Category: Communication

What are the main events and characters that most influence the power dynamics in the group in Lord of the flies?

William Golding has used the language to present the power of nature in various ways.For instance he uses an array of literary devices such as pathetic fallacy to present the power of nature in Chapter 9. He used the thunder striking weather as a tool to develop the boys barbaric ways. ” The clear water mirrored the clear sky and the angular bright constellations. The line of phosphorescence bulged about the sand grains and little pebbles.” This beautiful description creates a mesmeric scene/atmosphere. Golding has used this majestic setting and taken advantage of this. So for instance no matter what hardships the boys faced they could go their and completely forget about their misfortunes. Golding intentions were to create a hub where the islanders could let loose . Golding might have included this in his novel so that he could highlight the fact the children were having such a rough time. is is also possible he was trying to send a message to the real world , that everyone needs a rest. Another thing is that Goldings novel relates to the real world is that the time of this books publishing the Nazis clan was about and major blood was poured.

The Beast was a character who influenced the power dynamics immensely. This is due to the

William Gerald Golding was born on the 19th of September 1911 in Newquay and died on June 19th 1993 in Perranarworthal. He was in the Royal Navy,William received his early education at the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. When William was just 12 years old, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a novel. A frustrated child, he found an outlet in bullying his peers. Later in life, William would describe his childhood self as a brat, even going so far as to say, “I enjoyed hurting people.” After college, Golding worked in settlement houses and the theatre for a time. Eventually, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. In 1935 Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. Golding’s experience teaching unruly young boys would later serve as inspiration for his novel Lord of the Flies.  The book ‘Coral Island’  William Golding influenced him to make this book. We can tell this by the similarities as both books are based on an island. He used the names like Jack and Ralph, so we can obviously see that he is using Coral island as influence.

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From my point of view I would rather Ralph lead me because he has the traits which portray a good leader, for instance he is liked by the majority of the boys, he is one of the cleverest there and he has major confidence. During the most part of what I have read Ralph has been the commanding but always in contention was Jack, another boy who was stranded on the Island. The reason why I think Jack wouldn’t be a good leader because he is not liked by the inhabitants of the island and is an aggressive person which always demands his way, so that means he would be a good representative right? No, this could in my opinion could lead to violence and therefore rebellious actions will be committed to over throw Jack if he were to become leader.

Evidence for this is when Jack punched Piggy because he was speaking of the truth, this indicates that If Jack was leader there would be corruption.This suggests that Ralph should be leader because other than Jack there is no one else. Ralph would make a good leader because he knows how to calm everyone down in a heated argument, how to stop hostility from growing and more importantly stop people from going insane and killing each other. On the other hand evidence suggests that Ralph wasn’t able to stop previous conflict between Jack and Piggy, so it could mean that if a fight was to break out Ralph would just sideline himself. But if Jack is an aggressive person then how will the little kids be taken cared of, will he neglect them? We don’t know with his unpredictable actions. So that’s why I overall believe that Ralph should lead me.

Eventually I think that Jack would become the leader by force or by using a sly tactic, the evidence which supports this point of view comes from page 138 where Jack says that “Ralph is coward himself” This suggests that Jack will do any dirty thing just to become leader of the tribe. He is badmouthing him to make him look good and then people will think that he is a good leader.

Power is kept by Napoleon through a number of methods. The most important from my perspective are his dogs, this is because they add an intimidation factor to his repertoire. This is on display when Napoleon sends the dogs after Boxer and the Pigs. “But just as this moment Napoleon stood up and casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered high pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before. At this there was a terrible baying sound outside, and nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn. They dashed straight for Snowball.”This quote emphasises the authority of the dogs and the effect they have within an instance of their arrival. On the other hand it might create the image of abusive of his authority power, this is because there probably was no need to implement dogs into the farm. However a conspiracy theory could be that Napoleon felt very insecure about his leadership position and therefore brought fierce dogs to make sure if anyone dared to contend for Napoleons spot there throats would be ripped out.

