Lord of the Flies

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Lord of the Flies

• Anna, Dennis, Eva, Isabel , Jessie, Louis,
  Stanley, Sylvia

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• Background of The Story Anna
• Division of the Tribes Ralph Louis
• Division of the Tribes Jack Stanley
• Marxism Isabel
• Character Analysis Dennis
• Symbol Jessie and Eva
• The text and The World
• Conclusion
  Sylvia

Kates Response Next Week
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Background of The Story

• Anna

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Story and authors background -1

• 1939-1945 World War II
• 1940-1945 Golding joined Royal Navy of England
• 1954 Lord of the Flies published in England

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Story and authors background -2

• 1939-1945 World War II
• 1940-1945 Golding joined Royal Navy of England
• - experienced the real-life violence and
  brutality
• - "When I was young, before the war, I did have
  some airy-fairy views about man. But I went
  through the war and that changed me. The war
  taught me different and a lot of others like
  me,"
• 1954 Lord of the Flies published in England

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Story and authors background -3

• 1939-1945 World War II
• 1940-1945 Golding joined Royal Navy of England
• 1954 Lord of the Flies published in England
• -Theme Golding attempt to trace the defects
  of society back to the defects of human nature.

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Piggy We did everything just the way grown-ups
would have. Why didnt it work? (011355)
Our thesis Even though the boys tried to borrow
the rules from the previous world in order to
form their own society on the island however,
they didn't realize that the condition was
different. Thus, the previous superstructure
doesn't work on this island.
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Division of the Tribes Ralph

• Louis

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Division of the Tribes

• I. The Formation of the Initial Tribe(Ralphs
  tribe)
• Starts from nothing (the shipwreck)
• Boy military school
• The absence of adulthood
• One unity (Jacks consensus of setting the fire)

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Division of the Tribes

• The nostalgia (mocking) of the former ideology
• Hierarchy (army song)
• Conch
• Election
• Demerit
• Making fire/ haunting pig

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Division of the Tribes

• The Downfall of Ralphs camp
• The went-down of the campfire
• Ideology only, no force
• The condition of kids (pleasure principle)
• Fairness (division of labor) (010139)
• The shifts of hegemony
• Adult, military school,

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Division of the Tribes

• Hegemony is the process by which a dominant class
  wins the willing consent of the subordinate
  classes to the system that ensures their
  subordination. The consent must be constantly won
  and rewon, for peoples material social
  experience constantly reminds them of the
  disadvantages of subordination and this poses a
  constant threat to the dominant class (Fiske).

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Division of the Tribes Jack

• Stanley

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• Jacks disbelief in getting rescued
• -- You better start learning to live with
  yourself because we aint gonna get rescued.
  ...Whos going to find us? (01457)
• ? Ralph defends Piggy
• -- Peter Jack says were never going to be
  rescued. Ralph No, you misunderstood him. Thats
  not what he meant.
• Jack Thats exactly what I meant.
• Ralph Dont listen to him. We will be
  rescued, peter. (02843)

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• Ralphs overgeneralization
• -- Imposing all the faults on Jack and his
  partners.
• R If you guys hadnt let the god damn fire go
  out, they would have seen it.
• J We were hunting. (4047)
• R Great. Killed a pig. You fucked up. we could
  have been rescued.
• J Im sick of your shit and so is my gang. R
  your gang? J If you know whats good for you,
  youll stop trying to run everything. Im sick of
  all of this shit.

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• Ralphs incapability of satisfying kids appetite
  for the meat and for fun
• -- J Im making another camp for hunters and
  guys who want to have fun. When you other brats
  get older or hungry, you can come join up.
  (4155)
• -- J We killed a pig today. Theres going to be
  a feast. You can eat with us if you want to.
  (5917)
• -- R You think one lousy meals worth not
  getting rescued. J Join my camp and have all
  the meat you want. R We dont want your meat.
  (Piggys eating.) (10205)

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Jacks integration of Ideologies and force

• Being highly executive, overwhelmingly dominant
• Get the meat, fire (means of production)
• Rules (e.g. whipping the kid)
• Theres going to be a feast. You can eat with us
  if you want to. Go on, now. The chief has
  spoken. The chief has spoken.

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Potential Downfall of Jacks Tribe

• Elimination of heterogeneities
• -- internecine result, in order to suppress
  different voices
• -- Possible assumption If other kids knew Sam
  and Eric were not loyal enough to Jacks tribe,
  the twins might be severely punished and even
  killed.
• -- J Is anything over there? Sam Eric No.
  Nothing. (122313)
• Forest fire

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Marxism

• Isabel

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Marxism

• Base the methods of production
• Superstructure generates the social, political,
  and ideological system (the values, art, and
  rules, ect.)

