User talk:Sarastewstewstew

Sara Stewart Mainwaring English 7-8, Per. 6 May 4, 2010 Dystopia Reflection One Man's Dystopia is Another Man's Utopia Balance is present in the world everywhere one turns. What goes up must come down, and there will always be a devil's advocate. The human race is filled with balance, not only people themselves but their opinions and emotions. Happiness and sadness, love and hate, and the various controversies in our society are all evidence of equilibrium. Balance is also present in nature such as its plants and wildlife, for example, predator and prey. Equilibrium is also at hand with art, in literature, films, and visual art. There is even balance in politics, such as republicans and democrats, or liberals and conservatives. In order for the world to maintain order, there must be a sense of balance. If a building had all of its weight on one side, it would collapse. The same is with society. Although a world in which everyone conforms to the same ideas may sound like a paradise, those ideas might not be the ethically or logically correct ones. Although the diversity of the human race makes ultimate conformity an unrealistic possibility, the idea of it has been and will continue to be contemplated. My personal opinion is that total conformity to one set of ideals and laws is much too extreme to ever be perfect. Circumstances largely determine the correct decision to make, so set ethics, choices, and laws chosen by one individual will never amount to a utopic system for all of humankind. Though those set standards may be perfect to one person or a group of people, another group may disagree with it. Some might even consider it a complete dystopia. Because of the distinctiveness between human beings it is quite possible for one man's dystopia to be another's utopia, as is in William Golding's Lord of the Flies and George Orwell's 1984. The semi-peaceful, semi-organized society which exists at the beginning of Golding's novel is absolutely loved by one, and absolutely hated by another. Ralph is absolutely infatuated with his new paradise, and strips and dives into the ocean, unable to even believe that it is real (Golding 10). He enjoys the freedom from parents as well as the other children, but still believes that one day his father will come to rescue him and the other children (Golding 13). The freedom to live away from parents as long as it is comfortable is Ralph's idea of paradise. Unlike Piggy, Ralph does not realize the improbability of being rescued at all, let alone by his father. He also does not realize the danger of being stranded on the island without adult supervision or any sort of supplies. Instead, he sees it as an adventure. I believe that this way of thought is mainly due to his age. As a child, he believes that the adventure stories that he has heard and read are realistic, and even begins seeing himself as the hero of these stories when he is elevated to the status of chief. However, immediately following arrival upon the island he did not want to be the center of attention, in fact, he only wanted to be left alone. When he was with Piggy, only one of the many children, at the beginning of the novel, he makes several attempts of losing him. However, after finding the conch and calling the first meeting between the boys, he is deemed the authority figure. The fact I consider interesting is that although it was Piggy's idea to call the meeting, as was many of Ralph's decisions, Ralph seemed to to take them as his own. I do not mean that he was selfishly taking credit for Piggy's ideas, but instead that he really believed that they were his ideas. I do not think that this would be a difficult task because many of Piggy's ideas were based on the tasks that both he and Ralph wanted to accomplish, such as being rescued and staying organized. Ralph therefore saw himself in a paradise in which he not only had freedom to do what he wanted and the control over the other children he was stranded with. Not only did he have control, he was successful in his role as an authority figure. This feeling of power, safety, and security felt by Ralph, the protagonist in Golding's novel, was completely lacking in Jack, the antagonist in the book. Jack is first seen leading his choir around in military formation, forcing them to march around the island with their heavy cloaks on (Golding 20). Though first impressions might not always be right, the image first portrayed of Jack is actually pretty insightful. The reader knows right from the start that Jack Merridew enjoys a position of authority over others, and will abuse that power if he so chooses. Although the island is extremely hot and the cloaks are obviously uncomfortable,Jack forces his choir to wear them anyways because it looks good and reflects well on him, not even caring when one boy faints from the sun (Golding 20). When the subject of who chief should be, Jack boldly declares that “[he] ought to be chief” because of his vast experience as chapter chorister (Golding 22). Therefore, when the other boys are more impressed with Ralph's leadership skills, or rather the conch, and elect him as chief, it is obvious that Jack is very displeased. What seems to upset him even more is that Ralph is friends with Piggy, and right from the moment they meet, Jack and Piggy are against each other. Therefore, because Ralph and Piggy share many of the same ideas and values, and Jack does not respect Piggy, Jack does not respect Ralph's leadership. Jack is further angered when he realizes that he might not have as much fun as he originally intended. I get the idea that he expected it to be an even bigger adventure than Ralph did. He is not satisfied with being stranded alone on a deserted island with no parents, he wants more. When he is first giving the power over his choir, he immediately wants to turn them into either an army or hunters, the most adventurous and exciting positions he could imagine (Golding 22). It is because Jack is so preoccupied with thrill-seeking on the island that he does not seem to care about responsible chores that must be done, such as keeping the fire going or building the huts. At first I thought that he possibly did not realize that the fire was their only hope for rescue, and that neglecting it would cause negative results, but as the novel progressed, I believe that he knew the consequences of his actions, and he just did not care. The main reason I suspect this is because he does not