Grade 11
2022-2023
Lord of the Flies: The Value of Law and Authority
Law and authority are crucial traits in a controlled society. It’s the things that keep a civilization from eating itself alive and turning its citizens into savage animals. It doesn’t matter if you live in a capitalist, communist or fascist county, law and authority are needed to stabilize the land. So with that in mind, I believe that William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an important novel for showing a world where no law and authority exists.
As soon as we are dropped into the first chapter of Lord of the Flies, we realize that the story takes place on an island with the only people on it being kids from a plane accident. This is a great situation to display people's inner savagery because there is no law and authority, thus no consequences for anyone's actions. As the novel progresses, a handful of characters become conscious of their situation and start to take advantage of the fact that no one is coming and that they can do whatever they want. This is a dangerous mindset to have, for it can cause the individual to do very evil actions. The most notable example of the novel is a boy named Jack.
Jack is the character that perfectly encapsulates the evil everyone harbors deep inside. He is at first, as far as we know, a well behaved civilized boy. However, as the story continues, he starts to surrender to his savage side until there is nothing left of him. He realizes that his actions bear no consequences, so he just lets his cares go to the wind and does whatever he wants, no matter how despicable. This doesn’t only apply to Jack, everyone is susceptible to evil. In chapter 7, Ralph shows signs that he has a savage side while hunting with Jack and his clan. Fortunately, Ralph was able to control himself and not let that side get the better of him. Simon says a quote in chapter 5 that sums up the duality of human nature: “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us.” (Goldberg, 1957, Pg. 89) We can not only apply this idea to the characters of the book, but also the real world.
In every country in the world there are sets of laws and consequences. These things are what forces its citizens to behave, for if any law is broken by an individual they have to face the consequences. As we see across the world in crimes and mass shootings, the perpetrator would usually take their own life after doing what they did. This is a better alternative than paying a huge fine or spending time in prison. If a person wants to do bad things and they don't care about dying, consequences are now not a problem to them. That person is now a danger to society, for there will be no ramifications for any actions he commits.
Lord of the Flies is a perfect novel that dives into the depths of human cruelty. Not only is it well written and thought out, but has many great underlying themes about humanity. The novel is about a society trying to work together, but the lack of authority causes many of the kids to allow their inner evil to take over. That is a very scary thing to think about, the fact that this thin wall that we call consequence is what is keeping a lot of us from doing abominable things.
Citations:
Why Spree Killers Kill Themselves | WIRED Tricia W. & Xiao Mina, Dec 18, 2012 Visited: March 3, 2023
Macbeth:
The Poison of Ambition
William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a wonderful tale of the downfall of an unlikely protagonist. The story follows Macbeth, a renowned general of Scotland. After Scotland comes out victorious, Macbeth is visited by three witches. The witches prophesize that Macbeth will grant the title: King Of Scotland. He is ambitious and impatient, believing that the prophecies will come true if he kills the current king Duncan. Urged by his wife, he goes forward with the murder, which leads to a spiral of twisted turns and events. There are many factors in the story that contribute to Macbeth’s downfall. Some include his wife, the witches' prophecies, and himself. However, ambition is the main cause for his downfall, and is the reason that Macbeth committed ungodly acts to secure his position as King of Scotland.
The ambitious nature of Macbeth’s character is hinted and foreshadowed in the early scenes of the story. This is way before Duncan is murdered and Lady Macbeth is introduced to the reader. In act 1 scene 4, while king Duncan and Banquo are talking to each other, Macbeth says to himself: “For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires…” (I.i.64-65). The ambition that is prevalent later in the book is inside of him, hinted at in the early acts and scenes in the story. In those scenes we feel this tension within Macbeth as king Duncan discusses who is to take the crown after him or when he encounters the 3 Witches. It is clear that he is a man who wants power, and the lengths that he is willing to take to get that power is becoming longer and longer as he becomes, clearly, more impatient.
To talk about the theme of ambition, we have to analyze the most ambitious character in the book: Lady Macbeth. Although Macbeth was the most evil character in the book, I believe that Lady Macbeth was the most ambitious, and that ambition is what caused the events in the book. Immediately after being introduced to Lady Macbeth in act 1 scene 5, she says: “...fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty!” (I.i.40-41). This line paints Lady Macbeth’s personality, she is an ambitious woman, willing to get her hands dirty if it meant her gain. Her lengths of request go as far as asking the external forces to “... unsex me here…” (I.i.41) and “... take my milk for gall…” (I.i.46). During the time period, women weren’t looked at as able to do such intricate actions. So thus, Lady Macbeth is hinting for external forces to make her into a man so she can carry out her evil plans.
After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth, eager to not lose his position of power, goes to great lengths to preserve his status. When Banquo starts casting suspicion on Macbeth, he orders murderers to find and kill him when vulnerable. During the dinner scene in act 3 scene 4, when Banquo's ghost appears, Macbeth says: “Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake thy gory locks at me.” (I.i.55-56). Macbeth, drowning in his own greed and ambition, tries to blame Banquo for his own death, implying that it was his own fault. After hearing about the witches' prophecies, he spirals further downhill. After hearing of Macduff’s departure, Macbeth becomes suspicious of him. As a result he murders his whole family without batting an eye. He even begins alienating his own wife, the closest person to him. He stooped to an evil so low that he became mad.
The story of Macbeth is a great representation of the poison of ambition. The main character: Macbeth is a man who, urged by his wife, was willing to perform an evil act to secure himself a worthy title. As his plan begins to fall apart, and he begins to eliminate his closest of friends, we learn the true nature of his personality and character. Macbeth is a clear example of a man, full of great potential, skill, and capabilities, throwing his whole life away, and the life of friends and others, over the urge of his ambition. As the scenes unfold, he becomes less of the fearless warrior we thought he was in the early acts, and instead an evil tyrant consumed by his greed and ambition.