The important moment in the novel Lord of the flies Essay Example for Free

The important moment in the novel Lord of the flies Essay Lord of the flies focuses mainly on the corruption and inherent evil of humanity. Ralph, Jack and Simon are, in some ways, stereotypes of different aspects of human nature. Ralph is the obvious candidate for chief of the island, as he is of just nature and a commanding presence. We are also told that there was a stillness about Ralph that encourages the boys to elect him as their chief. Jack represents the darker side of humanity. Jack is not long in severing any links with civilisation. He heeds his savage, pre-historic instincts, and becomes dog-likeon all foursnose only a few inches from the humid earth. He is like an animal, his sole desire being to kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood. He enjoys the act of killing, announcing proudly that he had a smashing timeI cut the pigs throat. He laughingly adds that there was lashings of blood every whereyou should have seen it! His darker side gradually influences Ralph, who grows jealous of Jacks popularity and is envious of the fact that Jack is able to provide meat for the boys, while, he, as chief, cannot. The book reaches a turning point at the next, improvised, hunt of the boar. What started as a harmless exploration for the beast becomes a bloodthirsty chase of the boar. Ralph is delighted when he hits the boar and the spear stuck in a bit and he decides that hunting was good after all. Things take a more sinister turn when the boys decide to re-enact the hunt. After the first, successful hunt in which Jack kills the pig, the hunters replay events by forming a ring, Maurice pretended to be the pig and ran squealing into the centre, and the hunterspretended to beat him. This is harmless game, during which the hunters dance around the pig, singing their hunting chant of Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in. The corruption of purity and goodness is seen when the boys play the same game after their next (failed) hunt. This time Robert is the squealing pig, trapped in the centre of circle, the hunters circling him, singing their warrior chant. The game soon ceases to playful, as Roberts mock terror turns to pain. The others are seized with a desire to Kill him! Kill him! uncaring of the fact that Robert is human, one of them, and not a pig. Robert was screaming and struggling, yet he ceases to become a person and is now merely an object by which their thirst to kill might be quenched. Jack was brandishing his knifeRalph was fightingto get a handful of that brown, vulnerable fleshthe desireto hurt was over-mastering, Golding causes this to be important incident in the novel, the beginnings of a full realisation of Simons belief that maybe there is a beastmaybe its only us, is not a comment to be jeered at, for it is a frightening comprehension of reality. Robert escapes with a few, physical injuries, crying out, in an effort to lighten to the situation Oh, my bum! Ralph tries to convince that it was just a game, like rugger. This uneasiness is justified when the boys discuss methods of improving their game. Robert believes that they want a real pigbecause youve got to kill him. Jack, not altogether jokingly, suggests that they should Use a littlun. This suggestion is made more disturbing by the reaction of the other boys, for instead of being horrified, everybody laughed. Goldings brief ending to the passage leaves us disgusted by the callousness of Jacks remark and of his flippant attitude to the murder of a fellow human being, but it is worryingly representative of the callousness humankind. Jacks joke warns us of the increase of evil on the island, for the idea of using a littlun, may soon stop being an idea and become a reality. The passage is disturbing because we see that the boys lust for blood and death is indiscriminate of whether their victim is an animal or human. Killing is not a means of providing food for the boys; it is a way of satisfying their longing to cause pain and destruction. They are desperate to kill, a mere pig is not enough, they are not worth the trouble of a hunt, and their next victim shall be a human, for it will increase the enjoyment of their game. The boys do not care for the adventure of the hunt. They want only the exhilaration of killing, the sight of the blood and the joy of controlling the existence of another being. In order for a pig to be killed, it must first be found. The hassle of a search can be avoided by substituting the pig with a human. It is almost inevitable that the boys gratify their lust with human blood, perhaps with the blood of a littlun. The game is a horrifying example of how evil humanity can be. The dark side of human nature thinks nothing of killing a friend. We are shocked by Ralphs longing to cause pain, Jacks desire to stab Robert with his knife and Roger fighting to get close. But the thing that frightens us the most is the fact that this is not a figment of Goldings imagination, Ralph, Jack and the other islanders are not irrelevant fiction, for human kind is capable of great evil. I feel that the passage in the book is disturbing because it shows us how horrifyingly able we are to be unfeeling and cruel.

The Glass Menagerie Essays -- Literary Analysis, Tennessee Williams

Tennessee Williams’s character Amanda Wingfield, in The Glass Menagerie, is a bold and persuasive personality devoted to the past. Amanda was forsaken by her husband, and faced with raising two children alone during the great depression. Haunted by the rejection of her husband, she is determined to keep her children close. Even if keeping her children close means using guilt and criticism to manipulate every aspect of their lives. Amanda’s domineering behavior drove Mr. Wingfield away, and is now steering her son toward a similar escape. Amanda is an assertive and convincing individual, not afraid to take charge of any situation to insure the outcome undoubtedly complements her desires. She is continually reminding her son, Tom, of his obligation to support the family, and the security his job provides. Amanda considers a woman on her own in the 1930’s to be unusual, and is constantly pleading with Tom to remain in his stale job to insure her daughter, Laura, is taken care of until she is married and independent. While at the same time, extinguishing any hopes and dreams Tom has for his own future (1646; sc. 4). Amanda’s main goal is to find someone to care for her emotionally fragile daughter (1638; sc. 3). Perceived to be a nurturing mother, she uses guilt to guide the very existence of her children. Amanda is crippling her children emotionally by continually critiquing their eating habits, career paths, social behaviors, how they should dress, talk, and entertain (1632; sc. 1). Insisting that Tom’s behavior is too much like his father’s, she believes his actions are keeping him from being successful. While believing that badgering him to behave the way she expects, will make a difference. Amanda tells Tom that h... ...hildren about the parties in the South help to explain the dissatisfaction with her present way of life. She is hopelessly fated to remain unchanged, and destined to repeat the same mistakes that drove her husband away (1632; sc. 1). In the climatic scene when Amanda realizes that Jim is engaged to someone else, she lashes out at Tom. Assuming that he knew about Jim’s fiancà ©e, Amanda hatefully says, â€Å"don’t think about us, a mother deserted, an unmarried sister. Don’t let anything interfere with your selfish pleasure. Just go, go, go (1676; sc.7)†. Tom finally leaves. As a result of Amanda’s controlling nature, the Wingfield family collapses and Tom flees from his frustrated existence, but his escape does not give him the freedom he expects. He is forever tormented by Laura’s memory, just like Amanda is forever tormented by her long lost husband’s memory.