take responsibility when he leaves the fire to die in order to hunt a pig, and because of it, a ship misses them, instead he states that everyone is needed in order to keep the fire going (Golding 68). If he truly cared about keeping the fire going, or at least being rescued, he would at least apologize and promise to try harder, not justify it and make it seem like an impossible task. However, the embarrassment caused by the incident was nothing in comparison to Jack's lowest point in the novel. Although Jack was not elected leader, he still holds a position of authority, and many other children look to him for help and guidance. However after the argument he has with Ralph after they see the “beast”, Jack is completely alone when nobody agrees with him in saying that Ralph should not be chief (Golding 127). This total lack of companionship and influence is too much for Jack, who decides that it is finally time to create his own tribe. Later on in Golding's novel, as the setting changes, so does the characters' opinion of it. As one reads further into the book, the island takes a turn in the complete opposite direction from where it had started. Ralph starts realizing that he and Piggy are the only two people who truly care about keeping the fire going, and realizes the slim possibility of rescue. This his main concern at first, but as the book progresses, what he really begins to fear is the freedom which he so loved after his arrival on the island. He sees that when the children are given the freedom to, they ignore their responsibilities. One example would be the difficulty Ralph had putting up shacks because the other children continually leave to play or find fruit to eat (Golding 50). Not only does the new found freedom the children possess cause them to become irresponsible, it also causes them to become chaotic and immoral. The lack of parental influence and supervision definitely takes a negative toll on the children in the novel. On image repeated several times throughout the novel is that of Roger throwing rocks at the other children. Directly after arrival on the island, and at the beginning of the novel, he only tosses the pebbles nearby the children, still remembering when he once got in trouble for throwing rocks, and afraid that some unseen parental figure is ready to punish him (Golding 62). However, as time progresses, that fear begins to fade, until he finally “throws” the rock which kills Piggy (Golding 181). It is this erratic behavior which stemmed from the freedom that Ralph loved so and grew more terrifying as time passed that Ralph began to fear. Within a short amount of time, Ralph's utopia had completely changed to his dystopia. Meanwhile, Jack was enjoying the changes that Ralph so despised. Although he was completely abandoned and embarrassed after his fight with Ralph, almost all of other children joined him afterward. Therefore he was given the power which he had desired since Ralph was elected chief. I believe that one key reason that Jack wanted to achieve a position of power was because of the security he would have. He saw the children losing their reasoning, and saw less danger for himself if he was an authoritive figure. Also, unlike Ralph, he did not mind the fact that they may never be rescued, and instead seems to be interested in improving their living situation on the island instead. I believe he enjoyed the power and freedom that the island gave him, and would rather have stayed than left. I also think that he believes that since things have started getting better for him, they will continue to do so. Overall, the conflicting values, circumstances, and personality of the antagonist and protagonist in William Golding's The Lord of the Flies cause them to have conflicting views of the island throughout the novel. Just as in Golding's novel, the society that George Orwell creates in his classic novel 1984, is a utopia for one character, and a dystopia for another. O'Brien, an inner party member who later ends up being part of the Thought Police, absolutely loves Oceania. He brags about how wll the Party is doing, and is proud to be a part of it. O'Brien is definitely the most intelligent character in the novel, because he is the only one who knows the reasoning and motivation of the Party, and still believes in it. I believe a part of the reason he is such a loyal citizen to the Party was because of his status in it. He had the priveledge of privacy in turning off his telescreen, and drank wine instead of cheap gin or cheap beer like the lower class Party members and proles (Golding 140-141). Because the Party did well, he did too, and therefore wanted it to flourish. Winston, however, absolutely loathes the Party. He does not believe what they tell him and cannot understand how others can. He believes in beauty, freedom, and love, none of which are acceptable in Oceania. It can be inferred from the novel that Winston is depressed, and an extreme alcoholic. He cannot even force himself to relate to everyone else. He cannot talk about how much he despises the Party or Big Brother, he is completely alone. The only thing that comforts him is pieces of real history, such as the several artifacts he acquires throughout the novel. I believe that Winston's dystopia is much more depressing than either Ralph's or Jack's because instead of being isolated from a group of people, Winston is segregated from everyone. However, unlike Golding's novel, Orwell's novel changes not the setting, but instead changed the personality and values of one character, Winston. After being released from the Ministry of Love, Winston is completely conformed to Oceanic society. This is interesting because the reader gets an idea of what goes through the mind of Party members and other Oceanic citizens. The conflicting values of the characters in Golding's The Lord of the Flies and Orwell's 1984 lead them to perceive the society which they are in differently. While being stranded on a peaceful, freedom-filled island with no parents and hope for rescue may be paradise for one, another individual may completely despise it. Some children prefer killing pigs and other children to shelter and rescue, it just depends on the person. It is only by changing the person or the place that that person's values may change. It is because of this diversity in mankind that I believe that the goal of creating a utopia for everyone is impossible. After all, one man's dystopia is another man's utopia.