatred towards Piggy is probably due to the fact that Jack is such a different character to Piggy so he might not be used to Piggy’s personality and this could unsettle him. Jack could also possibly be jealous of Piggy’s intellect. They also have very different methods of problem solving and survival. Jack is more brute force whereas Piggy is more strategic. Jack is also very used to being in charge as it was what he was taught in the choir. As in chapter 1, when he thought that he should be chief and Piggy saw through Jack and saw the possible evil which lurked within. Overall, Jack’s statement may have had some credential towards the beginning of the book, but towards the later chapters, both reader and character see that it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain order and a basic civilization due to the way that all of the kids behave. This reinforces Golding’s idea that there is a savage element in all of us.

Education - Its Time to Break the Rules :: Free Essays Online

Education - It's Time to Break the Rules When he follows the guidelines of the assignment his writing is wonderful. Unfortunately, he rarely follows those guidelines which I concisely explain to the class. His writing is complete nonsense with no factual support, no structure and no resemblance to any of his classmateà ­s work! I know, I know. I tell him time and time again that there are certain rules that everyone must follow. Its just a part of life. I donà ­t know how he expects to get by in society that way. No one is above the rules. Its just the way the world works. We must break him of this habit before its too late!à ® Yes! you are absolutely correct! There is no place in our educational system for free thinkers like him! What kind of world would it be if everyone let their imagination run wild! Dear god, it would be total chaos! We can not let one student like that one get by or its the beginning of the end of our way of life.à ® He must be severely flogged and then subjected to a series of shock treatments to break him of his spirit and then make it clear to him that if any further outbreaks of spontaneous expression occur, he shall be punished accordingly.à ® This was a conversation between two of my high school teachers that I overheard. Actually , I imagined it, and, although it may sound somewhat extreme, I think it expresses some of goals of our present educational system. We are all force fed knowledge like it was brussel sprouts and some of us swallow it, although it tastes bad, while others spit it out. It seems like we spend a quarter of our lives in school in preparation to become law-abiding members of a society that is far from perfect. Why is it that so many kids hate to go to school? Has every generation since the beginning of time hated to learn? Is it human nature or could there be something wrong with the present state of education? Now I do not speak for everyone in my generation, but kids, in general, would rather be out having fun than in a classroom listening to a teacher. Even a good class with an exciting teacher does not beat swimming or a sunset or frolicking in the meadow or eating a banana split. Education - It's Time to Break the Rules :: Free Essays Online Education - It's Time to Break the Rules When he follows the guidelines of the assignment his writing is wonderful. Unfortunately, he rarely follows those guidelines which I concisely explain to the class. His writing is complete nonsense with no factual support, no structure and no resemblance to any of his classmateà ­s work! I know, I know. I tell him time and time again that there are certain rules that everyone must follow. Its just a part of life. I donà ­t know how he expects to get by in society that way. No one is above the rules. Its just the way the world works. We must break him of this habit before its too late!à ® Yes! you are absolutely correct! There is no place in our educational system for free thinkers like him! What kind of world would it be if everyone let their imagination run wild! Dear god, it would be total chaos! We can not let one student like that one get by or its the beginning of the end of our way of life.à ® He must be severely flogged and then subjected to a series of shock treatments to break him of his spirit and then make it clear to him that if any further outbreaks of spontaneous expression occur, he shall be punished accordingly.à ® This was a conversation between two of my high school teachers that I overheard. Actually , I imagined it, and, although it may sound somewhat extreme, I think it expresses some of goals of our present educational system. We are all force fed knowledge like it was brussel sprouts and some of us swallow it, although it tastes bad, while others spit it out. It seems like we spend a quarter of our lives in school in preparation to become law-abiding members of a society that is far from perfect. Why is it that so many kids hate to go to school? Has every generation since the beginning of time hated to learn? Is it human nature or could there be something wrong with the present state of education? Now I do not speak for everyone in my generation, but kids, in general, would rather be out having fun than in a classroom listening to a teacher. Even a good class with an exciting teacher does not beat swimming or a sunset or frolicking in the meadow or eating a banana split.

