Aim: How does William Golding formulate the island into a microcosm of WWII through allegory?
We started off the lesson with a discussion, trying to equate the structure of the school to the structure of the government in the United States. My group believed that the principal acts as the president, with the school board acting as a Congress/Supreme Court, checking the power of the principal and making sure he/she doesn’t do anything rash. We believed that the assistant principals and school aides acted as Vice Presidents and members of the cabinet, as they advised the president, or principal, on key decisions throughout the school. The teachers would act as governors, as they are in charge of their subject, similar to governors being in charge of their states. Paras, who are student aides, would act as mayors. Finally, the students would be the general population, with the Student Council acting as an “advisory body” to the government. The SO President is the president of that advisory council, with the SO officers being “members of Congress”.
However, this wasn’t the only idea brought up in this discussion. Others brought up the interesting idea that the school was a monarchy - the principal, or the king, had supreme power, and he could make authoritative decisions in the school. In fact, they believed that the form of democracy in the school was the Student Council, in which the SO President was the “elected leader”, and the SO officers were “members of Congress”. Most of the class agreed that the Student Council was a democratic body.
After the opening discussion, we began the lesson with the introduction of microcosms and allegories. Microcosms are representations of something on a smaller scale, while allegories are literary devices in which characters or events represent symbols illustrating an idea, moral, or religious principle.
Following that, we began a second class discussion, relating to our knowledge of the Second World War. World War 2 was a conflict between the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, Japan, and, to a lesser extent, against the Allied Powers, which primarily included the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union,The primary causes of WW2 were the Treaty of Versailles at the end of WW1, which left Germany in ruins, and the idea of nationalism. Nationalistic countries grew in the world: Germany, under Adolf Hitler, Italy, under Benito Mussolini, the Soviet Union, under Joseph Stalin, and Japan, under Hideki Tojo. The president of the United States during the war was Franklin Roosevelt, while Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. WW2 was a war of its kind - it was the deadliest war in history, with over 60,000,000 people being killed. WW2 saw the worst of humanity, with the Holocaust being a terrifying example of evil. The war ended up raising the discussion on human rights. After 6 years of brutal conflict across Europe, the Atlantic, North Africa, and the Pacific, the Allied Powers reigned victorious.
A summary on WW2(written): https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history
A brief overview on WW2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUqy-OQvVtI
The class had a long discussion on this topic, with everyone having a lot to say on what they know about the Second World War. Following that, we began the final discussion.
The final discussion began with analyzing the irony of the boys escaping war while creating a very toxic and dangerous environment on the island. The boys are flying out to escape the terrifying event that is WW2 - after all, Britain, where the boys come from, is being constantly bombarded by the German Luftwaffe. The boys crash onto an uninhabited island, effectively moving them out of the war. However, the boys create their own war within! In Chapter 5 and at the beginning of Chapter 6, we see a struggle of power between Jack and Ralph, with Piggy being in the midst of it. Piggy tries to use rational, but Jack reacts with fury. The situation is becoming very tense - they are starting their own mini-war.
The final part was addressing the aim and looking at the island through the glasses of a microcosm of the Second World War. I believed that the events on the island represent the events in the leadup to the Second World War, using allegory. At the beginning of the book, Ralph and Piggy call in everyone to an assembly, where Ralph is chosen as a leader. For me, this relates to the Treaty of Versailles, where the victors and losers of WW1 assemble and try to set forward a new world order. However, someone else wants power - Jack, who I believe is a very similar character to Adolf Hitler in this microcosm of WW2 through allegory. Jack wants power, and his seizure of power is pretty similar to the way Adolf Hitler did seize power in Germany. Both Jack and Hitler promised plenty: Jack promised food, being the meat of the pig, while Hitler promised a better life for the German people. Jack rallied the boys to the cause of “killing the beast”, similar to Hitler rallying people against his political and ideological enemies - the Jews, Slavs, and other races so called “inferior”. Jack does what he wants - in fact, he attacks Piggy as well. Here, I believe that Piggy represents Winston Churchill, who was being bombarded by German attacks in the Battle of Britain. While Piggy/Churchill is suffering, Ralph, who is Franklin Roosevelt in this microcosm, turns a blind eye. Despite him technically supporting Piggy, which is similar to Lend-Lease, he doesn’t aid a begging Piggy/Churchill.
These questions provoked minutes of discussion. Following that, we finished up the lesson by continuing to discuss the island project with our team members. As a team, we will have to construct our own imaginary island, with each member having their own part and the use of creative imagery in writing!
Reflection: This was a very thought-provoking lesson, in which we used literary devices such as allegory to determine how William Golding uses Lord of the Flies as a microcosm of World War 2. This allowed me to get a deeper understanding of the novel itself. When I first started reading the book, I was intrigued by the plotline, but never really tried to connect it to real-life events. However, following this lesson, I will do so, and I am intrigued to see how Golding will use WW2 microcosms later on in the story. By starting off the lesson comparing the student government and the school structure to the government of the United States, I realized that I got an introduction into what a microcosm is, and I believe that I have fully grasped the meaning of the term. The school structure was a microcosm of the US government. However, in Lord of the Flies, the situation is not just a microcosm of WW2 - it is also an allegory. We don’t see actual war in the conflict - we see kids, children fighting for control and for the influence of others. That is likely why I didn’t make the connection at first - I didn’t connect kids to the Second World War!
I feel that I learned this to get a greater understanding of Lord of the Flies. When reading a book like that, you need to gain a good understanding of what is happening in the novel - that includes analyzing the literary devices used by the author. Without this, you can’t get a complete understanding of the author’s intentions. Later on, allegory and microcosm will help me understand books in the future - in fact, one of the books I have read before, Animal Farm, is a microcosm of the Russian Revolution. These new devices I have learned will likely help me in understanding literature and writing in the future! To end it off, I will use this connection later on in reading Lord of the Flies - for every major event that happens in the book, I will try to connect it to World War 2 and try to identify William Golding’s intentions. In addition, I will use allegory and microcosms to understand future works that I am reading: after all, it could always be present there! Thank you for reading and have a great day!
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