Napoleon keeps his power through the factor of intimidation. Napoleon was an aggressive leader and used all of his resources to his pleasure. This is shown when Napoleon ordered the animal residents to confess. “They added that Snowball had privately admitted to being Mr Jones’s secret agent for years past. When they had finished their confession the dogs promptly tore their throats out.” This suggests that Napoleons intimidation is built up by the dogs. This makes the animals feel a constant pressure to make Napoleons commands into a reality. On the other hand it could cause an uproar or kick-start a rebellion. We can relate to this in the modern world when Hitler took control of Germany .Hitler’s  reputation was built upon his intimidating personality.

Another important factor is the ability for Napoleon to read and write. This is a huge advantage for the pigs, this meant they could establish rules and be able to write and preach them.”As for the pigs they could already read and write perfectly.” This quote hundred percent backs up my view as it say that they can read write better than any other species. This meant that they could lie about something but couldn’t be challenged as they were either not literate or just could read or write to the bare minimum. This was exploited in the story where Snowball was under the cosh and the conspiracy theories went out the window, one of them was that there was written documents on Snowball planning to screw Animal Farm over. Many of the animals believed it due to their incapabilities.

Another factor is the messenger of Napoleon Squealer. Squealer preached whatever Napoleon spoke of, it was as if he was a slave of his but a bit more higher ranked. Squealer was one of the most intelligent animals on the farm, he could talk from sunset to sunrise. This got him out of sticky situations , and personally i believe that Napoleon would not be the leader he was without this trusty companion pig.”Comrades, a most terrible thing has been discovered, Snowball has been plotting against us from Pitch Field Farm” This seeded doubt into the animals minds and made him look like a traitor , and even worse made Napoleon look like a great triumphant leader. This is all due to the handiwork of Squealer.

The Final deciding factor is how George Orwell wanted Napoleon to be a courageous leader, since he created the book his imagination would be the reason why Napoleon would be the eventual leader.”Napoleon was a fierce looking boar with a reputation of getting his way.” At the beginning of the story Napoleon was a quiet sinister character. But as the story progressed Napoleons character grew in posture and leadership. He took the position of leader by the scruff of the neck, he also eliminated Snowball another contending Boar. This was all apart of Napoleons plan to build his empire at Animal Farm. Overall I believe that Napoleons legacy/reputation was helped to be built by Squealer, his negotiating skills and debating skills was an ultimate factor in what was the Napoleon movement.

Both poems portray to a certain degree violence. “Suicide In The Trenches” Tells the life of a “simple solider  boy” and how he did things in his life very simply . Whereas in For The Fallen it starts off with a stanza which is difficult to decipher into text I understand. Both poems commemorate war by selecting a figure who is essential to themselves in the current war. For instance Siegfried Sassoon uses the simple solider boy in the war as his central figure and Laurence Binyon uses the country to do this.

For The Fallen commemorates war by using brave soldiers who were mutilated in the brutality of war. His poem respects them by telling us what their brave actions entailed . Death during conflict is horrific so Laurence Binyon tries to find some positive things in the rubble of negativity. He says that we shall grow old and not those who passed on.Siegfried Sassoon poem commemorates war by using the smug faced crowds as a major talking point. The soldiers were marching off to war and the crowd was cheering them on. Siegfried Sassoon saw this as an ignorant action as he thought they were acknowledging the fact that  they were possibly going to die and still they were cheering them on.

In For The Fallen Binyon commemorates the brave soldiers using a poetic device called ‘Synechdoche’. The usage of this literary device is evident in the third stanza third line :Straight limb , true of eye , steady and aglow. This enables us to understand the routine of the fighting warriors and even though they died Laurence Binyon tells us about the songs they sung before the battle. Since war is a terrifying thing and if it happens it should only be for a good or justifiable cause or goal, he says that ‘age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn them. We will remember them. This part is where the major commemoration is , Binyon knows that when they died they wont get old they would just have a peaceful rest for a long time.

