Lord of the Flies is the 1954 novel by British author William Golding (1911—1993) which tells the tale of a group of boys stranded on a remote island who descend into tribalism and savagery.
On page 105 of the 2003 Penguin Books printing of Lord of the Flies, part of the marooned group of boys approaches a small, rocky outcrop at the end of the island. This natural structure will become known as "the Castle Rock" and it will be here where Jack makes his headquarters.
However, it is Ralph who first enters "the castle," resolving that since he is the chief he should be first to go. He leaves with the final instructions for the group to hide and wait for his return. Ultimately, however, Jack follows him in saying "I couldn't let you do it on your own."
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Who shows leadership by going into the castle and on what page?
With reference to the poem "Radiance" by David Malouf: Martin Duwell writes that Malouf’s poems often start with being about one subject, and shift into another: “Radiance,” for example, which begins as a list of the different ways in which vision comes to people, moves on to deal with the way these people come to us after death. How does the poem “Radiance” deal with the essence of this statement? Discuss with close reference to language, form, and structure.
David Malouf's poem "Radiance" is found in his collection work entitled Earth Hour. This poem, as mentioned in the post, "begins as a list of the different ways in which vision comes to people, moves on to deal with the way these people come to us after death." The poet's work, here, is similar to a sonnet. Although the poem does not follow the structure of a sonnet, it does possess the shift (volta) typically found in a sonnet.
The poem is written using non-rhyming couplets. For me as a reader, the use of couplet allows for pondering of what is "said" in pieces. As one reads the paired lines, it should make them reflect on why Malouf writes in such a way. It should make readers want to continue reading because of the desire for what is to come next.
For the first sixteen couplets, Malouf uses third-person pronouns. This seems to alienate the reader from what is going on. By using the pronouns "them" and "they," the reader is excluded from the action (death). It is not until the seventeenth couplet that Malouf draws the reader in with the use of the first person pronoun "we." Readers are the "we" Malouf's speaker addresses. Here, the poem changes and becomes far more personal. "We," the readers, now have a place in the poem.
Another change happens when the poem's message moves from the dead being by themselves to the dead's ability to "join with us." The dead become the companions of the living: "waist high at our table/a commotion, a companionable/cloud." It seems that Malouf is making a statement about one's death and one's life after death. If the dead faced a hard or "not so gentle death," he or she may be present in the lives of the living by causing a commotion. If death was a "nudge," the dead may simply be a companion to the living.
Malouf's poem appears to be a statement on what he believes life after death to look like. Since no one really knows, Malouf's poem does give readers something to ponder about when their own time comes.
From the song "Sick Boy" by The Chainsmokers, which quote or lyric from the song would best go with the idea of struggling with self-identity?
The core of this question involves a "What do you think?" scenario. Different listeners are going to gravitate toward certain lyrics more than other lyrics in regards to this particular question. This song is really quite an amazing song considering the genre (EDM). Often this genre produces music that is thematically about love or being a strong individual. Take Martin Jensen's "Solo Dance" as an example.
I came to party on my ownDon't need nobody in my zoneI get down to the beat, I lose controlEh oh, I go so so-lo
Sophie Elise's "Love Like That" works too.
If you close the door you better never come back, noDon't leave me with a love like that, love like that, love like that....
I suppose a very outmoded sort of argument could be made that a major difference between those two examples and "Sick Boy" is that those two songs feature female vocalists, so of course they will be about love; however, that kind of argument doesn't hold up. An easy example of a male EDM vocalist singing about love is Kygo's "Firestone."
Our hearts are likeFirestonesAnd when they strikeWe feel the loveSparks will flyThey ignite our bonesAnd when they strikeWe light up the world!
In general, EDM music is very positive thematically. It sounds happy and generally is about happy things, so "Sick Boy" is a notably different kind of song. It very effectively is calling out a common societal problem. That problem is narcissism.
Welcome to the narcissismWhere we're united under our indifference
The dictionary defines a narcissist as someone that is extremely self-centered and has an exaggerated sense of self-importance. In other words, a person is infatuated with himself or herself. Many social media posts support this narcissistic argument because many of the posts essentially say "look at me" or "look at what I'm doing." Further evidence is just how many selfies abound throughout all kinds of social media apps.
