STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

A literary technique that presents the thoughts and Ieelings oI a character as they
occur.

Definition: Stream oI Consciousness is a literary technique which was pioneered
by Dorthy Richardson, Virginia WoolI, and James Joyce. Stream oI consciousness
is characterized by a Ilow oI thoughts and images, which may not always appear to
have a coherent structure or cohesion. The plot line may weave in and out oI time
and place, carrying the reader through the liIe span oI a character or Iurther along a
timeline to incorporate the lives (and thoughts) oI characters Irom other time
periods.

Writers who create stream-oI-consciousness works oI literature Iocus on the
emotional and psychological processes that are taking place in the minds oI one or
more characters. Important character traits are revealed through an exploration oI
what is going on in the mind.

In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode that seeks to
portray an individual's point oI view by giving the written equivalent oI the
character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection
to his or her actions.
Stream-oI-consciousness writing is usually regarded as a special Iorm oI interior
monologue and is characterized by associative leaps in syntax and punctuation that
can make the prose diIIicult to Iollow. Stream oI consciousness and interior
monologue are distinguished Irom dramatic monologue, where the speaker is
addressing an audience or a third person, which is used chieIly in poetry or drama.
In stream oI consciousness, the speaker's thought processes are more oIten
depicted as overheard in the mind (or addressed to oneselI); it is primarily a
Iictional device. The term was introduced to the Iield oI literary studies Irom that

oI psychology, where it was coined by philosopher and psychologist William

James.
nterior monologue, in dramatic and nondramatic Iiction, narrative technique that
exhibits the thoughts passing through the minds oI the protagonists. These ideas
may be either loosely related impressions approaching Iree association or more
rationally structured sequences oI thought and emotion.

Interior monologues encompass several Iorms, including dramatized inner
conIlicts, selI-analysis, imagined dialogue (as in T.S. Eliot`s 'The Love Song oI J.
AlIred PruIrock |1915|), and rationalization. It may be a direct Iirst-person
expression apparently devoid oI the author`s selection and control, as in Molly
Bloom`s monologue concluding James Joyce`s Ulysses (1922), or a third-person
treatment that begins with a phrase such as 'he thought or 'his thoughts turned
to.
The term interior monologue is oIten used interchangeably with stream of
consciousness. But while an interior monologue may mirror all the halI thoughts,
impressions, and associations that impinge upon the character`s consciousness, it
may also be restricted to an organized presentation oI that character`s rational
thoughts.


Dialogue is a literary and theatrical Iorm consisting oI a written or spoken
conversational exchange between two or more people.

Characterization or characterisation is the process oI conveying inIormation
about characters in narrative or dramatic works oI art or everyday conversation.
Characters may be presented by means oI description, through their actions,
speech, or thoughts.
There are two ways an author can convey inIormation about a character:
irect or explicit characterization

The author literally tells the audience what a character is like. This may be
done via the narrator, another character or by the character him- or herselI.
ndirect or implicit characterization
The audience must deduce Ior themselves what the character is like through
the character`s thoughts, actions, speech (choice oI words, way oI talking),
looks and interaction with other characters, including other characters`
reactions to that particular person.

Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion oI
colonies in one territory by people Irom another territory. Colonialism is a process
whereby sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole and the social
structure, government, and economics oI the colony are changed by colonists -
people Irom the metropole. Colonialism is a set oI unequal relationships: between
the metropole and the colony, and between the colonists and the indigenous
population.
The colonial period normally reIers to a period oI history Irom the late 15th to the
20th century when European nation states established colonies on other continents.
In this period, the justiIications Ior colonialism included various Iactors such as the
proIits to be made, the expansion oI the power oI the metropole and various
religious and political belieIs.

ntroduction: 1oyce and Homer

The plot and theme oI James Joyce's Ulysses center on liIe as a journey. Joyce
based the Iramework oI his novel on the structure oI one oI the greatest and most
inIluential works in world literature, The Odyssey, by Homer. In this epic poem oI
ancient Greece, Homer presented the journey oI liIe as a heroic adventure. The
protagonist oI this epic tale, Odysseus (Roman name, Ulysses), encounters
many perilsincluding giants, angry gods, and monstersduring his voyage home
to Ithaca, Greece, aIter the Trojan War. In Joyce's 20th Century novel, the author
also depicts liIe as a journey, in imitation oI Homer. But Joyce presents this
journey as humdrum, dreary, and uneventIul. Joyce's Ulysses is a Jew oI
Hungarian origin, Leopold Bloom, who lives in Dublin, Ireland. His adventure
consists oI getting breakIast, Ieeding his cat, going to a Iuneral, doing legwork Ior
his job, visiting pubs or restaurants, and thinking about his unIaithIul wiIe. His
activities parallel in some way the adventures oI Homer's Ulysses. An example is
Bloom's attendance at a Iuneral in a chapter entitled "Hades." This chapter parallels
an episode in The Odyssey in which Ulysses visits Hades, the land oI the dead (or
Underworld) in Greek mythology. Bloom's unIaithIul wiIe, Molly, represents the
IaithIul wiIe oI Ulysses, Penelope. A young aspiring writer, Stephen Dedalus,
represents the son oI Ulysses, Telemachus, who searches Ior his Iather. Although
Dedalus is not Bloom's son, Dedalus nonetheless is depicted as searching Ior a
Iather Iigure to replace his own drunken Iather.
uide to Homer's /880
II you are unIamiliar with The Odyssey, a plot summary and an analysis oI the
work appear on a page on this web site. Click here to go to the page.
$etting
The action in Joyce's novel takes place in Dublin, Ireland, and the shore east oI
Dublin on the Irish Sea. The entire story unIolds on June 16, 1904, except Ior a Iew
hours on the morning oI June 17. Joyce chose June 16 as the date Ior most oI the
action in the novel as a kind oI commemoration oI the day when he met his
inamorata, Nora Barnacle.
Divisions of the Novel
Ulysses has three main sections, as Iollows:

