Irony in Lord of he Flies 英语专业.doc

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1、Contents摘要iiAbstractiiiI. Introduction1II. A brief introduction to lord of the flies and William Golding1III. Irony in Lord of the Flies.23.1 Irony in Characters33.1.1 Ralph33.1.2 Jack43.1.3 Piggy53.2 Irony in Events53.2.1 Dystopia: irony to utopia63.2.2 Play: irony to childish innocence6IV. Allegor

2、y in Lord of the Flies74.1 Moral allegory: civilization vs. savagery74.2 Religious allegory: biblical parallels8V. Conclusion9References10Acknowledgements11摘 要蝇王是英国著名作家威廉戈尔丁的讽喻题材的小说，并获得了诺贝尔文学奖的殊荣。戈尔丁以象征手法、讽喻和反讽为主要叙述技巧来表现“人心的黑暗”这一主题。通过这种无处不在的反讽,戈尔丁向人们揭示出社会的一切弊端无不是由人的邪恶本性造成,并希望现代人能认识自己的本性,有意识地抑制本性中的黑暗

3、面,起到了警世的作用。本论文共分五章，第一章介绍了蝇王和主题；第二章介绍了威廉戈尔丁以及蝇王；第三章详细地阐述了蝇王中最常用的反讽的写作手法；第四章系统阐述了蝇王中的讽喻；第五章是对整篇论文的总结与评论。本论文主要从象征和讽喻两方面剖析了蝇王这部小说，详尽地分析了威廉戈尔丁的写作手法，并阐释了这种写作手法是如何将主题淋漓尽致地呈现出来的。关键词：反讽，讽喻，蝇王AbstractLord of the Flies is an allegorical novel by Nobel Prize winning author William Golding, an English novelist.

4、In this novel, William Golding discusses the evil of humans heart via symbolism, allegory and irony. It shows the readers that all the sins on society are created by the innate darkness of human beings. Thus, people should realize the original nature and avoid it.There are all together five chapters

5、 in the thesis. Chapter One introduces Lord of the Flies and its themes. Chapter Two tell us a brief introduction to Lord of the flies and William Golding .Chapter Three illustrates allegory in Lord of the Flies. Chapter Four shows how allegory helps to unfold the novel vividly. Chapter Five makes a

6、 conclusion of the thesis. This thesis analyzes Lord of the Flies from the aspects of symbolism and allegory, presenting William Goldings writing feature as well as annotating the theme of the novel thoroughly.Key words：irony, allegory, Lord of the FliesiiiIrony in Lord of the FliesI. IntroductionFe

7、w works in literature have received as much popular and critical attention as Nobel Laureate William Goldings Lord of the Flies. Since its publication in 1954, it has amassed a cult following, and has significantly contributed to our dystopian vision of the post-war era. When responding to the novel

8、s dazzling power of intellectual insight, scholars and critics often invoke the works of Shakespeare, Freud, Rousseau, Sartre, Orwell, and Conrad. Goldings aim to trace the defect of society back to the defect of human nature is elegantly pursued in this gripping adventure tale about a group of Brit

9、ish schoolboys marooned on a tropical island. Alone in a world of uncharted possibilities, devoid of adult supervision or rules, the boys attempt to forge their own society, failing, however, in the face of terror, sin, and evil. Part parable, allegory, myth, parody, political treatise, and apocalyp

10、tic vision, Lord of the Flies is perhaps the most memorable tale about the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart. Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it, but cherished by those who do. There are lots of writers who do cherish irony and it is a very common rhetorical

11、 technique in novel genre, for it is efficient and striking in the narration of events, in the characterization and in the revelation of authors attitude. William Golding is one of the leading British writers. After graduating from Oxford, he worked briefly as an actor, and then became a schoolteach

12、er. A brief introduction to Lord of the flies and William GoldingWilliam Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall, England. Although he tried to write a novel as early as age twelve, his parents urged him to study the natural sciences. Goldings experience in World War II had a profound ef

13、fect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies, which ultimately became a bestseller in both Britain and the United States after more than twenty publishers rejected it. William Golding is a specific novelist, he has his