"Sick Boy" attempts to tell listeners to stop believing all of the projected greatness that is out there when it says to not "believe the narcissism," but that's something that society is struggling with. Many studies are now emerging that link social media to depression. It's an inverse relationship. The greater the time spent on social media, the less happy people generally feel. The depression could be considered a prison of sorts, or the constant need to present your best self on social media could be seen as a prison as well. Again, the song points this out.
Make no mistake, I live in a prisonThat I built myself, it is my religion
As for which lyric best supports the idea of a person struggling with self-identity, I think it comes fairly late in the song; however, it is repeated four times.
How many likes is my life worth?
This line clearly shows how a person can become trapped in finding personal self-worth through the number of times people click "like." Even someone as controversial as Kanye West has picked up on the dangers of the "like" button. He questioned a possible link between too few likes and suicide. Not enough research exists yet to fully answer that question; however, it does show how a person ties their self-worth and their personal identity to what other people think of them online. The lyric in the "Sick Boy" song links a person's identity to an arbitrary number of clicks. That is a sad and unfortunate thing, but I believe the lyric is clearly pointing out that a person who is so dependent on those likes is clearly struggling with personal self-identity and self-confidence.
https://www.livescience.com/62718-social-media-habits-depression.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/social-media-contributing-rising-teen-suicide-rate-n812426
Saturday, September 1, 2012
What is a comparison between Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Phillis Wheatley?
Francis Ellen Watkins Harper and Phillis Wheatley were both amazing poets who overcame a time of slavery and segregation and produced outstanding works of art.
Before looking into ways that these two poets are similar, we need to acknowledge the ways in which they are also very different. Francis Ellen Watkins Harper was born a free woman in Baltimore. Though orphaned at a young age, she was able to receive a good education and was raised by her uncle, a civil rights activist. In her own life, she was an abolitionist and a suffragist as well as a poet. Much of her life was spent fighting for freedom for those living in slavery and for equal rights.
Phillis Wheatley, born some seventy years before, was a slave. She was born in Africa and brought to America when she was around seven years old, where she was sold to the Wheatley family. Though she was a slave, Phillis Wheatley was employed as a domestic slave in the Wheatley household and was taught to read and write. She did not receive the education she would have loved, but she was able to discover her love of poetry. With the help of the Wheatley family, her work became internationally recognized.
Both women wrote about themes of slavery, identity, and loss. This was an important reality for these poets, and much of their poetry confronts this.
Both poets were also very young when their first poetry was published. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was twenty when her first book of poetry was published, and Phillis Wheatley may have been first published at thirteen.
Another important distinction between the two is the way in which they were able to find publication. While Francis Ellen Watkins Harper was active and known in America, Phillis Wheatley was only able to publish her poetry in Europe, because in the United States, publishers did not want to publish a black woman's work. One of her books of poems was published in America two years after her death, but while she was alive, she saw international acclaim but only injustice in America.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/frances-ellen-watkins-harper
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/phillis-wheatley
How does Praxitiles’ Late Classical period object, Hermes & Infant Dionysos (c. 350 BCE), differ from the Spear Bearer?
Hermes and the Infant Dionyos was made later than the Spear Bearer, and as such it shows a change to a more human, naturalistic style from the idealism shown in the earlier work. This tendency characterizes the change from High Classical to Late Classical Greek art. Yet both statues feature idealized human beauty, and both use contrapposto, counterbalanced, poses.
The Hermes sculpture shows Hermes holding the baby Dionyos cradled in the crook of his left arm. He looks gently upon the infant. The right arm, now broken off, would have held a bunch of grapes (as it does in other examples). Although these are both gods, their humanity is stressed along with the affectionate relationship of a man taking care of a child.
The Spear Bearer, in contrast, shows an idealized, perfect man, standing alone. He seems to be walking, caught in mid-stride. This statue demonstrates symmetry as well as contrapposto. The proportions of the symmetria scheme are in evidence, with the shoulders and hips balancing each other. In his perfection, he is not humanized the way Hermes is.
What is characterization?
In literature, characterization simply refers to the process by which an author constructs a fictional character.
