Dear Book club, (Me [Hobbes] , Locke, Machiavelli, Jeremy Bentham, and Clark Griswald from National Lampoons Movies)
It is with my profound pleasure to say that I have completed the book Lord of the Flies.
Now that this book has come to a close, I find this time opportune to discuss our beliefs on these two essential understanding quotes.
1. The governed have a responsibility for their governance.
2. Philosophies of leadership are determined by beliefs about human nature.
First off, I will begin with the understanding that the governed have a responsibility for their governance. My opinions on this essential understanding are simple. I believe that the governed would only request one type of governing. The governing would be one neutral party responsible for managing and dispersing the goods/benefits evenly to the two feuding. This type of balance would keep utter chaos in check. In the novel, instead of modeling my proven method, the boys (Ralph and Jack) tried to use two contrasting governments.
The first, a democracy, did not successfully work because their was no rewards or punishments for good and bad actions. There was absolutely no structure in Ralph's attempted government and that is why it failed. "We have lots of assemblies... We decide things. But they don't get done."
The second, a totalitarian type government, was more successful than the first, and would have continued to work if they had not been rescued. The problem with Jack's government is that they had to destroy anything that opposed him. The point of government is to keep us from becoming savages and Jack's government did not work properly. "Don't you understand, you painted fools? Sam, Eric, Piggy, and me - we aren't enough [to form a proper tribe that will allow for our rescue]"
Finally I will end with the understanding that philosophies of leadership are determined by beliefs about human nature. I believe this understanding is completely true. For example, in the book the leaders are influenced by their own human nature so much that their beliefs/tasks seem unreasonable. To stop this feuding parties a third, neutral, party, or leader, must take charge of the island and implement ideas from both leaders in order for a successful society. So yes I do believe that understanding human nature will positively influence the qualities of a leader.
Ralph and Jack's leadership styles contradict one another. Ralph has a political leadership style, while Jack has a totalitarian leadership style. These two leaders remind me of Fidel Castro's
overthrow of the Cuban government. Much like the situation between Jack and Ralph, Fidel was upset with how Cuba was being run. Fidel decided to overthrow the pre-existing government, just like Jack did, "Who thinks Ralph oughtn't to be cheif?" At first Fidel failed, much like Jack, but he then regrouped himself and mounted a successful revolt against the government of Cuba. This situation mirrors Jack's overthrowing of Ralph. The only possible way both leaders could cope with one another would be if they appointed a third leader that was a neutral party. This would allow for equal styles of leadership and would minimize conflict between the two feuding parties.
There is only one way to have a successful government and it always involves at least three parties.
I just want to thank each book member for the wonderful discussion we have had through the past month. I think for our next book we should read A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich, The Lost Symbol, or Peace and War.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Simon The Interpreter
Dear Book club, (Me [Hobbes] , Locke, Machiavelli, Jeremy Bentham, and Clark Griswald from National Lampoons Movies)
Today we will be discussing the role that Simon played in chapters 8 and 9.
I, Thomas Hobbes, believe that chapters 8 and 9 are the most important in the book because Simon's hallucinations allow him to see clearly what the other boys on the isle can not. These chapters also show the true horror of human nature.
Simon was a conscientious and easy going human being. Simon never intentionally harmed anyone and was always a "Jesus" like figure. Simon portrayed little to none of my beliefs on human nature. In chapter 8, Simon witnesses the cruel and repulsive human nature of the hunters. He sees the brutal massacre of a mother pig and one of her many piglets. This saddens Simon because he can't understand why humans have such a cruel human nature.
In the book I believe Simon is comparable to Jesus, a christian martyr. For example in the book, he saw images that shed light on the complexity of life on the isle. He was also influenced by a source that could not speak. This is similar to Jesus because like Simon, Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. Jesus saw images that could positively influence man kind, much like Simon did. Simon was also the name of an apostle of Jesus. While Simon was talking to the pig, he learned that the beast was just a part of his imagination. After this epiphany, Simon realizes that there is no beast on the island. To test his new found realization, he decides to hike up to the mountain where the so called beast was last seen. After reaching the pinnacle of the Mountain of Fire, he can clearly see the beast. Instead of some dreaded monster, there lies the carcass of a man who parachuted onto the island. The beast was merely a dead human being with a parachute attached to him. This confirms Simon's conversation with the Lord of the Flies. Simon was elated by this news and decided to run down the mountain to tell his fellow tribes members the good news.