14、 unique writing style, which is largely different from others. William Golding employs a relatively straightforward writing style in Lord of the Flies, one that avoids highly poetic language, lengthy description, and philosophical interludes. Much of the novel is allegorical, meaning that the charac

15、ters and objects in the novel are infused with symbolic significance that conveys the novels central themes and ideas. In portraying the various ways in which the boys on the island adapt to their new surroundings and react to their new freedom, Golding explores the broad spectrum of ways in which h

16、umans respond to stress, change, and tension.The story begins during the war, as an airplane carrying a group of small boys crashes into an uninhabited island. The boys are left alone with no adult presence because the captain and crew are killed. They elect a chief, Ralph, and begin to survive with

17、 the resources they find on the island. Certain boys are given certain duties and they live as a happy, cooperative society. Piggy, a heavy set boy becomes Ralphs wisdom dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate res

18、ponsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the islands wild pig population. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away. Soon Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: “He forgot his

19、 words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet” (William Golding, 1954: 68). Goldings gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition. III. Ironies in Lord of the FliesLord of the F

20、lies contains many ironies used by the author to develop and support his theme. Lord of the Flies is an elaborate web of ironies, which is the major principle by which Golding structured this book. Indeed, the very nature of the book is irony since it expresses cruelty and perversity where gentlenes

21、s and innocence children. Much of the novels charm and strength lies in its characters are expected of that are portrayed realistically and remain recognizable as the sort of people everyone knows in school, work and society. 3.1 Irony in CharactersThe success in Goldings characterization is mainly

22、achieved through his skillful use of irony. Since he is describing a community of children with the aim of describing he faults in his adult readers, his characters must be credible. The characters have to be made convincing in an imaginary situation, and this is where Goldings particular achievemen

23、t in the art of irony lies. Golding creates characters whose words deviate from their actions and whose expectations and reasoning deviate from the realities, creating Situational Irony that assists the reader in analyzing the themes of civilization and savagery, and progress and regress throughout

24、the novel. The three characters in which Golding best displays irony are Ralph, Jack, and Piggy.3.1.1 RalphRalph, one of the major characters in Lord of the Flies, is fair-haired, athletic and charismatic. He represents order, leadership, and civilization. Ralph is the athletic, charismatic protagon

25、ist of Lord of the Flies. Elected the leader of the boys at the beginning of the novel, Ralph is the primary representative of order, civilization, and productive leadership in the novel. While most of the other boys initially are concerned with playing, having fun, and avoiding work, Ralph sets abo

26、ut building huts and thinking of ways to maximize their chances of being rescued. For this reason, Ralphs power and influence over the other boys are secure at the beginning of the novel. There are several instances of Situational Irony between what Ralph says and what the reality is. At the beginni

27、ng of the novel, when he finds there are no adults on the island, he is delighted to escape the adult restraints. He says that Until grown-ups come to fetch us well have fun . He thinks that the confined freedom of an islandwithout adults will be a paradise. At first they do have fun, but ironically

28、, the reality proves not to be what he expects. The hollowness of his claim is revealed when the beast is found on the mountain-top, which, so crucial to their hopes of rescue, becomes a no-go area. The irony surfaces, for it is Ralph himself who will soon be eaten, yet he continues to care for his

29、former companions even when he is being hunted to an apparently unavoidable death. Ralphs intended fun turns out to be fear and violence and his concerns for the others prove to be out of place and ill-timed. These ironies cross and make a web.The Situational Irony is clearly described by Golding wh

30、en the character Ralph realizes the irony of his own situation. Once he daydreamed and pretended to be the characters he had read about in books, now he considers how wearisome life really is. Irony in characters also breaks out between contrasted scenes somewhat distant from one another and even as

31、 far apart as the beginning and the end of the story. As discussed previously, contrast is a basic feature of irony. Without contrast, there is almost no irony. When we first catch sight of Ralph, he is neat, handsome and laughing. He prepares to live an adventure that seems to have leapt into exist

32、ence from one of his books. When we last see him, he is dirty, in rags and sobbing. He looked forward to a fine, clean game and the game proves a sordid and terrible dream. He anticipated an episode as good as a dream and the dream turns out a nightmare. 3.1.2 Jack Jacks role in Lord of the Flies is

