英语本科毕业论文-《蝇王》的现代性启示--人性的自赎.doc

2013届毕业设计（论文） 蝇王的现代性启示 人性的自赎 分 院外国语学院专 业英语 班 级英本0901学 号姓 名指导教师完成时间2013年05月 Modernity Revelation of Lord of the Flies - Humanity Self-salvation by Zhao DianA Thesis Submitted to School of Foreign Language of Shangqiu University in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts Supervisedby Sun Meiran May, 2013 商丘学院本科毕业设计（论文） 摘 要 英国当代作家威廉戈尔丁的小说蝇王是一部探索人性的哲理性小说。戈尔丁通过自己的作品揭示人性中邪恶的一面，帮助人类面对自己心灵深处的黑暗，作为其代表作，蝇王正是在这种思想指导下创作而成。本文通过剖析文本中三个典型人物的悲剧命运，反映出一个现存的社会问题青少年犯罪。然后，本文从社会环境和青少年自身素质两方面去追溯造成文明社会中这一现象的根源，引申出遏制其蔓延的必要性。进一步提出了预防和解决青少年犯罪问题的具体措施，从而探讨了青少年犯罪的遏制如何体现人性的自赎。通过阐述人性的自赎揭示其对人类自身发展和社会进步具有的现代意义。关键词:蝇王；悲剧命运；青少年犯罪；人性的自赎 Abstract Lord of the Flies by the English contemporary writer William Golding is a philosophical novel about human nature. It is Goldings masterpiece created under his decision to help human beings face the darkness of their hearts by revealing the evil side of human nature in his work. This paper begins with an analysis of the tragic fate of three typical characters in the text, and then talks about an existing social problemjuvenile delinquency. Next, the causes of such problem in civilized society are found in a complex of psychological and social factors, and the necessity to control its pervasion is to be emphasized as well. The following part is to be the concrete measures put forward by the author to prevent and solve the problem of juvenile delinquency. Last, this paper talks about how the restraint of juvenile delinquency embodies humans self-salvation, and then the modernity significance of humanity self-salvation on humans development and social civilization brings this paper to an end. Key words：tragic fate; juvenile delinquency; humanity self-salvation II Contents摘 要IAbstractII1. Introduction12. The Tragic Vein of Lord of the Flies12.1 Analysis of Simon12.2 Piggys Tragedy22.3 Dialectical Tragedy of Jack32.4 The Conflict between Civilization and Savagery33. Factors Attributed to the Tragedy Juvenile Delinquency43.1 Blame of the Society43.1.1 Influence of the War43.1.2 Poor Juvenile Justice System53.1.3 Family Environment and Education53.2 Psychological Problems of Adolescents63.2.1 “Ostrich” Psychological63.2.2 Adolescent Rebellion63.2.3 Material Desires74. Measures to Achieve Salvation84.1 Changes of the External Factors84.1.1 Eradication of the War84.1.2 Restructure of the Juvenile Justice System94.1.3 Enhancement of Adolescents Moral Education104.2 Improvement of the Inherent Factors104.2.1 Self-restraint104.2.2 Self-examination115. Modernity Significance of Humanity Self-salvation115.1 Promotion for Humans Development12 5.2 Social Evolution126. Conclusion13References15Acknowledgments16 1. IntroductionWilliam Golding sets his novel Lord of the Flies at a time when Europe was in the midst of nuclear destruction. Lord of the Flies is a story happened in the Second World War which is imaged by the writer himself. A cloud of children was trapped on a desert island because of the air crash when they retreated in the war. The living condition is terrible and there is no adult. These children began their life on the island without civilization. This book not only portrays the ugly head of the wild boar, but also represents the dark side of human nature. The confrontation between Ralph and Jack also symbolizes the conflict between civilization and savagery. It also comes up with an important problem juvenile delinquency. This paper talks about how the restraint of juvenile delinquency embodies humans self-salvation and then the modernity significance of humanity self-salvation to humans development and social civilization brings this paper to an end. . 2. The Tragic Vein of Lord of the FliesAll characters of Lord of the Flies are children, who are supposed to be closest to a state of innocence and artlessness. However, instead of cheerful and happy air, the tragic color is throughout the novel.2.1 Analysis of SimonPerhaps the most symbolic character in the story, Simon represents pure-natural goodness and positive outlook. Among all the boys, Simons behavior is perhaps the most exemplary during the first part of the story. He is Ralphs faithful helper in building the shelters and is the only boy who recognizes the true beast. For sensitivity and fears, knows that the only way to deal with fear is to face it. When no one else wants to climb back up the mountain after seeing the “beast from air,” it is Simon who proposes just such a climb. “What else is there to do?” he reasons. And even after Simon imagines the beast telling him, with the “infinite cynicism of adult life,” that “everything was a bad business,” he answers, “I know that.” Ralphs vision of how things are going is all too-human and clouded compared to Simons, though Simon must periodically retreat to the candle-budded trees in the forest to restore and maintain this clear-sightedness. Yet even Simon faints with weakness and disgust after seeing the beast and imagining it saying, “You knew, did not you? Im part of you? Im the reason why its no go? Why things are what they are?” (William Golding, 1954: 50) When confronted with the realization that he is isolated and cut off from the others in his special knowledge, and just as afraid to die as any of them, Simon begins to lose the vision that had made him a potential savior of the group.A ritual and make-believe killing of the pig at the beginning as a way of celebrating a good hunt now becomes a real ritual murder. Simon, in an attempt to tell the others about his discovery of the “man on the hill,” accidentally stumbles into a ring of littleness and is killed in the confusion. The incident marks an important turning point in the story, for it is