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Example research essay topic: Group Of Boys Ralph And Piggy - 2,865 words

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SETTING The action of the novel has been set sometime in the future. A planeload of boys has been evacuated from England, where a war is being fought against 'the reds'. After their departure, an atom bomb has fallen on England and destroyed their civilization. The plane carrying the boys is attacked by an enemy aircraft.

The passenger tube carrying the boys is thrown out and the plane crashes, but the boys land safely on an uninhabited island that at first seems like a paradise to the boys. CHARACTERS Major Characters Ralph - a fair haired boy of about 12 years of age. He is the son of a naval officer and a born leader. As the initial leader of the group of boys, he tries to remain rational and fair. Even after most of the boys have deserted him, he tries to maintain his rationality.

Jack - a self-centered twelve-year old boy who is a contrast to Ralph. Both impulsive and aggressive, he is a tall, thin boy with red hair. At the beginning of the book, he is head of the choir boys, but wants to be the chief. When he forms his own group, he turns the boys into hunters and savages.

Piggy - a friend of Ralph who supports the leader until the end. He is short, fat, physically unfit, and suffering from asthma. He wears thick spectacles and is almost blind without them. Although he is the most rational and sensible boy in the group, all the others enjoy making fun of him, especially Jack. He is killed at the end of the novel by Roger, who rolls a huge boulder onto him.

Simon - a small, skinny boy with straight, coarse hair. He keeps to himself, thinks deeply about things, wanders alone in the jungle, and has trouble communicating. He discovers the dead airman whom the other children call the beast. He is mistaken for the beast and killed when he tries to explain. He is presented as a Christ-like figure. Minor Characters Sam and Eric - identical twins who are always found together.

They side with Ralph until Jack forces them to join his tribe. Roger - a sadistic boy who becomes Jack's right hand when he is the savage chief. Cruel and brutal, he pushes a boulder towards Piggy and kills him. Maurice, Stanley, Robert - Jack's hunters.

Littluns - the little boys of the group between the ages of four and six. They have no distinct identity of their own. They lead an aimless life of eating, sleeping, and crying. CONFLICT Two conflicts exist in the book, one on the literal level and one on the symbolic level. Both are outlined below. LITERAL CONFLICT Protagonist: The protagonist is Ralph, a rational boy who is elected the leader by the others.

He tries to keep the boys civilized and plans ways to get them rescued. Antagonist: The antagonist is Jack, who is Ralph's rival. Since he wants to be chief, he breaks away from Ralph to form his own tribe. He turns his group of boys into savage hunters. Climax: When Jack forms his own tribe, his followers turn savage.

They forget their civilized ways and behave like animals. To show their savagery, they raid Ralph's group and steal Piggy's glasses. The climax occurs when they brutally beat the beast and tear it to pieces; unfortunately, the beast is really Simon, who is ignored when he tries to call out to them. They are too caught up in their evil savagery to hear him. After Simon's death, Jack leads his tribe into greater and greater depths of savagery. Outcome: The story ends in tragedy.

Ralph is defeated by Jack, who succeeds in taking most of the boys away from Ralph and into his own savage tribe. As a result of Jack's savage leadership, Simon and Piggy are killed by the hunters. They start hunting Ralph who is the only threat to Jack's leadership and set the whole forest on fire. SYMBOLIC CONFLICT Protagonist: The protagonist is the group of boys who, in their diversity of personalities, represent all of mankind. Antagonist: The antagonist is man's base state of savagery and evil, as symbolized by the "Lord of the Flies, " a representation of the devil.

Climax: The climax occurs when evil and savagery overcome the rationality of the boys, and they brutally beat Simon to death, even though he calls out to them and tries to explain that he is not the beast. Outcome: The symbolic outcome of the story is tragic. The boys revert to a base state of evil and savagery. They ignore the rational advice of Ralph and Piggy and begin to relish brutality, killing Simon and Piggy in the process.

Through the outcome, Golding says that mankind often reverts to evil and savagery when placed in a natural, uncivilized environment. PLOT The novel begins with Ralph and Piggy meeting on the beach. They are part of a group of boys who were being evacuated from a nuclear war in England and whose plane has crashed on a deserted island. Soon the whole group meets, and Ralph is elected as their leader. They find a conch shell on the beach, and Ralph uses it as a symbol of his authority.