Section 1 (Chapters 1-3): The Iocus is on Stephen Dedalus, a young aspiring writer
who has just returned Irom Paris. This section presents Stephen's liIe on a typical
day in which he Iinds Dublin depressing. He is pessimistic about realizing his
dream to become a published author.
Section 2 (Chapters 4-15): The Iocus is on Leopold Bloom, a Jewish advertising
representative. This section presents his voyage through an ordinary day in Dublin.
Joyce describes in detail both Dublin and Bloom, presenting his Iree-Ilowing
thoughtsmany oI them either about his unIaithIul wiIe, Molly, or other women.
Section 3 (Chapters 16-18): The Iocus is on Leopold, Stephen, and Molly. Bloom
and Dedalus meet each other. Dedalus goes to Bloom's home and talks with him
Ior several hours. The novel ends with a chapter on Molly. It consists oI more than
30 pages occupied by seven sentences with no punctuation except Ior the period at
the end oI the novel.
%he Chapters
Telemachus: The narrator introduces Stephen Dedalus, representing Homer's
Telemachus, along with Iriends oI Dedalus.
Nestor: Stephen teaches a lesson in Greek at a school where an elderly man,
Garrett Deasy, is headmaster. Deasy represents The Odyssey's King Nestor oI
Pylos (or Pilos), a wise advisor to the Greeks during the Trojan War. Telemachus
visits Nestor in quest oI inIormation about his Iather, who has not returned Irom
Troy. Joyce uses Deasy to parody The Odyssey, Ior Deasy is anything but wise. He
even needs Stephen's help with a letter to the editor oI The Evening Telepgraph on
Ioot-and-mouth disease.
Proteus: In Greek mythology, Proteus could change his physical Iorm at will. In
Joyce's novel, the language in the "Proteus" chapter exhibits many Iorms.
Calypso: The narrator introduces Leopold Bloom, the protagonist, who is
preparing breakIast in his home while his wiIe sleeps. In The Odyssey, Calypso is
an immortal nymph and daughter oI the Titan Atlas. She lives on an island on
which she holds Ulysses as a love captive. Bloom's wiIe, Molly, represents
Calypso in that she holds her husband captive in a marriage even though she is
unIaithIul to him.
Lotus Eaters: This chapter centers in part on mind-altering substances and on
religion (which Marx called "the opium oI the people"). In The Odyssey, the
crewmen Irom the ship oI Ulysses eat lotus plants aIter they arrive on the northern
coast oI AIrica (present-day Libya). They then lapse into euphoria.
Hades: Leopold Bloom attends a Iuneral. His conIrontation with death parallels the
voyage oI Ulysses into the Underworld.
Aeolus: In The Odyssey, Aeolus was king oI the winds and ruler oI an island. He

gives Ulysses a bag oI winds to speed his ship on its journey. In Joyce's novel, the
island oI the winds is a newspaper oIIice. Bloom and Dedalus are both there at the
same time--Bloom to purchase an advertisement and Dedalus to submit Deasy's
letter ("Nestor" chapter). In various conversations, there are reIerences to wind. For
example, ProIessor MacHugh says, "The tribune's words, howled and scattered to
the Iour winds." Other reIerences by diIIerent characters include the Iollowing:
"Reaping the whirlwind," "Gone with the wind," "The sack oI windy Troy, "Funny
the way those newspaper men veer about when they get wind oI a new opening,"
and "Enough oI that inIlated windbag."
Lestrygonians (variant spellings: aestrygonians, aistrygones): The
Lestrygonians were giants who ate many oI Ulysses' men. In this chapter in Joyce's
novel, eating also takes place: Bloom eats a gorgonzola cheese sandwich and
drinks a glass oI burgundy at Davy Byrne's pub. There are also reIerences to
cannibalism in a paragraph about Iood:
Sardines on the shelves. Almost taste them by looking. Sandwich? Ham and
his descendants mustered and bred there. Potted meats. What is home
without Plumtree's potted meat? Incomplete. What a stupid ad! Under the
obituary notices they stuck it. All up a plumtree. Dignam's potted meat.
Cannibals would with lemon and rice. White missionary too salty. Like
pickled pork. Expect the chieI consumes the parts oI honour. Ought to be
tough Irom exercise.
Scylla and Charybdis: In The Odyssey, Scylla is a six-headed monster poised on a
rock on one side oI a strait. It eats men Irom the ship oI Ulysses as it passes by.
Charybdis is a whirlpool near the opposite side that will swallow the ship iI it veers
too close. At the National Library, Stephen discusses Shakespeare's relationship
with his wiIe, claiming she was unIaithIul. Her activity, he says, inIluenced
Shakespeare's writing, notably in Hamlet. Dedalus's Iriends challenge his views
(perhaps the way Scylla and Charybdis challenged Ulysses). Dedalus also
challenges their views, like a a monster such as Scylla. Bloom is elsewhere in the
library conducting research.
Wandering Rocks: This chapter Iocuses on characters who wander through
Dublin.
Sirens: While Bloom dines in the Ormond Hotel, he ogles attractive barmaids
representing the Sirens in The Odyssey.
Cyclops: In a pub, a man called "the citizen" insults Bloom with anti-Semitic

