BNW Essay Draft 1

We live in a world where we are different and that is normal, but what would happen if we were all pushed to act the same? And what if someone wasn’t like the rest? In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, each human is bred to do a task and they are expected to do that task and act in a certain manner that will benefit mankind. No one goes against it and no one questions it. Except a few like Bernard for example. He was meant to be taller for his “class” but wasn’t. He was meant to enjoy the erotic play, but he all and all really wasn’t. He felt alienated to the world because he was different than all the rest of society and had ideas that were looked down upon because they were taught to believe that they weren’t normal. But by being alienated from society its true assumptions and moral values are shown.

Bernard is smart like any other Alpha human in the society except for the fact that he is a little bit shorter than the rest of ALL the other Alphas. Because of this he feels different because in a world where everyone is made the same being different makes you stand out. So Bernard with his short stature and brilliance questions life in a different manner than everyone else. He isn’t interested in most of the other things that all the other humans are and because of this he is alienated from society. From this the readers begin to understand the moral values because they are expressed through Bernard’s alienation. 

From the very beginning in the teenage years of life the genetically engineered humans are taught to like erotic play, but Bernard isn’t as interested as everyone else. This shows the society’s interest and its push toward erotic play and sexual behavior because Bernard’s ideology toward it amplifies it. Bernard is also alone because he is alienated from society and because he is also exceptionally smart for even an Alpha he begins to question his society and its teachings. Because of this he is casted away. Society’s ideology about perception of new ideas is brought forth here because it shows that they don’t want the Alphas, Betas or anyone to have an outside influence that could possible “corrupt” the way of life that has been so carefully molded into a routine into work, sex, and Obstacle Golf. 

In conclusion it is apparent that through Bernard’s perception of the society he lives in us as readers get an understanding of the society’s morals and values through the comparison between Bernard’s ideology and the ideology of society’s larger figures in the grand scheme of things. Society wants everything to be perfect without outside influence and children Epsilon and Deltas are taught from the start to dislike books to keep them from reading. But Bernard questions the society as he isn’t born like a normal Alpha and questions its values.

Literature Analysis 2

Lord of the Flies

General

1.     Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys whose plane crash lands on a deserted island and they find themselves alone. A boy named Ralph is elected their leader and holds the conch which is a symbol for power. The seem to believe that there is a monster on the island and are afraid of it. Ralph decides that they should build a signal fire in case a ship passes and so each boy is assigned the duty of guarding the fire. The boys soon kill their first pig and they are thrilled with their kill and from then on out they are obsessed with killing. Soon all the boys leave Ralph and Piggy and form their own group. They kill another of the boys, Simon, out of fear of him being a beast. They then kill Piggy and soon they decide to kill Ralph. He runs away from the other boys and runs into a Navy Officer and are saved.

2.     One of the main themes of the article is loss of innocence. This is shown through the boys adaptation to savagery and death.

3.     The tone of the story is dark, violent and depressing. “The ground beneath them was a bank covered with sparse grass, torn everywhere buy the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar.”

4.     Symbolism – In the story the “conch” represents the item of power and whoever is in control of the conch has the power.

Tone –  “The ground beneath them was a bank covered with sparse grass, torn everywhere buy the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar.”

Diction – “A kind of glamour was spread over them and the scene and they were conscious of the glamour and made happy by it. They turned to each other, laughing excitedly, talking, not listening. The air was bright.”

Metaphor – “The tide was low and there was a strip of weed strewn beach that was almost as firm as a road.”

Allusion – The title of the book is an allusion to the title given to Beelzebub and Simon is an allusion to Simon Peter or Saint Peter.

Setting – “The candle-buds opened their wide white flowers…Their scent spilled out into the air and took possession of the island.”

Forshadowing – Roger whom threw stones at Henry is a foreshadow to him killing Piggy with a giant boulder.

Irony – The scene where they climb up to the top of the mountain and find “the beast” which in reality is just a dead man.

Imagery – “there was a strip of weed-strewn beach that was almost as firm as a road.”

Dialogue – “I ought to be chief [Jack said] because I’m chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.”

Characterization

1.     “I ought to be chief because I’m chorister and head boy, I can sing C sharp.” The author uses both direct and indirect characterization in order to get a full characterization on by boys on the island. “[Piggy] My auntie told me not to run on account of my asthma.”

2.     Yes the diction does change because when he is describing the events with Simon they are more mysterious and profound because he is the on of the wiser boys in the group. But when he is talking about the events of Jack he writes in a more dark and savage tone because Jack becomes a beast. This helps in bringing out the full intensity of different characters and their actions.

3.     I would have to say that the protagonist is Ralph and he doesn’t really change that much through the story because he doesn’t become savage and keeps to his virtues in life unlike the other boys.

4.     After reading the book I didn’t really feel like I met one of the boys. But I did feel like I was there on the island with them experiencing the thunderstorm and the killing and all the rest of the events that took place.