Jack, the head of the choirboys who wants to be the leader, is made chief of the hunters, who arm themselves with wooden spears and utter war cries as they chase pigs. Ralph, in his rationality, decides to light a fire on the mountaintop to serve as a signal to passing ships. Piggy's glasses are used to start the fire, and Jack's hunters are put in charge of keeping it burning. But the strong wind sets the whole forest on the mountaintop on fire. One of the small boys is lost in the blaze; it is the first foreshadowing that civilized life, like the fire, may grow out of control. For the most part, life is aimless on the island.

The smallest boys, called "littles", stay together, play, eat too much, and give way to their fear in the nighttime, often crying loudly. Most of the older boys spend their time bathing in the lagoon, sleeping in the shade, or eating the plentiful fruit available in the jungle. Ralph spends much of his time building shelters to protect the boys, while Jack and his tribe are constantly off on a hunt. They are so involved in their pursuit of savagery that they even let the fire go out and miss being rescued by a passing ship. As time passes, all the boys become dirty and unkempt, an outward symbol of their interior disintegration. After Jack kills the first pig, they all have a feast.

A mock hunt is enacted round the fire with wild dancing and chanting. They even offer the pig's head as an offering to the Beast, which the boys are certain exists on the island. The Pig's head is soon covered with flies, and it becomes the "Lord of the Flies", a symbol of the boys' evil savagery. One night there is a plane fight over the island while the boys are asleep. A dead parachutist lands on the island and gets entangled in the trees. When the wind blows, the parachute flaps and balloons, and the dead airman's head bobs up and down.

Sam and Eric see this terrifying figure, and they tell everyone they have seen the beast. Fear grows in everyone. Ralph, Jack, and Roger climb the mountain to investigate the beast. Only Jack is brave enough to ascend to the top. When he spies the dead airman, he is convinced there is a beast and warns the others, causing fear to grow. Ralph is now more concerned than ever about their rescue and about keeping the fire going.

He grows angry at Jack and his hunters when they do not tend the fire as assigned. But Jack cares only about hunting; he does not seem to have a care about rules or being rescued. Because of him, things start degenerating, and he and Ralph constantly fight. Jack finally breaks away from the group and starts his own tribe at Castle Rock on the other side of the island. Most of the other boys follow him. Only Piggy, Sam, Eric, and some littles remain with Ralph.

Once again Jack kills a pig and the others are invited to the feast. Now all the boys have painted themselves like savages. Simon, the visionary, is disturbed by the break-up of the group and wanders off alone into the jungle. There he sees the dead airman and realizes that there is no beast, only the poor man's dead body.

He understands that the beast is only within a person's heart. He hurries to Castle Rock to inform the boys, who are dancing in frenzy after their feast. They mistake Simon for the beast and beat him with clubs and spears until he dies. THEMES Major Theme Lord of the Flies is governed by the idea that man is a fallen creature. Golding insists that evil is inherent in man; it is a terrifying force which mankind must recognize and control. 'Civilized' British boys land on a deserted island but soon degenerate into savages. The children enjoy the freedom away from the restrictions of adults, but the freedom soon turns into a nightmare and results in the killing of several boys.

Individualism replaces comradeship and leads to complete destruction. That children are innocent becomes a myth. The community of boys on the island also represents and reflects the disorder and terror of the larger world. Minor Theme The title of the novel, Lord of the Flies, refers to Beelzebub, the devil. Throughout the book, Golding shows how the devil is present in all of us.

But he also shows that there is a savior amongst us. The kind and visionary Simon is a 'Christ-like' figure who faints before the "Lord of the Flies" and later is sacrificed by the boys. The novel is, therefore, written in the form of a Christian parable. MOOD In the beginning the mood is one of joy and freedom as the boys discover an island paradise without adults. The mood, however, slowly turns to one of darkness and fear, as everything breaks up. At the end, there is no authority or discipline, only savagery, evil, death, and destruction.

CHAPTER 1 - THE SOUND OF THE CONCH The story begins with two boys, Ralph and Piggy, coming out onto the beach from the dense jungle where they have met. The reader realizes from their conversation that they are on an island although they are yet to confirm it. They belong to a group of boys who were being flown to some unknown destination, but their plane has crashed. The pilot of the plane is missing, and there seems to be no grown-ups on the island. Ralph and Piggy wonder where the other boys could be.

They find a conch shell and blow on it, sending out a loud and blaring sound. All of the other children soon start to appear. First to enter is a party of boys marching in step in two parallel lines. They are all dressed in strange, but similar, clothing. They are choirboys, and their leader is Jack Merridew. He is authoritative and very rude to Piggy; after a few short questions, he seems to size up the situation.