language. Because oI his stupidity and blind prejudice, he parallels The Odyssey's
cyclops, a one-eyed giant.
Nausicca: In this chapter, Bloom encounters a lame young girl, Gerty MacDowell,
who solicits him. She representsin a mundane, ordinary waythe beautiIul maiden
Nausicaa, who escorts Ulysses to the court oI her Iather, Alcinous, the king oI the
Phaeacians. The lameness oI Gerty may symbolize what Joyce believes is the
lameness oI organized religion.
Oxen oI the Sun: Bloom goes to the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street
to check on his Iriend, Mrs. Mina PureIoy, who gives birth. There, he encounters
Dedalus. Dedalus and Buck Mulligan are having a drink with medical students
who are Iriends oI Mulligan. The language Joyce uses in this chapter ranges Irom
Old English to modern English as Joyce traces the English language Irom gestation
to birth. A reIerence to oxen (which include domesticated cows and bulls) occurs
in this chapter when discussions oI a newspaper account (Deasy's letter) say that
diseased cattle may have to be killed. " 'Tis all about Kerry cows that are to be
butchered along oI the plague," says a character named Frank. Also, a newly born
calI is spoken oI in the same paragraph in which the birth oI a human is
discussed:
It should perhaps be stated that staggering bob in the vile parlance oI our
lowerclass licensed victuallers signiIies the cookable and eatable Ilesh oI a
calI newly dropped Irom its mother. In a recent public controversy with Mr
L. Bloom (Pubb. Canv.) which took place in the commons' hall oI the
National Maternity Hospital, 29, 30 and 31 Holles street, oI which, as is well
known, Dr A. Horne (Lic. in Midw., F. K. Q. C. P. I.) is the able and popular
master, he is reported by eyewitnesses as having stated that once a woman
has let the cat into the bag (an esthete's allusion, presumably, to one oI the
most complicated and marvellous oI all nature's processes--the act oI sexual
congress) she must let it out again or give it liIe, as he phrased it, to save her
own. At the risk oI her own, was the telling rejoinder oI his interlocutor,
none the less eIIective Ior the moderate and measured tone in which it was
delivered.
Circe: Dedalus and Bloom visit a brothel operated by Bella Cohen, the parallel oI
The Odyssey's Circe, a sorceress-temptress.
Eumaeus: Bloom and Dedalus go to a cabman's shelter to eat. There, they

encounter a drunken sailor, D. B. Murphy oI Carrigaloe, who has traveled the

world, like Ulysses, and is expected soon to reunite with his wiIe.
Ithaca: Dedalus goes with Bloom to the latter's home, where they continue their
conversation. In Homer's Odyssey, Ithaca is the home oI Ulysses, to which he
returns aIter many years at sea. Among the major events in this chapter are
conversation and a urination scene in the back yard. Although Bloom invites
Dedalus to stay Ior the night, Dedalus goes home. The chapter is written in the
style oI a Roman Catholic catechism.
Penelope:This chapter enters the mind oI Bloom's wiIe, Molly, and presents her
thoughts in 24,195 words and only one punctuation mark, a period at the end oI the
chapter.
Characters
Leopold Bloom: Jewish advertising representative.
$tephen Dedalus: Young aspiring writer.
Marion %eedy (Molly) Bloom: WiIe oI Leopold Bloom.
Buck Mulligan: Irritating Ireind oI Stephen Dedalus.
$imom Dedalus: Father oI Stephen.
arrett Deasy: School headmaster.
Mina Purefoy: Woman undergoing labor; a Iriend oI Bloom.
erty MacDoell: Young girl who propositions Bloom.
Blazes Boylan: Man having an aIIair with Bloom's wiIe.
Haines: OxIord student visiting Mulligan and Stephen Dedalus.
Richie oulding: Stephen's Uncle.
Mina Kennedy, Lydia Douce: barmaids.
Lynch: Friend oI Mulligan
D.B. Murphy: Sailor.
%he Citizen: Man who insults Bloom with anti-Semitic remarks.
Bella Cohen: Operator oI a brothel.
Priests, Nespapermen, Bar Patrons, Businessmen, Other Residents of
Dublin
Plot $ummary
By Michael J. Cummings... 2004
ote. The following summary presents only the highlights of Joyces long,
complicated novel. The book is too vast and too complex to encapsulate all the
significant details.

