蝇王中善及恶的主题分析

-*426 _城市学院本科毕业论文?蝇王?中善与恶的主题分析学 院 名 称：外国语学院 专 业 名 称：英 语 学 生 姓 名：王小会指 导 教 师：包志明二一二年六月BACHELORS DEGREE THESIS OF LANZHOU CITY UNIVERSITYThematic Analysis of Goodness and Evilness in Lord of the Flies College : School of Foreign LanguagesSubject : EnglishName : Wang *iaohuiDirected by : Bao ZhimingJune 2021 重 声 明本人呈交的学位论文，是在导师的指导下，独立进展研究工作所取得的成果，所有数据、图片资料真实可靠。尽我所知，除文中已经注明引用的容外，本学位论文的研究成果不包含他人享有著作权的容。对本论文所涉及的研究工作做出奉献的其他个人和集体，均已在文中以明确的方式标明。本学位论文的知识产权归属于培养单位。本人签名：_ 日期：_ContentsAbstract - i摘 要 - ii1.Introduction-11.1A Brief Introduction to William Golding and His Works-11.2 Literature Review-11.3 Purpose of the Thesis-22. Goodness and Evilness in Lord of the Flies-22.1Goodness and Evilness in Characterization-2 Goodness: Civilization and Democracy-3 Evilness: Destruction and Absence of Responsibility-4Goodness vs Evilness: Conflict Between Ralph and Jack-52.2 Goodness and Evilness in Objects-5Conch: Order and Law-6 Glassess: Science and Rationality-6 Beast: Instinct of Savagery-7 Stones: Violence-72.3 Parado*ical Objects-8 Fire: Hope and Destruction-8Island: Paradise and Hell-82.4 The Development and Change Between Goodness and Evilness-93. Conclusion-10References - iiiAcknowledgements - iv. z-AbstractLord of the Flies is the most remarkable novel of William Golding.Although many researchers have studied it in such aspects as symbols and the human nature, it seems still necessary to make a research into those symbolic meanings and their relationships as well.This thesis is a thematic analysis of goodness and evilness in Lord of the Flies. It first analyzes the main characters and objects from the respective of dualism of goodness and evilness, and then elaborates the development and change between goodness and evilness. Through the above analysis, the author of this thesis makes a conclusion that when the might of civilization and democracy is weak, its necessary to have a consciousness of self-e*amination and caution to the evilness, and possible for human beings to find a way of salvation.Key Words: William Golding,Lord of the Flies, goodness and evilness, salvation摘要?蝇王?是威廉戈尔丁最著名且最具代表性的作品。尽管许多学者和评论家已经对它在象征手法和人性主题等方面做了很深刻地研究，但是这些还缺乏以帮助读者更好地理解戈尔丁小说中人性善与恶的主题。论文是关于?蝇王?中善与恶的主题分析，首先着重从善与恶的双重性这一视角分析小说中主人公的性格和主要事物的象征意义。其次从人性的变化这一角度详细阐述了善与恶在小说中的不断开展变化。通过对人性中善与恶主题的分析，提醒了随着文明和力量的薄弱，人类社会中邪恶的一面处于主导地位，希望人类能够认真反省自身人性中邪恶的一面，为所无视的善的回归找到一条救赎之路。关键词：威廉戈尔丁；?蝇王?；善与恶；救赎. z-1. Introduction1.1A Brief Introduction to William Golding and His WorksWilliam Gerald Golding(1911-1994), a famous English novelist and poet, was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall of England, and won Nobel Literature Prize in 1983. He lived in an intellectual family and developed an interest in writing. Then, he published his first poetry anthology including 29 poems in 1934. After then, he worked as a director, actor, soldier and professor. He also was a productive writer who wrote many kinds of works such as novels, plays, essays and criticisms, such asThe Inheritors(1 955)，Pincher Martin(1956)，Free Fall(1959)，Darkness Visible(1979)and Rites of Passage(1981).So, he joined in Imperial Literature Club in 1955 and got the D. Literature Master of O*ford University in 1961. From then on, he specialized in writing. In a word, he is regarded as the most important writer in the 20th century.Lord of the Flies, the first and most famous novel of William Golding, is an allegory novel which is published in 1954. This novel describes a group of boys aged 6 to 12 living by themselves on an isolated island as a result of a plane crash. Without adult guidance and supervision, these children have conflicting ideas about how to live their lives and take different courses of life. Ralph, the leader figure, would like to establish law and order, but Jack wants to go hunting and killing. He forms his own separate group and leads some boys away. Soon the two distinct notions of life and modes of behavior e to clash with one another, and things begin to happen at an amazing rapidity. First Piggy gets killed by Roger. Then, Simon is murdered. Jack gets the upper hand, and Ralph has to hide himself to run from his hot pursuit. The twins, Sam and Eric are threatened with torture if they refuse to tell on his whereabouts. Jacks gang sets the island on fire in order to drive Ralph out in the open. The fire catches the attention of a passing ship, which then es over to stop their barbarism and take them back to their country.1.2 