the first time that the boys have deliberately killed one of their own.2.2 Piggys Tragedy Similarly as Simon, Piggy also died. Piggy is an intelligent and rational boy whose excess weight and asthma often make him the butt of the others jokes. Yet because of his scientific approach to problems, Piggy is a voice of reason without Ralphs leadership would have been undermined far sooner. It is Piggy who not only recognizes the significance of the conch but whose spectacles enable Ralph to start the fire, whose smoke is their only chance of being saved. It is Piggy who realizes that building the shelters is at least as important for their long-term survival as keeping the fire going. It is Piggys understanding of the depths of Jacks hatred for Ralph that forces Ralph to confront his despair at their prospects for getting along. And it is Piggy who makes the brilliant, however simple, suggestion that the fire be moved down to the beach away from the “beast from air.” For all his intellectual powers, however, Piggy is basically ineffectual without Ralph. Piggy is a man of thought, not of action, and he is physically weak because of his asthma. Without his spectacles, he is blind and helpless. After Jack has broken one lens of his glasses and stolen the other, Piggy is doomed in a society where irrational fears and physical strength are more respected than science, law, and dialogue. It is significant that Piggy and the conch are both destroyed at the same time by a huge rock rolled down a cliff by Roger, who has been freed by Jack from the taboo of the old life under the protection of parents, schools, policemen and the law to unleash his savage instincts. Of all the children, Piggy is the most adult in his appearance, behavior, and beliefs. His thinning hair, which never seems to grow, and his frequent appeals to “what grownups would do” suggest his maturity and wisdom. In the closing lines of the book, Ralph weeps not only for “the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart,” but for “the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (William Golding, 1954: 63)2.3 Dialectical Tragedy of Jack In contrast, Jacks tragedy is dialectical. He is persuasive and Jack preferred to be called last name, rather than a “kid name.” This attitude may suggest the “simple arrogance” that causes Jack to propose himself for chief. After all, he exclaims, “Im chapter chorister and head boy.” (William Golding, 1954: 72)It is true that Jack has the advantage of being tall; his direction of the choir is another sign of an “obvious leader.” As a political animal, however, Jack recognizes that choir conducting will not get him far on a deserted island. His decision to turn the choir into a group of hunters with himself as leader shows that he can be a wily strategist.In other ways, however, Jack is careless and destructive, as he accidentally steps on Piggys glasses and breaks a lens. As Ralphs civilized world disintegrates, Jacks savage society becomes more distinct and powerful. Jack separates his group from Ralphs when the group fails to dethrone Ralph and recognizes Jack as leader. Then Jack sets about wooing away the other boys to his group. One way is by inviting everyone to a pig roast. Another is by painting his hunters bodies and masking their faces, thus turning them into an anonymous mob of fighters who can wound and kill without fear of being singled out as guilty. With Jacks successful theft of Piggys last glass lens, the hunters raid on Ralph and Piggys fire, the capture and defection of Sam and Eric, and finally Piggys death, as engineered by Jack and Roger, the “savages” power is almost absolute. At last, it is Jacks order to use fire to destroy Ralphs hiding places, and even Jack himself can not control the forces of evil that virtually destroys the island.It is Jack who changes the fire from being a signal for rescue to a lethal scourge. His tragedy lies in his lose of morality. He fails to recognize a moral code where law and cooperation is the best and killing is wrong. As the author once commented, the moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system. 2.4 The Conflict between Civilization and SavageryRalph, Simon, and Piggy seem when living in a civilized society, more caring adults, so they had shown more innocent and friendly and there is a strong sense of responsibility. Especially Ralph to the island is recommended by the public as the leader, not only because he blew the conch convened more important is that he can face the truth speaks thorough and clear. Therefore, under the leadership of Ralph, all very well organized and encounter the important thing, we immediately gathered democratic talk, then a division of labor to do it, just like a paradise in the Democratic Republic. However, did not last long, as the differences of opinion and the deterioration of the environment, human nature evil desires gradually swelled, driven by the desire, a better republic began to collapse, democracy succumb to authoritarian, rational, irrational instead, the entire group trapped in a state of anarchy among. Of course with Jack and Roger arbitrary, violent and brutal personality development has a direct relationship, but also contributing to the autocratic undeniable character is Ralphs weakness and its own wild anarchy in the islands development.3. Factors Attributed to the Tragedy Juvenile DelinquencyAlthough these tragedies are different, they all reflect an existing social problemjuvenile delinquency. Simon, Piggy, and Jack are all the direct or indirect victims. The following are the factors attributed to the problem from two aspects.3.1 Blame of the Society3.1.1 Influence of the War