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View Full Version : Revisiting the Past: Lord of the Flies



Yazmin123
07-05-2012, 08:50 AM
Most of us has read "Lord of the Flies" at some point or another. It's author derives plenty from other works such as "The Bacchae". "The Bacchae" isn't the most notable of connections too the Lord of the Flies, but try too compare the parallels between the two. There are commonalities between the characters and especially between the thematic elements. Arguably the most important things the authors want us too learn about are good versus evil, human nature, and the tendencies/habits of societies, but what does each of them want us to learn about these points?
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The Comedian
07-05-2012, 10:09 PM
I've read both of these works. What do you think about the comparisons that you raise in this thread? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Yazmin123
07-07-2012, 08:43 PM
I've read both of these works. What do you think about the comparisons that you raise in this thread? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I'll go over Good versus evil quickly. In Lord of the Flies it is seen that Piggy and Ralph viewed man as being essentially good and that evil happens because something was wrong with people. Jack used power over others and believed that forces more powerful than him must be appeased through ceremony and sacrifice. Simon believed that both good and evil lay within each person. I'm going to have to get the citations for these eventually, but that is what I and most acknowledge as the good versus evil (Ralph versus Jack). I'm at a loss if Simon should still be included in an analysis considering is almost pure like character.
In The Bacchae Dionysus' wilderness is seen as essential to human nature and survival; it is also destructive. I can't really describe The Bacchae's good and evil other than order(good) and chaos(bad), Diunysus being the young God brings in change that would casue chaos in the male dominated society that Pentheus wants to uphold.
But then it makes you think shouldn't D be described as good? He's bringing up women in a male dominated society, and P should be bad because he is keeping women down in pursuit of keeping his dominant free male status in society. This behavior from Pentheus could possibly be applied to the tendencies and habits of society too though. There's alot of blanks in my thought process I apologize for the inconvience my confusing response may have provided you with. Lol.