Quotes from the Spire
Quotes from the Spire CHARACTERS Jocelin "He shot an arrow of love" (after the chancellor) p8 Agape love and shows patronising attitude "He thinks he's a saint" "proud" "ignorant" p13 This is two dean's talking about him that he doesn't realise this emphasises his characteristics of pride and ignorance "It is my guardian angel" "Lord; I thank thee that though has kept me humble" p22 This demonstrates his delusion and pride as he thinks he is humble but contradictory to this he is clearly not humble as he assumes that God has sent him an angel "Did you see-see anything behind me there as I knelt?" p25 Shows his huge arrogance as the Catholic church of the time disencouraged visions but he is prepared to go against his superiors to try and prove that he is better than others (Jocelin claims that he is "not half as beaky" p23 This shows his vanity "I believe in one God- father in God Jocelin" p27 Golding juxtaposing the letter and the creed creates an antiphonal. It may suggest that Jocelin is his own God thereby showing that Jocelin is not a true Christian and that the Spire is being built because he wants it to be built (Jocelin) "Made a defensive sign at the bottom of the pit" p 79 This shows Jocelin's superstition which goes against his Christian faith and his initial impractical help in the construction of the Spire (Jocelin describes the pit as) "Some form
Lord of the Flies: The Darkness of Man's Heart
Lord of the Flies: The Darkness of Man’s Heart William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is more than a tale about a group of boys stranded on an island during World War II. Life free from rules of society and adults seems like paradise, but it quickly turns into hell on earth. The boys face the ultimate challenge of remaining civilized without supervision or guidelines. Many elements are found within Lord of the Flies: breakdown of civilization, avoidance of truth, and assumed innocence. These elements appear to be the message Golding is trying to convey. However, carefully analyzing the novel, the reader is able to detect symbolism. The author hides powerful messages behind his characters and other objects on the island. Through the use of symbolism, Golding reveals that humans detached from society’s rules allow their innate evil to dominate their existence. By introducing the characters of Ralph and Piggy, Golding shows his first use of symbolism. He introduces them as well-bred British boys and uses them to reflect man’s nature within society. Ralph represents civilized man, and Piggy symbolizes the intelligence of civilization. Ralph is elected leader because he has the appearance, common sense, and his possession of the conch makes him respected (Golding 22). Since he has been elected leader, he is able to enforce rules to govern the island. These rules include:
To what extent can Lord of the Flies be considered a Marxist piece?
To what extent can Lord of the Flies be considered a Marxist piece? Lord of the Flies centres on a group of boys stranded on a tropical island when their plane crashes en route from England to Australia as part of an evacuation during an atomic war (hypothetical war.) The story is essentially an allegorical tale of the innate evil of man - good versus evil. Of the book, Golding said that he wrote it to illustrate how political systems cannot govern society effectively unless they take into consideration the inherent defects of human nature. Marxism is seen as the development from an oppressive capitalist society to an equal and classless society. Golding tries to set a utopian world within the island devoid of adult, societal constraints but in the end the innate animal characteristics of man come to the fore. Golding based his story on the 19th century novel 'The Coral Island' written by R M Ballantyne. Whereas Ballantyne's novel, an adventure story of three boys stranded on a desert island, was optimistic, Golding's is terrifyingly pessimistic. The novel was written shortly after World War II , in the early days of the Cold War when paranoia about communism was at its height. In the early 1950s many people were accused, often falsely, of being communists (the McCarthy era in the USA at this time is a good example of this.) It is within this context that Golding wrote
Lord of the Flies, on the surface, may resemble any other children adventure story. Beyond its literal sense, however, it actually has a lot more to offer: it is an attempt to unfold the superficiality and fragility of civilization, a pessimistic an
"And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy..." Written in 1954, when the world was trapped in a state of utter confusion and disarray as a result of the aftermath left by World War Two as well as the unpredictable conditions brought by the Cold War, William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" is an allegorical novel that centers on the darkest depths of human souls. "Lord of the Flies", on the surface, may resemble any other children adventure story. Beyond its literal sense, however, it actually has a lot more to offer: it is an attempt to unfold the superficiality and fragility of civilization, a pessimistic and dark commentary on our innate human nature and a downright challenge to the deep-rooted societal belief that children, British children in particular, must be naturally virtuous. Such unprecedented thematic focus, together with the extraordinary degrees of political realism portrayed symbolically in the novel, make "Lord of the Flies" a truly brilliant, remarkable and ground-breaking classic of all time. The novel opens with a group of British schoolboys who find themselves stranded on an unidentified Pacific island after a serious plane crash. With no adult surviving the crash, the boys are left to fend
What does chapter one of "The Spire" reveal about Jocelin and his attitude to other people? How does Golding's language reveal the extent to which he deceives himself?