Depending on the work and on the individual character concerned, this can be done in a number of different ways. For instance, a character can be given a specific manner of speaking which sets them apart from the other characters. They can also be characterized according to their style of dress, how they walk, and their physical movements in general.
All of these characteristics and more are used to present a character to the reader, allowing us to make a judgment as to what kind of person they are. In some cases, characterization will be more complex, more subtle, in keeping with the nature of the individual concerned. In other cases, characterization will be much broader, especially with secondary characters designed by the author to add color or humor to the narrative.
Is Elinor unemotional?
[Elinor] had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong [...] Elinor, too, was deeply afflicted; but still she could struggle, she could exert herself.
Readers sometimes envision Elinor as an unemotional, unfeeling character since she seems overshadowed by Marianne's effervescent, emotional personality. However, Austen makes it clear through the narration that Elinor feels as deeply as Marianne.
Elinor, starting back with a look of horror at the sight of [Willoughby], obeyed the first impulse of her heart in turning instantly to quit the room,...
The difference between them is that Elinor has not succumbed, like Marianne has, to the popular cultural conception born of romanticism that extravagance in emotion is laudable. Elinor holds to her belief that what is truly laudable is to govern grief, joy, love and rapture, to not yield to ungoverned emotionalism. Austen explores the question of whether Elinor is right or wrong and presents the answer when Marianne's, somewhat willful, neglect of her health nearly costs her life.
[Marianne said,] "I saw that my own feelings had prepared my sufferings, and that my want of fortitude under them had almost led me to the grave. My illness, I well knew, had been entirely brought on by myself by such negligence of my own health, as I had felt even at the time to be wrong."
Elinor's ability to govern her strong emotions allows her save herself from similar calamity and, perhaps more importantly, allows her to help nurse Marianne back to health when she grows very ill. Elinor's feelings are only governed, not absent or, worse yet, repressed. When Edward reports that he is single and that Robert is married to Lucy, not him,Elinor yields to her emotions with less restraint.
[Elinor] almost ran out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, burst into tears of joy, which at first she thought would never cease. Edward ... saw her hurry away, and perhaps saw—or even heard, her emotion...
The greatest character difference between Elinor and Marianne, the element that allows for some to envision Elinor as tranquil and unemotional (which is how some actresses portray her in film adaptations), is that while Austen often displays Marianne's emotionality in her words and actions, Elinor's is most often commented upon by the narrator. Here are their different reactions to leaving their childhood home:
[Marianne]: "Dear, dear Norland!" said Marianne, as she wandered alone before the house, on the last evening of their being there; "when shall I cease to regret you!—when learn to feel a home elsewhere!—Oh! happy house, could you know what I suffer in now viewing you from this spot, from whence perhaps I may view you no more!—And you, ye well-known trees!—but you will continue the same.—No leaf will decay because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we can observe you no longer!—No; you will continue the same; unconscious of the pleasure or the regret you occasion, and insensible of any change in those who walk under your shade!—But who will remain to enjoy you?"
[Elinor]: What felt Elinor at that moment? Astonishment, that would have been as painful as it was strong, had not an immediate disbelief of the assertion attended it. She turned towards Lucy in silent amazement, unable to divine the reason or object of such a declaration; and though her complexion varied, she stood firm in incredulity, and felt in no danger of an hysterical fit, or a swoon.
In addition, while Marianne is often exasperated with less emotional people and accusatory of Elinor reserve, Elinor attempts to think things through from the other's perspective and to find explanations for their behavior.
[Marianne to Elinor]: "Esteem him! Like him! Cold-hearted Elinor! Oh! worse than cold-hearted! Ashamed of being otherwise. Use those words again, and I will leave the room this moment."
[Elinor about Marianne's remarks]: Elinor started at this declaration, and was sorry for the warmth she had been betrayed into, in speaking of him. She felt that Edward stood very high in her opinion. She believed the regard to be mutual; but she required greater certainty of it to make Marianne's conviction of their attachment agreeable to her.
Elinor is a deeply emotional woman who puts the demands of sensible life over the urges of unrestrained sensibility.
What is the theme of the chapter Lead?
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