1970 Also. Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another.
Have you ever wondered what a pig head has to do with a group of boys crashed on an island? In Lord of The Flies, It means quite a lot. The pig head shows the savagery that the boys are facing, and also the fierceness of Jack and his "Hunters". In the book, the author, William Golding, uses imagery to advance plot points and illustrate the basic savagery inherent in humans.
The pig head represents that the boys on this island have the power of their own world. Being on the island with no adults guarantees that one person in particular is going to have to step up as a leader. When the boys decide that they need food, Jack goes to hunt a pig, and comes back with a very bloody pig head that he had cut off. This pig shows how the real world rules did't apply to them on this island. In the real world, if a little boy went off and cut off a pig's head, people (adults) would think the child needed help. Decapitating the pig in an act of violence shows the boys on this island that Jack is the kind of leader that will use his power to provide for the group and ignore the rules of the adult world, unlike Ralph, who wanted to keep all of the boys organized, and put rules up.
The pigs head marks the time in the novel when Jack realizes that he doesn't have to listen to Ralph and can create his own society and rules, Jack and the rest of the boys have never been used to a world with no adults and no rules, so being in this situation, causes Jack to become a tyrant. Jack's savagery at this point becomes a big factor in the book. By being the kid to kill the pig and cutting of it's head, Jack becomes a whole new person who thinks it is okay to beat up other children like Piggy who don't conform to his ways and still follows Ralph. The pig head really helped jack along his road to tyranny, and kept a reminder to the rest of the kids that he was the boss.
The pig head symbolizes the power and the savagery that comes out from the kids basic human nature when the children are put in the situation of being alone and with no adult. Having to provide for themselves cause a major rift in between all of the boys, creating a war zone like situation. Savagery and power are intertwined in the novel, and the pig's head is only one of the objects that symbolize this.
In you thesis, it is very important to address all the goals of the prompt. Here, you need to state how the two purposes that the inanimate object serves are connected. I really like your paragraph regarding the plot development using the pig's head. i would recommend expanding further on how it serves as a testament to the inherent savagery present among human beings. The last paragraph is a good start to connecting the two purposes of the pig's head. this is the central point of your argument that you should analyze in greater detail to demonstrate clear reflection on the symbolism and eventual theme portrayed by the pig's head.
ReplyDeleteI like that your essay started with a question--it got me thinking about the prompt before you'd even started explaining. You use good details from the book to support your point, and I think the pig's head really fits. One thing I would point out, though, is that your intro paragraph could be a little more information in it, leading up to your explanation of the prompt in relation to the book.
ReplyDeleteYash makes a good point about your thesis. I would add that it almost appears that you have a thesis about a specific inanimate object, as required by the prompt--the pig's head ("The pig head shows the savagery that the boys are facing, and also the fierceness of Jack and his 'Hunters'")--followed by a second thesis about imagery in general. This is confusing.
ReplyDeleteI would amend what Alex has said about the rhetorical question opening--there's nothing wrong with a question as an opener, as long as it's a genuinely thought-provoking question. No one in the history of ever has, just out of nowhere, "wondered what a pig head has to do with a group of boys crashed on an island." That's a rhetorical question that's just going to make your reader laugh.