What comes first to blame for the juvenile delinquency is the influence of war in that particular time. The time when Golding wrote Lord of the Flies was the postwar years of World War II. As he joined World War II in person, Golding deeply experienced the evil of human nature and the cruelty of war. For Golding, war is an explosion of human evil accumulating to a certain degree. War is the main clue throughout the novel. It is war that had these boys marooned and isolated on an island; it is war that brought a corpse of a pilot that deepened childrens fear of the beast; it is war that forced these children to face the cruel reality after being rescued. The act of slaughtering Simon and Piggy is actually an epitome of the slaughtering scene in real war. The ambition to be a leader among the boys determines the inevitable conflict between Ralph and Jack. It ultimately leads to the destruction of both their partners and the whole island. In fact, it is not a real war, for the characters are all children, but it can be regarded as a war in the sense of development. The death of Simon and Piggy is the right consequence of the war.3.1.2 Poor Juvenile Justice SystemThe other factor responsible for juvenile delinquency falls to the poor juvenile justice system. Without the restraint of certain disciplines, the conch symbolizes law and order of the adult world. Piggy tries to protect it, representing the authority the boys are used to obeying. When Jack destroys it, anarchy takes over because any hope of strong center leadership has been abandoned. The island society collapses in chaos. Of approximately 2 million juveniles arrested each year, an estimated 50 percent are released immediately. Those whose cases are tried in court are often given suspended sentences or put on probation. Of those who are sentenced to prison, most return to criminal activity upon their release, and many fear that these young offenders come out of prisons even more violent. In addition, the unmanageable caseloads of probation officers in many cities make it impossible to keep track of juveniles adequately. Thus, those teens that turn to crime face little in the way of a deterrent, a situation that has caused many authorities to place a large share of the blame for teen crime on the failure of the juvenile justice system.3.1.3 Family Environment and EducationBesides what has been discussed above, another important factor attributed to juvenile delinquency is family environment and education. Family factors which may have an influence on offending include the level of parental supervision, the way parents discipline a child, parental conflict or separation, criminal parents or siblings, parental abuse or neglect, and the quality of the parent-child relationship. A lack of supervision is the main reason for the boys misbehaviors. Ralph, discouraged, talks with Piggy and Simon about their need for adults. “If only they could get a message to us. If only they could send us something grownup a sign or something.” (Guan Jianming, 2007: 69) If a child has low parental supervision, they are much more likely to offend. Many studies have found a strong correlation between a lack of supervision and offending, and it appears to be the most important family influence on offending. When parents commonly do not know where their children are, what their activities are, or who their friends are, children are more likely to truant from school and have delinquent friends, each of which is linked to offending. Since the western culture takes individual as a focus by paying great attention to individual struggle, equality, democracy and individual right, parents put emphasis on raising childrens independent consciousness since childhood, which enables the child dare to do. While the corporal punishment offends the law, even if parents see the children fight, they will stand by and educate the children like that: “Who hits you, you will hit him.” “Can you instigate the child to mass fighting? Absolutely that wont do!” (Mo Hongxian, 2005: 94) The western parents think only individual rights and interests are protected and respected, then there will be the harmony in society and equality of each person.3.2 Psychological Problems of Adolescents3.2.1 “Ostrich” PsychologicalIn behavioral finance, the ostrich effect is the avoidance of apparently risky financial situations by pretending they do not exist. “ostrich” psychological comes from the legend that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger. Beast in Lord of the Flies is the main symbolic imagery, which is the representative of the evil minds of the children. Beast first appeared in the form of a snake in a childs dream, and the children were very afraid of facing this obviously sensitive issue. As a leader, Ralph had taken a positive attitude towards it, only emptied that there was no beast, and not refused to address the topic of discussion. Therefore, snakes on the island became a taboo and precisely such an “ostrich” psychological led to the colossal tragedy of their future. Lord of the Flies reveals that evil and the terror of the beast is not an external threat, but an inborn evil within the boys themselves. Simon tried to suggest that the only beast on the island lied in themselves; however, no one listened. Far from the restraint of social morality and discipline, these boys seemed to own the right of hunting, slaughtering, but whatever they did, they had to assume responsibility. However, most of them were unwilling or dare not to do so, thus escaping and yielding to the beast-the external manifestation of the inner fear in childrens hearts. In this regard, juvenile delinquency has its roo