After a terrific storm sweeps over the Pacific Ocean during World War II, a group of British schoolboys are stranded on a tropical island following a plane crash. Forced to survive on their own, the boys attempt to govern themselves but ultimately succumb to savagery. In a different era, a Prophet stands before a group of villagers who ask him to speak of the good and evil in all people. The Prophet responds by only speaking of good and refers to “evil” as none other than good that is lost and uninspired. Utilizing prose and poetry respectively, William Golding's Lord of the Flies and Khalil Gibran's "Good and Evil XXII" both reject the idea of evil being a separate entity, but while "evil" manifests itself
“Hell is a...foulsmelling prison,” James Joyce asserts in his essay Hell, “an abode of demons and lost souls, filled with fire and smoke” (295). In addition to both supporting these claims and constructing an engaging narrative, Joyce places himself in the piece as the narrator, guiding the audience through this hellscape. However, Joyce’s authoritative position alone cannot effectively illustrate the scene. As a result, Joyce relies on literary tools to elicit the intended impression of hell, immersing the reader in this environment. By employing an organized structure and a combination of different modes of description, diction and syntax, Joyce cultivates a compelling portrayal of hell that in return, evokes a visceral reaction from the reader.
The era of gothic novels ushered in a time of revolt from science and a push away from scientific thought. Frankenstein, itself, offers one long ode to the fact that ambition and the thirst for knowledge can have devastating consequences for the person who craves them. The creature and Victor Frankenstein both serve as warning signs for Walton on his journey for scientific discovery.
Johnathan Edwards throughout his life time was able to captivate the attention and hearts of his audience with impactful speeches that boasted clever rhetorical devices. Using rhetorical devices to evoke emotional responses from his audience, Johnathan Edwards was able to maintain a potent role in his society throughout the early 1700’s. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edward’s displayed the potential of rhetorical devices as he delivered his message of fear to the audience in an effective manner. Throughout the sermon Edwards utilized several forms of rhetorical devices including, similes and metaphors, repetition and alliteration, and parallelism.
In “Beowulf,” there are many concepts of good and evil portrayed in the epic poem by an unknown author. Beowulf brings good to the Geats. The people would say he was a gift from the Gods to battle and demolish the evil. The monsters, however, cause trouble to the people and bring out the evil in everything. These elements of good and evil help define this an epic poem.
Rita Felski’s view of tragedy being the failure “to master the self and the world” is at the heart of Nella Larsen’s Quicksand and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both texts are concerned with the incapacity of defining and accepting one’s identity and the characters’ attempts to resolve this identity crisis by isolating themselves. This essay will argue that the fundamental cause for this tragedy is the lack of emotional connection from one’s family, which in turn prohibits one to sympathize with anyone, including oneself.
In the novel, Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, Victor and the Creature are the main references when it comes to the issues of morality. Several themes such as good versus evil, prejudice, and ambition & fallibility, the importance of friendship along with references to other famous texts like the Christian bible are manifested through the use of Victor and the Creature as they interact with each other allowing readers to construe examples of morality. Many debaters may argue the Creature is “evil” since a majority of his actions harm others while Victor is good because he was the victim and seeks to destroy his creation. However, one may counter this argument if they accentuate Victor is evil since he was the Creature’s creator,
The classic novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley in 1818, displays the use of literary devices, foreshadowing, allusions and figurative language, which aid the reader in understanding the authors opinion on scientific exploration. These techniques are used to arouse anticipation within the reader, therefore engaging them throughout the text. Along with providing a greater understanding of the novel, by referring to other books, and using the novel to portray the authors own perspective on scientific exploration. All these devices are effectively used within the novel to provide a deeper understandings of Mary Shelley’s work.
In his introduction to ‘Paradise Lost’, Philip Pullman relates an anecdote in which a country squire listening to Milton’s poem being read aloud suddenly exclaims: ‘”By God! I know not what the outcome may be, but this Lucifer is a damned fine fellow, and I hope he may win!”’ (Milton, 2008, 1). It is this effect Roman Polanski aims for in The Ninth Gate by presenting the anti-Christ, another aspect of the unholy trinity, as heroic, and his means of achieving it the utilization of the model of the hero’s journey as formulated by Joseph Campbell. Whether or not we consider this aim achieved, such is the film’s subversive use of the hero’s journey, its tropes and its character archetypes, we may consider it in conversation with and critique of the model itself, be it Campbell’s original model or that further refined for writers by Christopher Vogler.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise was his first book that he published that sparked his stardom in the world of authorship. Thomas Jefferson once said, “If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value.” Life is quite a journey. There are numerous things that will forgo in life that will cause people to change their thinking or beliefs. The friends’ people hang out with, their hobbies, interests, schools and universities they attend. They are all part of the equation in finding your identity and your purpose in life. For Amory Blaine, it started all the way back from his childhood when his mother was raising him. After that came the countless, un-meaningful relationships,
Although John Milton’s Paradise Lost remains to be a celebrated piece recounting the spiritual, moral, and cosmological origin of man’s existence, the imagery that Milton places within the novel remains heavily overlooked. The imagery, although initially difficult to recognize, embodies the plight and odyssey of Satan and the general essence of the novel, as the imagery unravels the consequences of temptation that the human soul faces in the descent from heaven into the secular realms. Though various forms of imagery exist within the piece, the contrast between light and dark imagery portrays this viewpoint accurately, but its interplay and intermingling with other imagery, specifically the contrasting imagery of height and depth as well as cold and warmth, remain to be strong points
“The creature is bitter and dejected after being turned away from human civilization, much the same way that Adam in “Paradise lost was turned out of the Garden of Eden. One difference, though, makes the monster a sympathetic character, especially to contemporary readers. In the biblical story, Adam causes his own fate by sinning. His creator, Victor, however, causes the creature’s hideous existence, and it is this grotesqueness that leads to the creature’s being spurned. Only after he is repeatedly rejected does the creature become violent and decides to seek revenge” (Mellor 106). This creation allegory is made clear from the beginning with the epigraph from John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667), which begins the novel.
In conclusion, Dante’s Inferno implicitly communicates to mankind through an allegorical presentation about an individual’s detour off a righteous path leading him into the depths of Hell. He gradually learns that God’s justice prevails, no one can escape eternal damnation unless they
Evil has always been evident, throughout the history of man examples of evil are apparent, so why would our literature be any different? Written in 1959 William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is no different, as its theme explores the natural evils of man through the plot. The book tells of the events that occur after a group of young boys are marooned on an island, the main characters Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon, grapple with finding food and water while they struggle with the return of more animalistic instincts without the guiding hand of civilization. The intrinsic evil and unavoidable sins of man are are exposed through William Golding’s characterization and overlying themes in Lord of the Flies.
To begin his mission, Milton devoted his first book of Paradise Lost to introduce Satan along with his falling angels in Hell attempting to plan a revenge on God. So, Satan is the central figure of book 1, a figure that Milton presents with plenty of epithets and with a magnificent energy and a personal pride. To what extent did Paradise Lost present Satan as a moral agent? Given the politics of the English revolution and restoration, how precisely should we interpret Satan’s language and policy in Hell? Did the spiritual poem reveal the 17th century religious beliefs or Milton’s ones? How is Milton’s God represented in book 1? Paradise Lost is a very dense epic poem. Some readers may not understand it and find it complex or sometimes contradictory in its representations and dimensions. In this essay I will try to find answers and some interpretations to its complexity through a focus on its literary aspects and both theological and political