.......At 8 a.m. on June 16, 1904, three young men go through their morning rituals
in Martello Tower, just east oI Dublin on the shore oI Dublin Bay in the Irish Sea.
They are Stephen Dedalus, an English teacher who would rather write Ior a living;
Malachi 'Buck Mulligan, a medical student; and Haines, a visiting OxIord
student.
.......While shaving shortly aIter rising, Mulliganoutgoing and given to quips,
taunts, and iconoclasmelevates his bowl oI lather in mimicry oI a priest at Mass,
then makes the sign oI the cross in a mock blessing oI the tower, the countryside,
and Dedalus (whom Mulligan sometimes reIers to as 'Kinch), who is approaching
him.
.......Mulligan, in a playIul mood, says it`s absurd that Dedalus has the name oI an
ancient Greek. (Dedalus, or Daedalus, was the Athenian architect who designed the
Iamous Labyrinth Ior King Minos oI Crete.) While lathering his Iace, he also says
his own name, Malachi Mulligan, is absurd, noting that it has two dactyls. (A
dactyl is a metrical Ioot with a long syllable Iollowed by two short syllables.)
Mulligan then observes: 'But it has a Hellenic ring, hasn't it? Tripping and sunny
like the buck himselI. We must go to Athens.
.......Dedalus asks how long Haines, who annoys both oI them, will be staying with
them at the tower. Mulligan replies: 'God, isn't he dreadIul? A ponderous Saxon.
He thinks you're not a gentleman. God, these bloody English. Bursting with money
and indigestion. Because he comes Irom OxIord. You know, Dedalus; you have the
real OxIord manner. He can't make you out.
.......Dedalus complains that all night long Haines was 'raving and moaning to
himselI about shooting a black panther. When Mulligan borrows a handkerchieI
Irom Dedalus, he looks at the mucus on it and comments: 'The bard's |Dedalus`s|
noserag. A new art colour Ior our Irish poets: snotgreen. You can almost taste it,
can't you? Looking out at the bay, Mulligan uses the words oI the poet
Swinburnegrey sweet motherto describe water and then words oI his own:
snotgreen sea.
.......The word mother prompts Mulligan to scold Dedalus Ior reIusing his mother`s
request Ior him to kneel down and pray Ior her when she was dying. At that,
Dedalus begins musing about his mother:
Silently, in a dream she had come to him aIter her death, her wasted body
within its loose brown grave-clothes giving oII an odour oI wax and
rosewood, her breath, that had bent upon him, mute, reproachIul, a Iaint
odour oI wetted ashes. Across the threadbare cuIIedge he saw the sea hailed
as a great sweet mother by the well-Ied voice beside him. The ring oI bay
and skyline held a dull green mass oI liquid. A bowl oI white china had

stood beside her deathbed holding the green sluggish bile which she had torn
up Irom her rotting liver by Iits oI loud groaning vomiting.
.......Dedalus then chides Mulligan: 'Do you remember the Iirst day I went to your
house aIter my mother's death? Mulligan can`t recall so Dedalus reminds him that
when Buck`s mother asked who was with him, he replied, 'O, it's only Dedalus
whose mother is beastly dead. Stephen says the remark oIIended him.
.......Later downstairs, the two young men eat breakIast with Hainesbread, honey,
tea, and eggs. An old woman comes in and pours milk Irom a can. AIter she and
Mulligan talk Ior awhile, Dedalus Ieels a bit slighted that she ignores him,
answering only to Mulligan`s loud voice. When it`s time to pay her, Mulligan
comes up short and they wind up owing her two pence. He tells Dedalus to 'hurry
out to your school kip and bring us back some money even though Dedalus is the
one who pays the rent (12 quid a month) at the tower.
.......As they Iinish breakIast, Mulligan suggests that they take a swim and
continues to pick on Dedalus when he says, 'Is this the day Ior your monthly wash,
Kinch? Turning to Haines, he adds, 'The unclean bard makes a point oI washing
once a month.
.......Outside, while the three young men walk along the beach, Haines asks
Dedalus to discuss a theory about Shakespeare`s play Hamlet, reIerred to earlier by
Mulligan. Mulligan interrupts and says, 'He proves by algebra that Hamlet's
grandson is Shakespeare's grandIather and that he himselI is the ghost oI his own
Iather. He turns to Stephen and says, 'O, shade oI Kinch the elder! Japhet in
search oI a Iather! (Shade of Kinch the elder is a reIerence to the ghost oI old
King Hamlet, who appears on the battlements oI Elsinore Castle in Hamlet. Japhet
is a reIerence to Japheth, one oI Noah`s sons in the Bible.)
.......Stephen parts company with the other two, but they all agree to meet at a bar,
the Ship, later on. Stephen gives them the key to the tower and goes away Ieeling
isolated by Buck`s earlier taunts.
.......Stephen teaches a lesson in ancient Greek literature to spoiled rich kids at a
school like the one Joyce taught at (CliIton School in Dalkey), thinks again about
his mother, and receives his pay Irom the headmaster, Garett Deasy, an anti-Semite
who pretends to be a scholar. He asks Stephen to help him get a letter published in
The Evening Telegraph on Ioot-and-mouth disease, which aIIlicts cattle and other
cloven-Iooted animals. The letter is poorly written. Shortly aIter 11, Stephen walks