33、 to show the transition from the opposite perspective. Jack first appears in the novel leading his choir in a strictly organized fashion. He is the epitome of discipline. Then, for some reason, he becomes gradually obsessed with the killing of pigs, stealing from the other boys, and fighting the “be

34、ast”. The most substantial point in this transformation is the first time he kills a pig. Shortly after the boys have accidentally landed on the island, Jack is reluctant to kill the pig. He is frightened to draw blood from a living thing. Jack was not only afraid of the enormity of his knife cuttin

35、g into living flesh, but he was also greatly concerned of what the other boys thought of him. Then, for some reason, Jack overcomes his fear and is able to slaughter the pig fiercely and brutally. This is a result of his changed identity due his painted face, and the fact that he has adapted to the

36、island. Jack further evolves into a relentless dictator who gains followers by promising to fulfill the childrens desire for a reversion to primitivism. Irony between Jacks speech and actions also comes when he allows the signal fire to go out. Jack is in some way reverting to savagery, so that the

37、idea of rescue is hardly real to him any more and pigs matter more than ship which might take him back to the civilization (Kinkead-Weekes and Gregor28). Golding weaves this irony into web of the novels plot when at each stage of his regress we remember his proud words. In the following chapters Jac

38、k is the leader of the tribe and encourages the boys to forget civilization and act upon their primitive instincts. They ignore the laws that they all agree to follow on the island and commit heinous crimes against humanity, such as torture against both humans and animals, and murder of their fellow

39、s. They no longer act like English schoolboys, who are supposed o be the best at everything. This incident underscores the mistake he makes in initially denying his kinship with savages, for he is a savage even at the beginning. Jacks proud and lofty utterances and his primitive dark instinct, well-

40、knitted with the wrongdoings the boys commit, produce a web of ironies, which in Jacks character development unfolds.3.1.3 PiggyPiggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization. Piggy, an overweight asthmatic boy about eight years in age, who cannot see without his glasses re

41、presents physical weakness and mental strength. His poor vision and obesity immediately establish his traits of physical infirmity and incompetence. Irony is created in Piggys adult-like belief that common sense can master any problem. Yet Golding creates a character whose common sense is defeated.

42、Piggys adult outlook and his faith in adults are also proved to be ironic. His exhortation to the others is to stop being kids and to think and act like adults. One of the cruelest ironies in the book is that the boys finally take his advice, act like adults and kill him. He thinks adults are ration

43、al and has respect for their way of solving problems. In Piggys rational explanation, Simon is dead and no amount of talk can bring. In fact, this is a kind of gangsters logic that it is the victims own faults that cause their being killed, which should be far from that of rational people. Piggy doe

44、s not allow himself to use the word murder as though not saying it would somehow undo what has happened. He holds the view that in the civilized world of adults, these things dont or when they do, murder is committed by bad people, not by good, sane people like himself. This is the formula Piggy is

45、trying to find, but the fact that he participates in the murder has already proven it to be ironical.3.2 Irony in EventsIn Lord of the Flies, Golding exploits Situational Irony to the full. Everything that happens on the island turns out to be against readers or the characters expectations. At the b

46、eginning of the novel, the children set up their democratic society, where they elect a leader and set down rules. As Jack becomes more bloodthirsty and thirsty for power over the others, the democratic society falls into chaos and is ruined, with anarchy replacing democracy. The story of play is al

47、so Situational Irony. Play is in the nature of children, the boys expect to have a good time free from adults restraints, but soon their play becomes violence, and the innocent children become brute savages. A further example of Situational Irony is when the children light a signal fire on the islan

48、d to attract rescuers. This ends in failure.3.2.1 Dystopia: irony to utopiaThe first example of Situational Irony is how the supposed utopian paradise becomes dystopian hell. Lord of the Flies is set on an ideal island to serve asa vehicle for irony about the collapse of human hopes. The island sett

49、ing appeals to the readers fantasy of escape or refuge from troubles and cares. At the beginning of the novel, the reader might expect Golding to develop a novel about boys having a wonderful life on an island. In the opening scenes, the island has the glamour of a newly-found paradise, with green shadows from the palms, plenty of fruit,