Literature ReviewWilliam Golding became famous for his first book, Lord of the Flies which also paved the way for him to win the Nobel Prize in 1983. There are some scholars who hold different viewpoints to his novel abroad and at home. The research about William Golding has already achieved great achievements in European. His novel made a great influence in 20th century. For e*ample, the allegorical feature in Lord of the Flies is a key research aspect. John Peter in 1957 was the first one to apply the term “fable to Goldings fiction (Peter 1957: 577). Of course, another e*ample es from James Stern who wroteLord ofthe Flies is anallegory on human society today，the novel primary implication being that what wehave e to call civilization is at best no more than skin deep in a 1955 review for The New York Times Book Review. Golding also uses many figures of speech like symbolism in this novel.In China, many scholars and menter who are interested in William Golding and his Lord of the Flies make a great effort to study and criticizethe darkness of human nature in this novel. For instance, Beijing Information Technology University, *iao Bin in his master thesis Lord of the Flies: a Freudian Reading, he uses Freudian theory to analyze three main characterizations corresponding to the id, the ego and the superego and discusses the theme of evil humanity. (*iao Bin 2005:154)Also, another e*ample is Ge *iliangs essay in 1992 “Lord of the Flies: A Novel to Searching the Human Nature in which he analyzed the theme of this novel.1.3 Purpose of the Thesis Through the reviews and analysis of the former researches, it seems necessary to establish a new point of view on the theme of goodness and evilness, that is, revealing the dark side of humanity between the change of goodness and evilness and recalling lost goodness. This aspect may differ from previous study. This thesis is a thematic study of the goodness and evilness of Lord of the Flies from the perspectives of characterization and symbolic meaning of objects. Based on the symbolism, the author studies “Thematic Analysis of Goodness and Evilness in Lord of the Flies. And it attempts to analyze the loss of goodness according to the change and development of goodness and evilness in this novel, then to recall the goodness lost. The paper is not only helpful to understand the theme of Goldings novel and create a new viewpoint of study, but also beneficial to think the goodness and evilness in this novel reasonably and cultivate the good side that has been forgotten.2. Goodness and Evilness in Lord of the FliesIn Lord of the Flies, William Golding not only shapes one theme of the dark side of humanity, but also reveals the good side of humanity through many symbols. In the following aspects, it will be presented.2.1Goodness and Evilness in CharacterizationGolding arranges a group of boys on the isolated island, and the characters in the novel represent some particular aspects of human nature that makes them distinctive. Of course, all of them are schoolboys, and Ralph, Simon and Piggy stand for the good side of humanity, but Jack and Roger stand for the dark side of humanity.(Wang Han 2001:45)However, the goodness is not in a state of goodness still, and the evilness is not in a state of darkness invariably. With the change of environment and concept, they may be converted. In the beginning of the tale, all the boys cooperate to survive and get well along with each other because the primary civilization influences them. But with the time passing they bee gradually divergent in dealing with something important. Taking hunting as an e*ample, Jack desires to hunt pigs and Ralph want Jack to protect the fire and build shelts. So, the conflict appears, especially between Ralph and Jack. Therefore, the major characters will be analyzed by three subtitles, goodness, evilness and goodness vs evilness, to reveal the characterizations in Lord of the Flies in this chapter. Ralph and Jack mainly represent the goodness and evilness. Goodness: Civilization and DemocracyRalph, the protagonist of Lord of the Flies, is a symbol of goodness. He is an honest and virtuous twelve-year-old boy, wants to establish a civilized life order and owns the conch which is a symbol of the authority firstly. What he cares very much is how to be saved. Then, he insists on making a fire as a signal and asks everyone on the island to make shelters and clean them. In a word, he hopes to lead a civilized life. The meeting settled down again.So you see, said Ralph, We need hunters to get us meat. And another thing.He lifted the shell on his knees and looked round the sun-slashed faces.There arent any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves.The meeting hummed and was silent.And anotherthing. We cant have everybody talking at once. Well have to have Hands up like at school.He held the conch before his face and glanced round the mouth.Then Ill give him the conch.Conch?Thats what this shells called. Ill give the conch to the ne*t person to speak. He can hold it when hesspeaking.