Freedom Is Our Birthright

In 1890’s many Indian leaders began to explore more radical objectives and methods of Nationalism. This was the Extremist phase of Indian Nationalism. The extremist leaders such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bepin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai criticized the Moderates for their politics of prayers and emphasized the importance of self-reliance and constructive work. They asked people to rely on their own strength and fight for Swaraj. Viceroy Curzon partitioned Bengal in 1905 for administrative convenience. But whose convenience? Surely the convenience of the British related to the interest of British officials and businessmen. Perhaps the main motive behind partitioning Bengal was to curtail the influence of Bengali politicians and to split Bengali people. This partition infuriated people all over India and everyone opposed it. Public meetings and demonstrations were held. The struggle that unfolded came to be known as the Swadeshi movement. This movement opposed British rule and encouraged the ideas of self-help, swadeshi enterprise national education and use of Indian languages. ALL INDIA MUSLIM LEAGUE: The All India Muslim League was formed at Dacca in 1906 by a group of Muslim landlords and nawabs. The League supported the partition of Bengal and desired separate electorates for Muslims. In the year 1916, the Muslim League united with Congress and signed a pact known as the Lucknow Pact and decided to work together for representative government in the government. ADVENT OF MAHATMA GANDHI: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born at Porbandar, Gujarat in the year 1869. He was an advocate by profession and practiced law at South Africa. He returned to India in 1915 and emerged as a mass leader. He was a respectable leader as he led Indians in South Africa in non-violent marches against racist restrictions. After his return to India he spent his first year travelling throughout the country, understanding the people, their needs and the overall situation. In 1919, Mahatma Gandhi gave a call for satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act( an Act which curbed the freedom of expression of the Indian people and strengthened police powers). He asked the Indian people to observe 6th April 1919 as a day of non-violent opposition to this Act, as a day of humiliation and prayer and strike. The Rowlatt Satyagraha turned out to be the first all-India struggle against the British government.

The Abbasid Caliphate

The Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled most of the Muslim world from Baghdad in what is now Iraq, lasted from 750 to 1258 A.D. It was the third Islamic caliphate and overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate to take power in all but the western-most fringe of Muslim holdings at that time—Spain and Portugal, known then as the al-Andalus region. After they defeated the Ummayads, with significant Persian assistance, the Abbasids decided to de-emphasize ethnic Arabs and recreate the Muslim caliphate as a multi-ethnic entity. As part of that reorganization, in 762 they moved the capital from Damascus, in what is now Syria, northeast to Baghdad, not far from Persia in present-day Iran. Early Period of the New Caliphate Early in the Abbasid period, Islam exploded across Central Asia, although usually the elites converted and their religion trickled down gradually to ordinary people. This, however, was not conversion by the sword. Incredibly, just one year after the fall of the Umayyads, an Abbasid army was fighting against the Tang Chinese in what is now Kyrgyzstan, in the  Battle of Talas River  in 759. Although Talas River seemed like just a small skirmish, it had important consequences—it helped to set the boundary between the Buddhist and Muslim spheres in Asia and also allowed the Arab world to learn the secret of paper-making from captured Chinese artisans. The Abbasid period is considered a Golden Age for Islam. Abbasid caliphs sponsored great artists and scientists and great medical, astronomical, and other scientific texts from the classical period in Greece and Rome were translated into Arabic, saving them from being lost. While Europe languished in what was once called its Dark Ages, thinkers in the Muslim world expanded upon the theories of Euclid and Ptolemy. They invented algebra, named stars like Altair and Aldebaran and even used hypodermic needles to remove cataracts from human eyes. This was also the world that produced the stories of the Arabian Nights—the tales of Ali Baba, Sinbad the Sailor, and Aladdin came from the Abbasid era. The Fall of the Abbasid The Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate ended on February 10, 1258, when Genghis Khans grandson, Hulagu Khan, sacked Baghdad. The Mongols burned the great library in the Abbasid capital and killed the Caliph Al-Mustasim. Between 1261 and 1517, surviving Abbasid caliphs lived under Mamluk rule in Egypt, wielding more or less control over religious matters while having little to no political power. The last Abbasid caliph, Al-Mutawakkil III, supposedly handed over the title to the Ottoman Sultan Selim The First in 1517. Still, what was left of the destroyed libraries and scientific buildings of the capital lived on in Islamic culture—as did the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, especially concerning medicine and science. And although the Abbasid Caliphate was considered Islams greatest in history, it would certainly not be the last time a similar rule took over the Middle East.