Jack wishes to be the chief, especially since he is already head of the choirboys. The boys, however, decide to have a vote; everyone except the choir votes for Ralph as their leader. Realizing Jack's anger at being defeated, Ralph offers him the position of Head of the Hunters. Ralph, Jack and Simon decide to explore the island while the others are asked to wait on the beach. Jack rudely puts down piggy when he wishes to join them. All three boys start off briskly, happy to be in each other's company.

They reach the end of the island, which has jagged rocks stretching towards the mountains. They have to move in and out of the jungle to reach the rocky paths leading upward. They move towards the summit, pushing a huge rock over the edge of the cliff on the way, an event that clearly foreshadows the boulder that pushes Piggy over the cliff to his death on the rocks below. The view from the square mountaintop is breathtaking. It confirms that they are on an uninhabited island. Ralph proudly keeps proclaiming their ownership of the land.

On their way back down, they come across a piglet caught in the creepers. Jack draws his knife, ready to kill the pig, but he stops. He is obviously a civilized boy with no stomach for the blood letting. The pig takes advantage of the moment and runs away. Jack excuses himself by saying that he was choosing the right place to stab it and that the next time he would definitely kill. The boys come out of the jungle and move towards the boys waiting on the beach.

Notes In the first chapter, the scene is set for the action of the novel. A plane carrying schoolboys has crashed on the island. Ironically, the boys were escaping a nuclear war and being flown to freedom. The boys, aged roughly between five and twelve, are now marooned on the island.

In this opening chapter, they feel they have reached paradise, for the island is uninhabited and free of adult rules and supervision. Ralph, a handsome, trim, and athletic boy of twelve, is particularly overjoyed to note that there are no adults around and to see the beauty of the island. He sheds his clothes and enters the lagoon to bathe. This shedding of clothes is symbolic of the shedding of civilization. The boys are introduced, one by one, as they gather on the beach. The first person Ralph meets is Piggy.

Appropriately nicknamed and in contrast to Ralph, Piggy is fat, clumsy, and not very physically fit. He also wears thick glasses, being almost blind, and has asthma. In spite of his physical limitation, Piggy is very good- natured and extremely rational. He immediately senses the gravity of the situation and is eager to locate other survivors. Piggy is also the one that spies the conch shell on the beach and suggests that Ralph blow it in an effort to call the other stranded boys.

Ralph, a rational boy himself, does not take an immediate liking to his first island acquaintance. Jack and his troop of choirboys are next introduced. Wearing black capes and caps, they march on to the beach in military style. Aggressive and demanding, Jack immediately asserts his authority and takes his place beside Ralph. The protagonist and antagonist are, thus, brought together in the opening pages of the book and depicted as opposites in nature. Jack represents the world of hunting, tactics, and skill; Ralph represents common sense and sensitivity to the natural world.

The reader senses an immediate rivalry between them. When all of the boys discuss their situation, they quickly realize that they need a leader. Ralph is elected, probably because he has blown the conch and called the boys together. The new leader, sensitive to the needs of others, recognizes Jack's disappointment over not being selected and appoints him as Head of the Hunters. This appointment, along with his bullying of Piggy, makes Jack feel better. As Jack torments Piggy, Ralph realizes that he has been inconsiderate of the boy as well; he tries to apologize to Piggy and be more friendly to him.

Ralph tells the others to wait on the beach while he, Jack, and Simon (another choirboy who is quiet and shy) go off to explore the island and search for inhabitants. It is obvious that the three boys, at this point in the book, enjoy one another's company and the freedom they have found. As they play games in the jungle and climb the mountain, they seem to bond with the beauty of the island and one another. It is significant to note that the trio's first encounter with a pig will significantly contrast to later scenes of the hunters living for "the kill." When Jack spies the piglet caught in the undergrowth, he brings out his knife in readiness, but something stops him from killing the pig. He is obviously still held back by the laws of the civilized world he has left behind and, as a youth, has no natural instinct for the hunt and its brutality and bloodiness. It is also important to note that in the first chapter the conch shell becomes a symbol of authority and order.

Ralph uses it to call the boys together and displays it to show his leadership. Towards the end of the novel, when Piggy is crushed and killed, the conch shell is also crushed. Its destruction symbolizes the end of order and the breaking up of civilization on the island. CHAPTER 2 - FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN Ralph calls another meeting by blowing the conch. When all the children are assembled, he tells them th...


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Research essay sample on Group Of Boys Ralph And Piggy

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