along Sandymount beach, annoyed that he must take Deasy`s letter to the
newspaper. He sits down and edits it, then thinks about visiting his mother`s
relatives but decides against that idea aIter realizing his Iather would disapprove.
He muses about liIe in a kind oI philosophical soliloquywith his thoughts coming
partly in bits and pieces oI Ioreign languages, including French, Latin, German,
and Italianthat Iocus on his college days, his shortage oI money, the depressing
atmosphere oI Dublin that militates against his dream oI becoming a great writer,
and his Iather, who is given to drinking bouts. He then decides not to meet
Mulligan and Haines at the bar at 12:30 as planned.
.......The scene changes and the time reverts back to 8 a.m., when the novel`s
protagonistLeopold Bloom, an advertising representativeserves milk to his cat
and prepares breakIast at his home at 7 Eccles Street. Customarily, he serves
breakIast in bed to his wiIe oI 16 years, Molly (Marion Tweedy Bloom), making
sure her tea and toast are just the way she likes them. He reads a letter Irom his 15-
year-old daughter, Milly, who is away studying photography and has a boyIriend
who may try to take advantage oI her. The letter brings back memories oI his other
child, Rudy, who died when he was 11 days old, and oI his Iather, Rudolph, who
committed suicide. The Iollowing passage later in the novel describes events
surrounding the death oI Bloom`s Iather:
The Queen's Hotel, Ennis, county Clare, where Rudolph Bloom (RudolI
Virag) died on the evening oI the 27 June 1886, at some hour unstated, in
consequence oI an overdose oI monkshood (aconite) selIadministered in the
Iorm oI a neuralgic liniment composed oI 2 parts oI aconite liniment to 1 oI
chloroIorm liniment (purchased by him at 10.20 a.m. on the morning oI 27
June 1886 at the medical hall oI Francis Dennehy, 17 Church street, Ennis)
aIter having, though not in consequence oI having, purchased at 3.15 p.m. on
the aIternoon oI 27 June 1886 a new boater straw hat, extra smart (aIter
having, though not in consequence oI having, purchased at the hour and in
the place aIoresaid, the toxin aIoresaid), at the general drapery store oI
James Cullen, 4 Main street, Ennis.
.......Bloom interrupts his preparations to go to the butcher`s shop Ior a pork kidney
he`ll Iry Ior himselI. He then returns and serves breakIast to Molly, a proIessional
singer oI only modest talent, while his pork kidney burns on the stove. When he
returns to the kitchen, he eats and enjoys the kidney. Bloom treats Molly well even
though he knows she is having an aIIair with Blazes Boylan, who is arranging a
series oI concert perIormances Ior her, and hasn`t had relations with Leopold Ior

years.
.......AIter leaving home, Bloom sits through part oI a mass at a Roman Catholic
Church, then attends the Iuneral oI his Iriend, Paddy Dignam. On the way to the
church, he rides in a carriage with Simon Dedalus, Stephen's Iather, and two
others. They make make small talk about death and about a tramline. It is a "paltry
Iuneral," the narration says: "coach and three carriages. It's all the same.
Pallbearers, gold reins, requiem mass, Iiring a volley. Pomp oI death. Beyond the
hind carriage a hawker stood by his barrow oI cakes and Iruit. Simnel cakes those
are, stuck together: cakes Ior the dead. Dogbiscuits. Who ate them? Mourners
coming out."
.......During the Iuneral, presided over by Father CoIIey, Bloom thinks about the
gas that corpses Iill up with:
What swells him up that way? Molly gets swelled aIter cabbage. Air oI the
place maybe. Looks Iull up oI bad gas. Must be an inIernal lot oI bad gas
round the place. Butchers, Ior instance: they get like raw beeIsteaks. Who
was telling me? Mervyn Browne. Down in the vaults oI saint Werburgh's
lovely old organ hundred and IiIty they have to bore a hole in the coIIins
sometimes to let out the bad gas and burn it. Out it rushes: blue. One whiII
oI that and you're a doner.
AIterward, he stops by The Evening Telegraph to arrange Ior the printing oI an
advertisement. There, he crosses paths with Stephen Dedalus, although they do not
speak to each other. Later, Bloom continues his odyssey through Dublin, Iirst
stopping Ior a cheese sandwich at a pub, then at the National Library to research
newspaper documents relating to the publication oI the ad at the newspaper. Again,
he crosses paths with Stephen Dedalus, who is there with Buck Mulligan and
others discussing Shakespeare.
.......In the aIternoon, Bloom has a lunch oI liver and cods' roes at the Ormond
Hotel. With him is Richie Goulding, Stephen's uncle. A lively group oI others
including Stephen's Iather, Simonsings at a piano while Bloom eyes two attractive
barmaids, Mina Kennedy and Lydia Douce. He just misses seeing Blazes Boylan,
who is leaving the same hotel to rendezvous with Bloom's wiIe, Molly, at 4:30.
At another pub, Barney Kiernan`s, a drunken man identiIied by the narrator as "the
citizen" insults Bloom with anti-Semitic taunts. Bloom deIends himselI, and
another man, Martin, joins the Iray. Here is the dialogue:
Bloom
--Mendelssohn was a jew and Karl Marx and Mercadante and Spinoza.
And the Saviour was a jew and his Iather was a jew. Your God.