What does chapter one of "The Spire" reveal about Jocelin and his attitude to other people? How does Golding's language reveal the extent to which he deceives himself? The first chapter of William Golding's novel "The Spire" reveals much about Jocelin's attitude to the people around him and also the contrary view that others hold about it. The language Golding uses highlights Jocelin's delusions and shows the reader just how much he deceives himself. Throughout the first chapter we are introduced to many of the people that Jocelin encounters on a daily basis. One of the first characters to appear is Goody Pangall, who Jocelin views as his 'daughter in God'. This phrase shows how much Jocelin admires Goody and, at first, appears to simply demonstrate more of Jocelin's loving nature. However, after reading the following paragraph where he watches her walking away from him 'with love and a little disappointment', it becomes clear that the sentence holds more meaning than just showing his fondness. It shows up Jocelin's somewhat obsessive character, suggesting he views Goody as being flawless and that he has idealised her to the point where he can imagine her as God's daughter. As Jocelin thinks 'my daughter' it becomes apparent that he has deceived himself into thinking that he loves Goody as if she were just his daughter but Golding makes it clear to the reader that this
The Spire
Explain how Golding establishes the main themes of The Spire through his portrayal of Jocelin in the first five chapters of The Spire. The bent and twisted hunchback Jocelin is the cornerstone for interpreting and bringing forth the multitude of interesting themes within the novel. Through Golding's experience of World War II, he established many scathing criticisms of humanity in his literature. In The Spire this is represented by the character of Jocelin, a Dean of a nameless cathedral obsessed with the vision of erecting a four-hundred foot spire. Jocelin is the penultimate antihero, the introduction of the story tells us how "He was laughing chin up, and shaking his head. God the father was exploding in his face." It defies the expectations of what context a Dean would place God into, especially in humour, so very early on into this novel are these very slight and gentle implications of corruption, this is also exacerbated when the slight phallic pun of "Eighteen inches" is joked by Golding, and we get a sense of..."expecting the reverse" in the chapters to come. Jocelin later lustfully examines Goody Pangall, what is interesting to note is to note is how Jocelin refers to her while looking at her, he mentions her only as "Pangall's wife" which is incredibly reminiscent of Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men where the female of the story is only referred to as "Curley's
What do you consider to be the key message of 'The Spire', and how does Golding present this?