Suicide in the Trenches ends his poem differently compared to Laurence Binyons , i believe this is because of the difference in the central figures  of their poems. Both poems commemorate war in specific and unique ways. Laurence Binyon poems commemorates war by telling us how they marched off into war , ever confident. Siegfried Sassoon commemorates war in his poem with the usage of a boy who killed himself in the midst of war. This was used to show that Siegfried Sassoon point of view on war was negative.

JOE  

It was long time ago, but to this day I still ask why? I was there young, but scared. I told my dad David , but if he didn’t believe me. If my own dad didn’t who will?

A fresh start ,a new leaf they say ,  me and my dad now reside in London , Southwark , near the waterloo station. Here in England its really cold compared to the States. When we were living there dad worked for the army . I’m proud of him and one day I wish to portray his bravery . He tells me stories about when he was in Afghanistan with his friend Joe . Joe died  in the war , he was dads best mate , tragically when he had passed on my dad was never the same. Joe came to our house once. From our meeting I could tell he was a good man. I caught a glimpse of him , I wasn’t let in the room because dad didn’t want me to get mixed with the army environment. He said one day I would like you to become a lawyer or a successful businessman. I acknowledge it but never put any thought into it . Maybe I will. You never know.

Joe had a minor amount of hair , in fact he was bald. They watched a football match on the TV . I was peeking down the stairs waiting for Joe to come out so I could see what he looked like. He came out. Tall, but skinny. I didn’t see anymore because dad blocked my vision by standing in front . I thought after 7 years dad would eventually let it go , but Joe remained in the soft heart of my dad . It was Monday so I had to go to school , I attend the London Nautical school , the only nautical school in England .

My dad works from home , pretty cool I guess but it does mean he is a bit unsocial. He specialises in the ‘financial industry’ or that’s what he tells me . Anyways I went to school had a normal day , Maths. English. Science. No homework, which is a plus. That’s all ordinary but what wasn’t was what occurred on my way home , about 5 minutes away. I saw. Almost identical, but how? The thoughts scurrying through my head were bizarre. Joe. How could it be: He’s dead right?

I thought to myself that I was sick , maybe lack of sleep. But it keeps circling to the fact that I saw a dead man, a man who is no longer alive. How is this even possible. My dad said to me that he was gone for good as in he had passed one , but why was he there? It makes no sense to me. Why in our new home in England ? I tried to reassure myself, but it just didn’t work. It was almost as if I had a certainty. I bolted down the stairs and asked my dad if Joe really did die. He snapped and exclaimed “Why are you bringing up a dead man in my presence!” I left the room. I believed him. Joe died in the war

I looked in the mirror and relief looked back . it must of been a lookalike . Delight shone on my face . I felt like a heap of pressure had come me, like the pressure to solve a mystery. But there was no mystery, just a bald skinny lookalike. On that night I plummeted onto the bed . I was still , with my eyes shut almost as if I was deceased . Then I thought about Joe. It felt like tears were streaming down my face but I was too tired to tell. I fell asleep pondering what life would be like with my dad’s best friend Joe was here.

Awoken by something of the unknown , I glanced at my alarm clock and it read 5:55 am. Too early to be awake I thought to myself. I  tossed and turned until I got into a comfortable position , as my eyelids shut , I heard a slithering noise. I was clueless to where it was originating from . So I opened my door and boomeranged up and down the stairs. But I heard nothing. Silence. Whatever it was, It was gone.

In the morning I went to school, deeply hazed from yesterdays ominous awakening . I just about got through the day and I headed home, I passed a guy on the street and the same slithering noise reoccurred. I stopped walking and so did he. The noise stopped. I worked it out that it was coming from the guy behind me. What sort of human makes a slithering noise when they walk I questioned myself . But then I knew. That was Joe , but he wasn’t a human he was an alien. I tried to run away but I couldn’t , I fainted.