Martin
--He had no Iather, says Martin. That'll do now. Drive ahead.
The Citizen
--Whose God? says the citizen.
Bloom
--Well, his uncle was a jew, says he. Your God was a jew. Christ was a jew
like me.
When Bloom leaves, the drunk hurls a tin container at him. So Bloom becomes an
outcast who, like so many other Jews beIore him and like Ulysses in Homer`s
Odyssey, must endure a diaspora.
.......In the evening, Bloom slips his hand into his pocket when he observes young
Gerty MacDowell, "as Iair a specimen oI winsome Irish girlhood as one could wish
to see," the narrator says oI her. She propositions him and reveals her underwear.
But Bloom has already spent himselI and ignores her.
.......At around 10 o'clock, the wanderer next visits the National Maternity Hospital
on Holles Street to check on the condition oI his Iriend, Mrs. Mina PureIoy, who
has been in labor Ior three days. For the third time, he crosses paths with Stephen
Dedalus, who is drinking with Buck Mulligan and his Iriends. Bloom is
disappointed to see that the son oI his Iriend, Simon Dedalus, is allowing alcohol
and questionable companions divert him Irom gainIul intellectual pursuits. AIter
Mrs. PureIoy has her child, Bloom Iollows Stephen and his Iriends to a pub,
Burke's, where Stephen boozes on absinthe. Bloom then continues to Iollow when
Stephen and one oI the young menLynch, a medical studentvisit a brothel. The
experience makes Bloom think oI Boylan and Molly together. Stephen has a
disturbing thought oI his own: He imagines he sees his dead mother asking him to
pray Ior him, as she did beIore she died.
.......Out on the street, drunk, Stephen gets into a Iight with two soldiers. AIter one
oI the soldiers, knocks Stephen down, Bloom comes to his aid as a crowd watches
and policemen come to the scene. One oI the soldiers, Private Carr, steps Iorward
and tells one oI the policemen that Stephen insulted his girlIriend. Bloom,
however, deIends Stephen, saying, " You hit him without provocation. I'm a
witness. Constable, take his regimental number." Another man, Corny Kelleher,
says he knows Bloom and says he won money at the races thanks to a tip Bloom
gave him on a horse named Throwaway. The police disperse the crowd and agree
to Iorget the incident, and Bloom shakes the hands oI both policemen, saying,
"Thank you very much, gentlemen. Thank you. We don't want any scandal, you
understand. Father |Simon Dedalus| is a wellknown highly respected citizen. Just a

little wild oats, you understand." One oI the policemen, reIerred to as the "Second
Watch," conIirms that he will not have to report the incident, saying, "It was only
in case oI corporal injuries I'd have to report it at the station."
.......Bloom and Dedalus then go to a cabman's shelter to get something to eat.
There, they encounter a drunken sailor, D. B. Murphy oI Carrigaloe, who has
traveled the world, like Ulysses. He tells Bloom and Dedalus:
I've circumnavigated a bit since I Iirst joined on. I was in the Red Sea. I was
in China and North America and South America. We was chased by pirates
one voyage. I seen icebergs plenty, growlers. I was in Stockholm and the
Black Sea, the Dardanelles under Captain Dalton, the best bloody man that
ever scuttled a ship. I seen Russia. GOSPODI POMILYOU. That's how the
Russians prays.
Murphy also presents this picture oI his travels:
I seen a Chinese one time . . . that had little pills like putty and he put them
in the water and they opened and every pill was something diIIerent. One
was a ship, another was a house, another was a Ilower. Cooks rats in your
soup . . . the chinks does.
Later, while Bloom converses with Dedalus, the subjects oI violence, hatred, and
prejudice come up, and Bloom says, "I resent
violence and intolerance in any shape or Iorm. It never reaches anything or stops
anything. A revolution must come on the due instalments plan. It's a patent
absurdity on the Iace oI it to hate people because they live round the corner and
speak another vernacular, in the next house so to speak." People tend to accuse
Jews oI creating trouble, Bloom says, adding, " Not a vestige oI truth in it, I can
saIely say. History, would you be surprised to learn, proves up to the hilt Spain
decayed when the inquisition hounded the jews out and England prospered when
Cromwell, an uncommonly able ruIIian who in other respects has much to answer
Ior, imported them. Why? Because they are imbued with the proper spirit. They are
practical and are proved to be so.
.......Eventually, Bloom takes Stephen home with him. He has to break in because
he has Iorgotten the key. AIter he serves cocoa to Stephen, they talk about science,
art, and Judaism. Bloom asks Stephen to stay at his residence, but Stephen rejects
his oIIer and leaves.
.......AIter Bloom goes to bed, Molly remains awake. She muses about Blazes
Boylan and her younger days. Her thoughts then shiIt to Iood, wine, sex, other
married couples (including a husband who goes to bed with his boots on), her
singing oI Gounod's "Ave Maria," war, soldiers passing in review, bullIighting,
and Stephenhow it would be iI he did stay at the Bloom home. She also recalls the

days when she met Leopold. The passage that ends the novel Iocuses on
acceptance oI her husband:
the old windows oI the posadas 2 glancing eyes a lattice hid Ior her lover to
kiss the iron and the wineshops halI open at night and the castanets and the
night we missed the boat at Algeciras the watchman going about serene with
his lamp and O that awIul deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson
sometimes like Iire and the glorious sunsets and the Iigtrees in the Alameda
gardens yes and all the queer little streets and the pink and blue and yellow
houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses
and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower oI the mountain yes when I put
the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes
and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him
as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he
asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain Ilower and Iirst I put my arms
around him yes and drew him down to me so he could Ieel my breasts all
perIume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.
%hemes
Every human goes on a journey, just as the mythical Odysseus (Roman name,
Ulysses) did in his heroic adventures in Homer`s Odyssey. But in the real liIe oI
modern man, this journey is generally humdrum and uneventIul, as in Joyce's
Ulysses, rather than heroic. The novel presents many other themes, or sub-themes.
Examples are the Iollowing:
InIidelity (Molly Bloom and Blazes Boylan)
Guilt (Stephen Dedalus and His Mother)
Anti-Semitism (The Citizen Insulting Bloom)
The InIluence oI Shakespeare (Dedalus and His Shakespeare Theory)
Sexual Temptation (Bloom Ogling Gerty Macdowell and Others)
The Cycles oI LiIe From Birth to Death (Mina PureIoy's and the Death oI
Paddy Dignam)
Religion as a NeIarious InIluence (Numerous ReIerences and Allusions)
Camaraderie (Bar Scenes, Bloom and Dedalus)
Dates of Publication
Magazine: Between 1918 and 1920, several installments appeared in The ittle
Review, a U.S publication, but American authorities banned publication oI
additional installments, declaring the book obscene.