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The relation of base superstructure

• superstructure
• base
• Superstructure- formed by the base
• Base controls the superstructre

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The form of the society

• Borrowed the superstructure of the previous
  world.
• As As
• Ab Bb
• A previous world
• B the world on the island
• not the original one

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The form of the society

• 2. The division of the two tribe.
• Bb Bb
• not the original one

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The form of the society

• 3. The reform of their own superstructure.
• As Bs
• Bb Bb

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The form of the society

• Civilized
  life on the island
• As As Bs
• Ab Bb
  Bb

A previous world B the world on the island
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Character Analysis

• Dennis

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Ralph
Ralph

• Representation of civilization tries to build a
  miniature democratic society (Ego)
• Believes in the adult waiting to be rescued
• To survive establish order, maintain peace,
  distribution of work
• Goes through changes loses innocence at the end
  when rescued

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Ralph
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Piggy

• Also a representation of civilization,
  intelligence and rationality (superego)
• Assists Ralph in decision making using the
  conch, regulations, etc.
• Believes they will be rescued
• Dislike by many boys, they just want to have fun
• Piggys death- destruction of society

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Piggy
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Jack

• Representation of savagery and violence, contrast
  to Ralph (Id)
• Contains himself only in the beginning driven by
  total control power
• Tries to do what he thinks is best result rather
  than process
• Manipulates and controls other boys, using their
  fear

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Jack
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Twins- Sam/Eric

• Not as cruel or barbaric as Jack and his gang
• Used by Jack the need for food and survival
• Doesnt believe in the monster
• Helps Ralph escape

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Twins- Sam/Eric
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Simon

• Prophet sees things to come
• Special bond with nature innate goodness within
  him
• Different from Ralph and Jack
• Takes care of other younger boys and Benson
• Not a follower
• Death of Simon, vanishing of goodness

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Simon
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Symbol

• Jessie and Eva

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Ralphs Group Jacks Group
Conch whoever holds the conch have the right to talk and hold the assembly. Hidden Meaning Democracy. Discipline and rules Conch the conch has lost its function. No one cares about the conch. Food (Survival) comes first, rules are not necessarily needed.
Glasses Belongs to Piggy. Sometimes serve the function of make a fire. Hidden Meaning Glasses is the product of civilization. Sometimes Ralph borrowed it to make fire. Fire is the way to being found. Glasses Piggys glasses was broken during the fighting. It became merely a tool. The disappearance of civilization. Eager to have the fire. Fire Means of Production
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Ralphs group Jacks group
Captain Benson Although Bensons unconscious. They still decide to take care of him. Because in civilized world, adults are more powerful than children. Captain Benson The kids agree not to take care of Benson because he has fever, and weak. Captain Benson became an unknown monster in the cave. The hunters group is afraid of the monster
Spears If you are in the hunters group, you must hold the spear. Stigma (Face marks) A mark that means you are conform to the hunters group.
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Ralphs group Jacks group
Helicopter a gleam chance of survival and it is a transition of the whole story (from peace to dispute) 3921 40 Accordion a gleam chance of survival and civilization 011109 011123

• Flies
• flies fly around the rotten pigs head is like
  the children who obey a leader without any
  reasonable reason

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• Pigs head
• For Jacks group, hanging the pigs head is a
  solution of dealing with unknown fear

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How does the text relate to the world?

• Sylvia

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Phenomena of Blind and Follow

• A. Shopping Bag of Enya Hindmarch
• phenomenon of making lines
• people do not really know why they do this, they
  just do it blindly
• ideological control
• Limited edition

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Phenomena of Blind and Follow

• B. Contagious Laughing in Class
• -- afraid to be abandoned by people
• -- peer pressure
• -- they do not see the reasons in doing it

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Phenomena of Blind and Follow

• C. Collecting dolls (McDonalds ) and
• Collecting toys ( 7-11 )
• -- ideological control
• ( rare and special, a must-have )
• -- obsessed with certain ideology

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Phenomena of Blind and Follow

• D. 3 college students robbed a foreign labor
• -- influenced by bounding power
• ( some joined the fight and some did not )
• -- controlled by id, impulsive behaviors
• -- superego has been repressed

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Conclusion

• When we are under peer pressure and bounding
  power, it is extremely crucial to make our own
  judgments and not to be controlled by the
  ideologies created by the crowds.

