Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Book Review

'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding - Book Review Lord of the Flies, a 1954 story of savagery and survival by  William Golding, is considered a classic. Modern Library rates it the 41st best novel of all time. The story, which takes place during an undefined war, begins when a group of English schoolboys survive a plane crash and find themselves stranded on a desert island without any adults. This might seem like an enticing opportunity for any teen seeking freedom, but the group soon degenerates into a mob, terrorizing and even killing each other. The Plot Without the usual authority figures to direct the boys, they must fend for themselves. Ralph, one of the boys, takes on a leadership position. He knows little more than any of the others, but he manages to gather them in one place and is voted leader. At his side is the compassionate, clever, but fatally clumsy Piggy, a nicely rendered character who serves as Ralphs conscience.Ralphs election is contested by Jack, a cool customer with his own squadron of followers, a former choir under his leadership. Jack is a force of nature with intentions of leading hunting parties deep into the primordial jungle. With Piggys planning, Ralphs reluctant leadership and Jacks energy, the castaways establish a successful, thriving village, at least for a day or two. Soon, the few sensible efforts such as keeping a fire burning at all times fall by the wayside.Jack grows bored, restless and resentful of Ralphs leadership position. With his hunters in tow, Jack splits off from the main group. From there, the rest of the book consists of the descent of Jacks tribe into base brutality. As Jack successfully recruits more boys, Ralph becomes more isolated. Then, Jacks tribe kills Piggy his glasses smashed in a moment of symbolism, signaling the end of rational thought and civilized behavior. Pig Worship Jacks tribe hunts and kills a real pig, and sticks the head of the animal on a spear. Group members paint their faces and begin a frenzied worship of the pigs head, including sacrifices to the beast. Golding later explained that the pigs head the lord of the flies is literally translated from the biblical Hebrew, Beelzababug, which is another name for Satan. During this satanic worship, the boys kill one another of their own, Simon. The Rescue Jacks troop having honed their hunting skills move in on Ralph. There is no use appealing to their better nature now. They have abandoned all compassion. Ralph is cornered and seems a goner when suddenly an adult a naval officer arrives on the beach, with his uniform gleaming. His appearance puts everyone in a state of shock. The officer is disgusted with the savagery of the boys, but then he eyes his cruiser in the distance. He has saved the children from their violent world, but hes about to pile them onto a military vessel, where savagery and violence will ostensibly continue. Goldings description on the final page of the novel clarifies the symbolic overtones: The officer ... prepares to take the children off the island in a cruiser which will presently be hunting its enemy in the same implacable way. And who will rescue the adult and his cruiser?

The Yellow Wall-Paper Essays - Mental Illness In Fiction

The Yellow Wall-Paper Essays - Mental Illness In Fiction The Yellow Wall-Paper The short story "The Yellow Wall-Paper" written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a cry for freedom. This story is about a woman who fights for her right to express what she feels, and fights for her right to do what she wants to do. The narrator in this short story is a woman whose husband loves her very much, but oppresses her to the point where she cannot take it anymore. This story revolves around the main character, her oppressed life, and her search for freedom. There are many male influences in this woman's life and although they may mean no harm, push her over the edge. The main character's husband, John, and her brother are well-known physicians. They use their power to control the main character, perhaps subconsciously, to feel what they think a woman should feel. For example, the woman tells the men she is sick but they believe differently. "John is a physician, and perhaps- (I would not say it to a living soul, of course, but this is dead paper and a great relief to my mind-) perhaps that is one reason I do not get well faster. You see he does not believe I am sick!"(507) The men are under the impression that what they say goes and therefore the woman has no choice but to follow. "He knows there is no reason to suffer and that satisfies him."(508) This quote illustrates that the men are in control. If they strongly believe nothing is wrong, then nothing must be wrong. It is a feeling of self satisfaction the men feel w! hen they are superior to the woman. The main character knows John loves her, but it is the oppression she feels that bothers her so. Her husband expresses his love for her but at the same time imposes his will on her. He hinders her from having her own thoughts. "?He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction?"(507) The last few words of this quote show how John did not let her have any freedom because he was always there. John acts as if he knows what the main character feels at all times. The main character had absolutely no freedom, for her husband would let nothing happen unless he was there to supervise. An example of this treatment is when she wanted to get out of the house and visit some cousins, but John insisted she really did not want to go. "Dear John! He loves me very dearly, and hates to have me sick. I tried to have a real earnest reasonable talk with him the other day, and tell him how I wish he would let me go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Juli! a. But he said I wasn't able to go, nor able to stand it after I got there?"(511) The main character understands her husband loves her, but he insists on her doing what he wants her to do. John says she will not stand it after she got there, but how did he know this? John has absolutely no idea how his wife feels, he just imposes his ways on her and expects her to abide. John sees no reason why his wife should go so therefore he believes she should not. He does not consider her wanting to go a good enough reason for him to let her go visit. Another example of the misery the main character feels is her inability to write freely. The woman hides herself while she writes the frustration she feels inside. Writing is this woman's only way of expressing her emotions, the anger, sadness, fear, and what little happiness she felt. She cannot express these emotions physically in public so she writes them down or else she will suffocate in her incapability to express her mind. John strongly disapproves his wife's writing because he knows he will not be able to control this factor of her life. "He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good the check

Global Food Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Food Crisis - Essay Example The purpose of this secondary, desk-based research study is to inform the general reader about the multitudes of problems associated with meeting supply versus demand volumes to feed the hungry and also sustain new product development efforts using food products. This information is worthy of consideration as the future of food production and distribution, currently, looks considerably bleak and it ultimately impacts the quality of life for virtually every international citizen. The information gleaned from this secondary research study provides new information and factual statistics about the current state of the global food situation as well as future projections that continue to paint a dismal picture of success in meeting food demand internationally. There is no specific target audience that would best gain from the knowledge provided in this study as the impact of the global food crisis has an influence on scientists, government, general global citizens, and even stock market in vestors interested in commodity prices and value of their investment dollars. Russia, over the last two years, has experienced significant volume reduction in agricultural output of grain due to heatwaves and drought conditions that eroded more than one-third of the country’s entire crop output (Gorst, 2011). To ensure that the Russian people had enough stored grain to sustain its population’s needs, export bans were imposed on all wheat products until the country was able to improve total grain output.... perienced significant volume reduction on agricultural output of grain due to heatwaves and drought conditions that eroded more than one-third of the country’s entire crop output (Gorst, 2011). To ensure that the Russian people had enough stored grain to sustain its population’s needs, export bans were imposed on all wheat products until the country was able to improve total grain output. This export ban created a situation where wheat prices soared in European markets, leading to ongoing internationally-driven disapproval (Gorst). A similar situation occurred in Australia just this year due to excessive flooding caused by torrential rains and a variety of tropical storms (Mendleson, 2011). Australia relies on its export capabilities for a variety of crops for financial security, as does many of its import partners that rely on adequate crop volumes produced in Australia. Even though the disasters in Russia and Australia are not preventable, this provides excellent oppo rtunity for innovators to develop new farming techniques as a contingency plan to prevent such shortages from occurring in the future. These efforts could include refertilization of non-fertile lands in Africa or developing new greenhouse technologies for indoor food production. Biofuels are also adding to the problem as countries attempt to develop new fuel technologies to avoid over-dependence on foreign, traditional oil. According to a recent report, biofuels consumed 20 percent of sugar cane crops produced across the world between 2007 and 2009, thus raising these commodity prices (Chaffin, 2011). Even though innovators looked toward this new biofuel technology as a means to reduce the costs of foreign oil, it has led to significant shortages in the food supply. This is an indicator that biofuels