What do you consider to be the key message of 'The Spire', and how does Golding present this? Since Golding is writing about the human condition, there are a great many 'messages' that could be considered. However, a recurring theme that follows Jocelin is that of cost and sacrifice - most particularly, is it worh sacrificing lives in order to achieve something like the spire? The element of cost is one Jocelin keeps returning to, and it plays a large part in his realisations at the end. As a man of faith, sacrifice is clearly a large part of his life. If Jocelin was not the dean, or not a priest at all, he would be unlikely to have such undying faith and willingness to sacrifice for it. Jocelin is the sort of man who can easily become obsessed, and so sometimes the moral implications of what he does do not seem important. What I think Golding is attempting to show is that all elements of an action must be carefully considered before it is carried out. All possible consequences should be thought through and fully accepted. From the very beginning, Golding mentions sacrifice, sometimes in more subtle ways than others. On the first page, a reference is made to 'Abraham and Isaac'. At surface level, this story seems irrelevant - Jocelin is exultant, convinced he is finally able to do the will of God, and thr story of Abraham could be seen as a tragic one. Abraham is told by God
Summary of The Spire
Summary. Jocelin, Dean of a medieval cathedral, has had a vision which he believes reveals that he must add a four hundred foot spire to the cathedral. The decision is a controversial one, especially as the work proves disruptive and the master builder, Roger Mason, discovers that the building lacks the requisite foundations to support the spire. Jocelin is insistent that faith will be sufficient and accuses the master builder of being timid, and of playing for time in order to keep himself and his men in employment. Jocelin is maintained in his belief that the spire will stand by the news that his bishop is sending a Holy Nail (from the crucifixion) from Rome to protect the spire. The cathedral's caretaker, Pangall, hates the disruption and the workmen's mockery which he suffers. There are early hints that he is impotent. Jocelin is horrified when he notices that Roger and Goody, Pangall's wife, are sexually attracted to each other. However, he realises that, if he does not intervene, their adultery will prevent Roger from leaving. Roger's wife Rachel reveals that she and her husband are childless because she finds sex makes her laugh. Jocelin climbs to the roof to inspect the work and finds it exhilarating. However, he has what is eventually revealed to be tuberculosis of the spine, and this illness gradually becomes worse. He is also increasingly troubled by sexual
Higher - Lord of the Flies - Character not in harmony with his society
Section B - Q8: Choose a novel in which one of the main characters is not in harmony with his society. Describe the character's situation and go on to discuss how it adds to your understanding of the central concern of the text. In the novel "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, Jack Merridew, one of the principal characters, is not in harmony with his society. He is a strong-willed, egomaniacal boy, who is the novel's representative of the instinct of savagery, violence, and brute power. From the first glimpse of his meeting with the other boys on the beach, to the very end of the novel where he sets up his own society, we can see that he conforms neither to the rules by which our society lives, nor to Ralph's rules when he attempts at recreating such a society on the island, letting his primitive urges take over. After the boys' plane has crashed on the island, starting the novel, Ralph and Piggy realise the need for the boys to gather and work together to help each other and try to be rescued. Ralph blows the conch to summon the others, and Piggy tries to learn the names of the boys who come. Then, the choirboys come, commanded by Jack, in a regimented group. Jack immediately queries Ralph's authority: " 'We'd better all have names,' said Ralph, 'so I'm Ralph.' 'We got most names,' said Piggy. 'Got 'em just now.' 'Kids' names,' said Merridew. 'Why should I be Jack?
Human Nature in Lord of the Flies
Miller Noah Miller Mr. Gallaher English F 4 September 2012 Human Nature Exposed In Lord of the Flies, William Golding suggests that the darkness in men’s hearts is endemic: all men suffer from it. Most of the boys follow Jack; Ralph and Simon, themselves. They are not consciously evil, yet they partake in activities which they know to be wrong and follow a leader whom they do not even like. They are like sheep led by a figurehead wolf puppet called Jack, who is in turn manipulated by the real evildoer, Roger. However, Golding also suggests that some people, such as Simon and Ralph are aware of the evil within and attempt to fight against it. Jack ultimately falls victim to his inner demons mainly through ignorance and by giving in to personal desire. Golding expresses that if a person were to be put in an environment where the rules of society had been stripped away, the person would revert back to his primeval nature. Society keeps everybody sane and civilized; people need rules and principles to live by. Without rules and a moral compass, humans tend to revert back to a pre-civilized culture. People are so comfortable in the confines of a civilization that when those confines are removed, people turn into savages. Even in an uncivilized world, some taboos could not be broken. “Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space