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Thank You! )
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Between Collectivity and Individual Will
Kates Response

1. If complete autonomy or freedom from ideology is
   impossible, we try to discuss and negotiate their
   meanings from within.
2. Instead of being fixed on a certain position, we
   try to think and judge and adjust ourselves all
   the time among the competing hegemonies.
3. Instead of being completely disciplined and used,
   we try to use the regulatory power on us
   meaningfully.
4. But are there times when discussion does not
   work, and power means violence? (ref. Robinson
   Crusoe The Coral Island -Ralph, Jack and
   Peterkin)

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Violence vs. Rationality

• Ralph and Piggy
• No monstermany left
• you have no right.Simon checks out on the
  cave RP go talk to them (1st time) ? Simon
  killed.
• (accordion)
• 3. Youve got no right ? go talk to them (2nd
  time) ? Piggys death
• 4. -- Ralph alone
• goes talk to the twins all his slaves (3rd
  time) ? Ralph hunted.

• Jacks group
• Monster
• Robs the survival knife
• -- Home chant, Monster-Hunting ritual Denies
  the conch, kills Simon
• -- Whipping
• 3. Robs the glasses
• -- Kills Piggy
• -- Hunt for Ralph

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Why does irrationality reign?

• Piggys proposal What we need here is positive
  people, not people scaring people. We got to
  be sensible and make things work.
• Why does violence happen? Why cant they work
  together?
• Possible Reading
• (1) appropriation See analogies in us (our
  blindness to ideological control)
• (2) Contextual reading Goldings pessimism about
  his time, anti-war/totalitarianism sentiment.
  I am thinking of the vileness beyond all words
  that went on, year after year, in the
  totalitarian states. I believed then, that man
  was sick-- not exceptional man, but average man.
  (Spitz)

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(2) Contextual ReadingThe Kids Connections to
the War

• From an army school, singing an army song.
• Helicopter and soldiers as the only possible
  rescue.
• TV programs as their ways of telling time.
• Talks about the Russians? red scare

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(2) Contextual ReadingThe Army Song Ironic
Signs of degradation and control

• Mama, mama can't you see? /
• What the Army's done to me? /
• They put me in a barber's chair. /
• Spun me 'round, I had no hair./
• I used to drive a Cadillac. /
• Now I'm marching in a pack. /
• I used to drive a Chevrolet. /
• Now I'm marching for my pay. /
• They took away my T.V. / Got me doing I.T.

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(2) Contextual ReadingThe Lord of the Flies as
Human Evil
The General Implication Flies blind followers, meaningless lives. "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods, They kill us for their sport". (King Lear Act IV, Scene 1) Symbol of Evil -- the name of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon (SparkNotes)

• The Historically Specific
• The Lord of the Flies is expanding his Reich
  (??).
• All treasures, all blessings are swelling his
  might. . . .
• Down, down with the handful who doubt him!
• Stefan George, 1907 (Stefan George is one of the
  most important poets of the early twentieth
  century, and became a source of inspiration for
  Fascist circles in Germany.) (Diken)

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(1) Appropriation Lord of the Flies and The
Human Stain

Between Violence vs. Rational Control there can be Negotiation
Amidst Self-Centeredness, Segregation, Strict Regulation and Self-Righteousness there has to be desire crossing the racial and class boundaries, andsympathy.
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Crises, risks and instabilities can disrupt our sense of boundaries, reduce our sense of correctness and lead to violence of different kinds they can also help stimulate human sympathy and solidarity.
e.g. The strike in France (over special interest pension plan? our 18?) USs sub-primary mortgage market crisis, rise of wheat price, etc. Taiwan endless political conflicts e.g. The strike in France (over special interest pension plan? our 18?) USs sub-primary mortgage market crisis, rise of wheat price, etc. Taiwan endless political conflicts
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For Next Week

• Quiz 2 due 12/24 (6 multiple-choice Qs and two
  short-essay Qs. One each.)
• Watch-- The French Lieutenants Woman and
• Read-- the excerpt from the text book chap 10.

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Reference

• Diken, Bülent and Carsten Bagge Laustsen. From
  War to War Lord of the Flies as the Sociology of
  Spite. Alternatives 31 (2006), 431452. Source
  Database  POA
• David Spitz, Power and Authority An
  Interpretation of Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.
  The Antioch Review, 30.1 (Spring 1970) 21-33.
  Source Database  Contemporary Literary Criticism