Book: AIter Sylvia Beach, owner oI a Parisian bookstore called Shakespeare &
Co., agreed to sponsor publication oI the novel, the Iirst copies were placed on sale
on February 2, 1922, Joyce's birthday. On August 7, 1934, an American appeals
court ruled in Iavor oI publication oI the complete novel by Random House.
%ype of Work
Ulysses is an experimental novel in the modernist tradition. It uses parody in its
imitation oI The Odyssey. It also uses satire and burlesque in ridiculing religion,
culture, literary movements, other writers and their styles, and many other people,
places, things, and ideas.
$tyle and %echnique
The author writes in third-person point oI view with Irequent use oI allusions,
symbols, Jungian archetypes, literary archetypes, pastiche, and the stream-oI-
consciousness technique, all oI which make the novel diIIicult to comprehend Ior
even the most intelligent and inIormed readers. In stream oI consciousness, a term
coined by American psychologist William James (1842-1910), an author portrays a
character`s continuing 'stream oI thoughts as they occur, regardless oI whether
they make sense or whether the next thought in a sequence relates to the previous
thought. (See the last paragraph oI the plot summary Ior an example.) These
thought portrayals expose a character`s memories, Iantasies, apprehensions,
Iixations, ambitions, rational and irrational ideas, and so on. In the last chapter oI
the novel, consisting oI eight long paragraphs, Joyce omits punctuation entirely in
order to mimic the uninterrupted Ilow oI naked thoughts. Joyce also uses numerous
sentences and phrases Irom Latin, French, German, Spanish, Russian
(transliterated), Italian, and other languages. In addition, he uses reIined language,
vulgar language, slang and demotic dialogue, gibberish, coined words such as
noctambules Ior night walkers (noctural ambulators) and circumfacent Ior
surrounding closely, passages in all-capital letters, unpunctuated sentences, and
abbreviations (such as H. R. H., rear admiral, the right honourable sir Hercules
Hannibal Habeas Corpus Anderson, K. G., K. P., K. T., P. C., K. C. B., M. P, J. P.,
M. B., D. S. O., S. O. D., M. F. H., M. R. I. A., B. L., Mus. Doc., P. L. G., F. T. C.
D., F. R. U. I., F. R. C. P. I. and F. R. C. S. I. Another technique he uses is to
combine two words into one to create a single adjective and sometimes a noun.
Examples are the Iollowing: dangerouslooking, hocuspocus, fifenotes, fogfaunty,
deepmoved, muchtreasured, dogbiscuits, snotgreen, rosegardens, shrilldeep,
canarybird, freefly, allimportant, gigglegold, candleflame, and grassplots.He also
writes one chapter in the Iormat oI a stage play, another in the Iormat oI a Roman

Catholic catechism, and another in language ranging Irom Old English to modern
English.

At times, he includes poetry, like the Iollowing triplet written in capital letters:
BEHOLD THE MANSION REARED BY DEDAL JACK
SEE THE MALT STORED IN MANY A REFLUENT SACK,
IN THE PROUD CIRQUE OF JACKJOHN'S BIVOUAC.
Repetition also occurs Irequently, as in the Iollowing passage:
Love loves to love love. Nurse loves the new chemist. Constable 14A loves
Mary Kelly. Gerty MacDowell loves the boy that has the bicycle. M. B.
loves a Iair gentleman. Li Chi Han lovey up kissy Cha Pu Chow. Jumbo, the
elephant, loves Alice, the elephant. Old Mr Verschoyle with the ear trumpet
loves old Mrs Verschoyle with the turnedin eye. The man in the brown
macintosh loves a lady who is dead. His Majesty the King loves Her Majesty
the Queen. Mrs Norman W. Tupper loves oIIicer Taylor. You love a certain
person. And this person loves that other person because everybody loves
somebody but God loves everybody.
Joyce's bag oI tricks also includes the Iollowing passage that associates members
oI a wedding with trees, in response a barroom discussion about the necessity to
preserve the Iorests:
The Iashionable international world attended EN MASSE this aIternoon at
the wedding oI the chevalier Jean Wyse de Neaulan, grand high chieI ranger
oI the Irish National Foresters, with Miss Fir ConiIer oI Pine Valley. Lady
Sylvester Elmshade, Mrs Barbara Lovebirch, Mrs Poll Ash, Mrs Holly
Hazeleyes, Miss Daphne Bays, Miss Dorothy Canebrake, Mrs Clyde
Twelvetrees, Mrs Rowan Greene, Mrs Helen Vinegadding, Miss Virginia
Creeper, Miss Gladys Beech, Miss Olive Garth, Miss Blanche Maple, Mrs
Maud Mahogany, Miss Myra Myrtle, Miss Priscilla ElderIlower, Miss Bee
Honeysuckle, Miss Grace Poplar, Miss O Mimosa San, Miss Rachel
CedarIrond, the Misses Lilian and Viola Lilac, Miss Timidity Aspenall, Mrs
Kitty Dewey-Mosse, Miss May Hawthorne, Mrs Gloriana Palme, Mrs Liana
Forrest, Mrs Arabella Blackwood and Mrs Norma Holyoake oI Oakholme