While running down the mountain the weather starts to make a turn for the worst. The sky crackles with thunder and is illuminated by the flashes of lightning. Once Simon reaches his tribes members, he crawls through the creepers and into an irie voodoo scene. Suddenly the tribes members start to attack Simon with their spears, nails, and teeth yelling "Kill the beast, cut his throat, spill his blood." Simon tries to tell them to stop hitting him and also tries to tell them the news, but sadly this does not stop the torture he is enduring. With a few frantic steps Simon falls off the ledge to the beach, where he is promptly killed by his pursuers. Then the sky opens up with rain. This scene reminds me of Jesus's crucifixion because after he was killed the skies opened up. This scene also shows the true terror of human nature and how drastically unpredictable it is.
The importance of the Lord of the Flies is to symbolize our own thoughts. In our minds a continuous battle of right versus wrong rages each hour of every day. The pig is, in a sense, our common sense telling us the blunt truth, "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close. I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?" This quote symbolizes that the pig is Simon's thoughts tell him what is and what is no. We sometimes ignore our common sense out of ignorance, which usually results in our own faulty actions.
Simon's death was a brutal massacre scene that was masterminded by a few toddlers. As I have already pointed out, Simon's death was very similar to Jesus's crucifixion. People who knew of Jesus thought he was a beast and that he must be vanquished. In the book Simon, seen by the boys while crawling out of the woods, was thought to have been the beast. The boys brash actions resulted in the death of Simon, the interpreter. In the bible, after the death of Jesus, the sky's opened up and turned black. This was similar to Simon's death because the very same events transpired. "Now a great wind blew the rain sideways, cascading the water from the forest trees." This scene shows the similarities between the interpreters from both tribes.
Today we will be discussing the role that Simon played in chapters 8 and 9.
I, Thomas Hobbes, believe that chapters 8 and 9 are the most important in the book because Simon's hallucinations allow him to see clearly what the other boys on the isle can not. These chapters also show the true horror of human nature.
Simon was a conscientious and easy going human being. Simon never intentionally harmed anyone and was always a "Jesus" like figure. Simon portrayed little to none of my beliefs on human nature. In chapter 8, Simon witnesses the cruel and repulsive human nature of the hunters. He sees the brutal massacre of a mother pig and one of her many piglets. This saddens Simon because he can't understand why humans have such a cruel human nature.
In the book I believe Simon is comparable to Jesus, a christian martyr. For example in the book, he saw images that shed light on the complexity of life on the isle. He was also influenced by a source that could not speak. This is similar to Jesus because like Simon, Jesus fasted for forty days in the desert. Jesus saw images that could positively influence man kind, much like Simon did. Simon was also the name of an apostle of Jesus. While Simon was talking to the pig, he learned that the beast was just a part of his imagination. After this epiphany, Simon realizes that there is no beast on the island. To test his new found realization, he decides to hike up to the mountain where the so called beast was last seen. After reaching the pinnacle of the Mountain of Fire, he can clearly see the beast. Instead of some dreaded monster, there lies the carcass of a man who parachuted onto the island. The beast was merely a dead human being with a parachute attached to him. This confirms Simon's conversation with the Lord of the Flies. Simon was elated by this news and decided to run down the mountain to tell his fellow tribes members the good news.
While running down the mountain the weather starts to make a turn for the worst. The sky crackles with thunder and is illuminated by the flashes of lightning. Once Simon reaches his tribes members, he crawls through the creepers and into an irie voodoo scene. Suddenly the tribes members start to attack Simon with their spears, nails, and teeth yelling "Kill the beast, cut his throat, spill his blood." Simon tries to tell them to stop hitting him and also tries to tell them the news, but sadly this does not stop the torture he is enduring. With a few frantic steps Simon falls off the ledge to the beach, where he is promptly killed by his pursuers. Then the sky opens up with rain. This scene reminds me of Jesus's crucifixion because after he was killed the skies opened up. This scene also shows the true terror of human nature and how drastically unpredictable it is.
The importance of the Lord of the Flies is to symbolize our own thoughts. In our minds a continuous battle of right versus wrong rages each hour of every day. The pig is, in a sense, our common sense telling us the blunt truth, "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close. I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?" This quote symbolizes that the pig is Simon's thoughts tell him what is and what is no. We sometimes ignore our common sense out of ignorance, which usually results in our own faulty actions.
Simon's death was a brutal massacre scene that was masterminded by a few toddlers. As I have already pointed out, Simon's death was very similar to Jesus's crucifixion. People who knew of Jesus thought he was a beast and that he must be vanquished. In the book Simon, seen by the boys while crawling out of the woods, was thought to have been the beast. The boys brash actions resulted in the death of Simon, the interpreter. In the bible, after the death of Jesus, the sky's opened up and turned black. This was similar to Simon's death because the very same events transpired. "Now a great wind blew the rain sideways, cascading the water from the forest trees." This scene shows the similarities between the interpreters from both tribes.
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