(William Golding 1999:18)Piggy, the consultant of Ralph, is very intelligent and good at thinking. He is connected with Ralph, and can always e up with some useful and helpful measures immediately.It is he who have a idea to write all the survivors names. When having difficulties, he is often eager to rely on the adults, but the fact is that the disaster in adults world results in their situations in the island. For Simon, he has bright and brave character and acute insight. In order to make the puzzle of beast clear, he contributes his own life.To some e*tents, Simon is a person of foresight.It is Simon who first finds the truth of the beastmankind.In much of the novel, these three boys represent civilization and democracy. When they are dropped on the isolated island originally, it is Ralph and Piggy who first found the conch. As we all know, Ralph, with golden hair, is born in a family of middle class, and he gets nice education at school. Because of his e*cellent quality and good life-environment, he is a symbol of civilization and democracy. At the same time, Piggy, a fat boy, often wears a pair of glasses and has something wrong with his lung. Although he walks slowly, he is very clever and wise. It is he who tells Ralph to use the conch to hold a meeting and gather these boys together. Therefore, he also is regarded the same symbol as Ralph. Although Simon is not god at talking, he often helps Ralph look after those little boys, and attempts to advocate the hope of goodness in human nature. Consequently, at the beginning of the life on the island, these boys are good. Evilness: Destruction and Absence of ResponsibilityContrasted with Ralph, Jack is a delegate of evilness and represents savagery, violence and cruelty. He is tall and slim, with red hair, and is the leader of choir of the church. According to the division of the work, Jacks duty is to look after the fire with his panions. However, time passing, he is addicted in hunting. Then, he is unsatisfied with hunting and keen on killing people.On the other hand, Jack and his choir wear black clothes which represent the darkness. “All right, choir. Take off your togs. As if released from class, the choir boys stood up, chattered, piled their black cloaks on the grass. (ibid.: 12)Of course, Piggy is also an important hero in this novel. He stands for, to some e*tents, civilization and democracy. But he is absence of responsibility when the conflict between Ralph and Jack bees sharp. Because Jack and his panions kill pigs and divide a piece of meat to him, then, he and Ralph participate in killing Simon. They regard Simon as a beast and kill him. When Ralph points out this fact, Piggy is unwilling to acknowledge what they have done, and persuades Ralph that the death of Simon has nothing to do with them.But we were! All of us!Piggy shook his head.Not us till last. They never noticed in the dark. Anyway you said I was only on the outside.So was I,muttered Ralph, I was on the outside too.Piggy nodded eagerly.Thats right. We were on the outside. We never done nothing, we never seen nothing. (ibid.: 88)In the beginning of this novel, Jack treats power as the most significant thing. When Ralph gets the position of leader, Jack bees furious, for he wants to get the position instead of Ralph. Although he accepts Ralphs position, it is actually his stalling tactics. Later, Jack shows his destruction and evilness little by little. As for Piggy, he is a tragedy. It is his cleverness that makes him killed. Goodness vs Evilness: Conflict Between Ralph and JackIt is obvious that Ralph stands for goodness and Jack stands for evilness. Hence, many conflicts e into being between Ralph and Jack. Ralph is looking forward to living in a harmony life, so he holds the viewpoint of civilization and democracy. Even so, Ralph