Kant’s Approach to Ethics and the Issue of Suicide Essay

The Renowned German philosopher, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was one of the most influential philosophers of the modern age, whose thought, with its emphasis on the subject, turned the wheels of western philosophy to a new synthesis of idealism and realism in the form of transcendentalism. His ethical theory, developed in his reputed book The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, has to be taken along with the spirit of philosophy that enshrines his three Critiques whenever one attempts a critique on ethical issues like suicide as a gesture of self-love. Body of the Essay (Can suicide be ethical? ) Kant holds the theory of intrinsic morality based on the autonomy of human will. Good is good by itself, and the right is right by itself. It doesn’t depend upon the consequences or effects of the action for a human action to be right or wrong. According to Kantian deontological theory of ethics, committing suicide is wrong and unacceptable from any perspective since it is an action that goes against the categorical imperative he proposed as the norm for ethical decisions. His Categorical Imperative runs thus: â€Å"Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law. † (Wolf Robert Paul (ed) Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals: text and critical essays. 1969. p. 44). Each individual subject should decide for himself and act in such a way that he wills that his maxim should be a universal law. (Wolf, p. 21). Let us now take up the issue of suicide. Suicide may be a personally-decided act, on selfish reasons, emotions or recommendations from physical situations (as in the case of euthanasia). In whatever respects it may be, it goes against the Categorical Imperative, and hence, it is inherently or intrinsically wrong to commit it. Kant argues that committing suicide out of self-love is contrary to the categorical imperative because there is â€Å"a contradiction in a system of nature, whose law would be to destroy life by the feeling whose special office is to impel the improvement of life. † (Wolf, p. 45). Rather he thinks that the destruction of life is incompatible with its improvement and that nature always chooses organs adapted to their purpose (p. 13), so that nature couldn’t (or wouldn’t? ) allow self-love to be used in a way contrary to its purpose which is improvement and nurture of life. In accordance with Kant’s intrinsic morality, the categorical imperative also supports a Practical Imperative, that one has to act so that one treats humanity, whether in his own person or in that of another, always as an end in itself and never as a means only. (Wolf, p. 54). One has to respect and support one’s life because of the dignity implied within. By dignity, he means, â€Å"unconditional and incomparable worth† (Wolf, p. 61). Kant supports this theory with his theory of incommensurability, which holds that moral virtue is infinitely better than anything else. From the perspective of human dignity as well, suicide seems to be an unbecoming action for humans. Conclusion For Kant, reason holds the supreme position (as elaborated in Critique of Pure Reason), and ethics as science, is not rooted in religion or metaphysics, but rather on the inherent worth of existence. Hence, suicide is an unacceptable mode of action even from the perspective of self-love. Love nourishes and does rarely destroy. And even when a bit of destruction is involved, it is only to nurture better that it destroys. Suicide is total destruction without nurture and thus contradicts the very nature of self-love. References Gregory, Mary (ed)(1998) Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals by Immanuel Kant. New York: Cambridge University Press Henson, Richards (1979). â€Å"What Kant Might Have Said: Moral Worth and the Over-determination of Dutiful Action†, in Phil. Review, January, 1979, pp. 39-54). Smith, Norman Kemp (trans. ) (1965) Critique of Pure Reason. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Wolf, Robert Paul (ed. ) (1969) Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals: text and critical essays. trans. , by Lewis White Beck. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.

The Threat Of Cyber Security - 1351 Words

Safety or Freedom In the last decade, technology has evolved dramatically. Even to the point in which is indispensable in our lives. As the world becomes more and more interconnected through technology, the amount of information that is stored in servers all around the world continues to grow. At the same time, governments, businesses, organizations, military groups, and terrorist groups are constantly developing new technology in order to achieve a competitive advantage over the rest of the world. The technology of today is much more advanced, powerful, and dangerous than the technology from ten years ago, even to the point in which a single cyber-attack can cause the death of millions of people. For that reason, cyber security has†¦show more content†¦There are different types of attacks that could result in different outcomes. Terrorists groups are one of the most dangerous because technology is facilitating their work. These groups use technology like smart phones, comp uters, and other technology to communicate from remote locations and organize and conduct attacks in different parts of the world, including the United States. In order for the intelligence services of the United States to protect the country from these types of attacks and function effectively, they need to implement operations in secret. One of the most controversial secret activity of the last decade is the national security agency’s surveillance program. The surveillance program was authorized by President Busch right after the September 11th 2001 terrorist’s attacks. For many years, the national security agency collected and monitored vast amounts of communications data, mainly phone records, from the people living in the United Sates. One of the main issues of this program is that it violates the privacy of the people. â€Å"news reports have asserted that the NSA has conducted warrantless spying on the phone and e-mail communications of thousands of people inside the U.S., and has been secretly collecting the phone call records of millions of Americans, using data provided by major telecommunications companies, including ATT† (Zetter). The way the national security