is not good pletely. Because when these boys fight Robert, he participates in it, too. “Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering. (ibid.: 64)In addition, the democracy he insists on is being slow. His will is slant gradually. Because of longing for eating meat, he shakes his will and associates with Jack. Furthermore, Jack desires to be the leader and is indulged in killing pigs, especially people. However, everything has two sides. Jack is evil, but he also has something good in his heart. For e*ample, he is not hardhearted to kill the pig they first happen to find.In brief, through e*acerbating the conflict between Ralph and Jack, Ralph always acts as a protector of civilization and democracy, while Jack is a real representative of criminal and evilness. So they form a distinct contrast.2.2 Goodness and Evilness in ObjectsIn Lord of the Flies, Golding uses symbolism to show the goodness and evilness in his work. Everything has its own meaning, so it is important to represent the symbolic meanings of objects whether it is goodness or not. After all, the symbolic meanings of objects can help readers grasp main ideas of the novel. Conch: Order and LawThe conch which was found by Ralph and Piggy firstly is the symbol of the order and law. The reason is that Ralph uses the conch to call all the boys on the island together and to hold a meeting first. Whats more, Ralph wins the position of leader successfully because of owning the conch. However, when the boys feel fear, Ralph feels fear, too. He thinks that the might of order and law is being weak. From killing pigs to killing people, the barbarity is being visible, then, the order and law that make these childrens life regular is appearing. For e*ample, when Ralph and Piggy ask Jack to return Piggys glasses, the conch is shattered by those who are full of barbarity. “The conch e*ploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to e*ist(ibid.: 206)The authority of the conch was lost. Finally, the fate of conch is tragic. Therefore, the broken conch stands for the fate of democracy and law.In fact, the symbolic meaning of the conch is always following their owners. When Ralph is the leader of these schoolboys, the conch is a symbol of democracy. However, when Jack gets the real right from Ralph, the symbolic meaning of the conch is savagery. So, the order and law on the island is not stable. Glassess: Science and Rationality Together with the conch, Piggys glasses play a very important role in this novel. In the beginning, the glasses is clean and unbroken, because lighting a fire relies on his glasses according to the theory of optics. For Piggy, glasses are e*tremely important because of his myopia. In other word, he cant move without glasses. Still further, he forms a habit that he always wipes his glasses when facing rejections and difficulties in order to get some help or find a solution. For this reason, glasses stand for the progress of our society.Although glasses symbolize the science and rationality in this novel, it also reflects the bad influences. It helps children light a hopeful fire first, and it causes a fire disaster, then one of its eyeglasses are broken, finally, it is grabbed by Jackall of these processes mean that the science and rationality are not always mastered in those who have rationality and wisdom. Maybe it is led by those who are evil. (Chen *iangliu 2021:55)In line with the background of William Golding, the Second World War and the Industry Revolution, William Golding joins in the Second World War and leads in a life during the Industry Revolution. Therefore, he clearly observes the class fight and social turbulence of western capitalism society and truly e*periences the time of economic crisis. To some e*tents, Golding holds an opposed opinion to the Industry Revolution, so glassesthe science and rationality, belong to both the side of goodness and the side of evilness. Beast: Instinct of SavageryThe beast is mentioned for several times in this novel, which is mentioned bysome little boys at the first time. The e*treme unusual situation on the island is the beast which leads the boys to fear and terror of it. According to the little boys, the beast referred to various things, such as the snake-thing, the pilot and Simon. Through the ing of the beast, there are two sides of people who hold different viewpoints on it. The one is Simon, and his recognition is that there is