Regis graced the ceremony by their presence. The bride who was given
away by her Iather, the M'ConiIer oI the Glands, looked exquisitely
charming in a creation carried out in green mercerised silk, moulded on an
underslip oI gloaming grey, sashed with a yoke oI broad emerald and
Iinished with a triple Ilounce oI darkerhued Iringe, the scheme being
relieved by bretelles and hip insertions oI acorn bronze. The maids oI
honour, Miss Larch ConiIer and Miss Spruce ConiIer, sisters oI the bride,
wore very becoming costumes in the same tone, a dainty MOTIF oI plume
rose being worked into the pleats in a pinstripe and repeated capriciously in
the jadegreen toques in the Iorm oI heron Ieathers oI paletinted coral. Senhor
Enrique Flor presided at the organ with his wellknown ability and, in
addition to the prescribed numbers oI the nuptial mass, played a new and
striking arrangement oI WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE at the
conclusion oI the service. On leaving the church oI Saint Fiacre IN HORTO
aIter the papal blessing the happy pair were subjected to a playIul crossIire
oI hazelnuts, beechmast, bayleaves, catkins oI willow, ivytod, hollyberries,
mistletoe sprigs and quicken shoots. Mr and Mrs Wyse ConiIer Neaulan will
spend a quiet honeymoon in the Black Forest.
All oI these stylistic and technical devices, and many more, help Joyce to depict
his world as multiIarious, like the motley-coated world oI Homer's Odyssey, with
all oI its strange peoples and unIamiliar climes. But, oI course, Joyce's world is
mundane Dublin, reductio ad absurdam. These devices also enable Joyce to show
the world what a clever Iellow he is. However, at times, his language games and
obscure allusions, many oI which he admittedly designed to conIound "the college
proIessors," mar the novel, and many readers abandon it aIter plowing through a
chapter or two.
s $tream of Consciousness a Flaed %echnique?
Stream oI consciousness (described above) attempts to present the unedited,
uncensored, Iree-Ilowing thoughts oI a person. However, Joyce and other writers
who use this technique do so with Iorethought and calculation. They are creating
the thoughts oI Iictitious characters, not brain-scanning the thoughts oI real
humans. The thoughts these writers present to the reader are shaped to the theme oI

a literary work or the mindset oI its characters. Consequently, one may argue, they
are not really presenting true stream oI consciousness.
$tructure
The structure oI Ulysses parallels symbolically the structure oI Homer`s epic
poem, The Odyssey. In both works, a man goes on a journey, encountering a
variety oI people and situations along the way. However, the journey in Homer`s
work lasts ten years, whereas the journey in Joyce`s work lasts about 18 hours.
The main characters in Ulysses also parallel the main characters in The Odyssey.
Thus, Joyce`s Leopold Bloom becomes Homer`s Odysseus (Roman name,
Ulysses); Stephen Dedalus becomes Telemachus, the son oI Odysseus; Molly
Bloom becomes Penelope, the wiIe oI Odysseus; and Blazes Boylan becomes a
representative oI all the suitors wooing Penelope. Joyce`s characters are ordinary
and unheroic in contrast to Homer`s extraordinary and heroic characters. For an
analysis and summary oI Homer`s Odyssey, click here.
$ources
Besides passages entirely oI his own invention, Joyce based the content oI Ulysses
mainly on episodes Irom his own liIe, on episodes in Homer`s Odyssey, and on
Shakespearean characters and dialogue. In terms oI style, Joyce imitated the
stream-oI-consciousness method as pioneered by other writers, notably Edouard
Dujardin (1861-1949).
ssessment of the Novel
Opinions oI the novel range across the spectrum. Some readers insist that Ulysses
is a superior novel, a tour de Iorce marking a turning point in modern literature.
Others insist that it is an inIerior novel, an extremely boring work Ieaturing long
passages with a chaos oI strange words that are a penance to read and a hell to
Iathom. There can be no gainsaying, though, that Joyce has been highly
inIluential. Through stream oI consciousnessand through sometimes manipulation
oI languagehe allows readers to view the complicated, perplexing, and sometimes
irrational workings oI the human mind. His display oI this technique inspired later
writers to use it in their own literary works. UnIortunately, because oI its mission
and its experimental nature, Ulysses tasks the reader like no other novel beIore it,
making him plod through jungles oI obscure symbols, perplexing allusions, and
boring portraits oI ordinary Dublin liIe. Admirers oI Joyce acknowledge that the
novel is diIIicult. Passages like the Iollowing (part oI a chapter in which Joyce

writes in various idioms that evolved during the development oI the English
language) make it so:
A liquid oI womb oI woman eyeball gazed under a Ience oI lashes, calmly,
hearing. See real beauty oI the eye when she not speaks. On yonder river. At
each slow satiny heaving bosom's wave (her heaving embon) red rose rose
slowly sank red rose. Heartbeats: her breath: breath that is liIe. And all the
tiny tiny IernIoils trembled oI maidenhair.
Since its publication, many scholars, distinguished writers, and average readers
have exalted Ulysses as a work oI enormous signiIicance and brilliance. Probably
just as many scholars, distinguished writers, and average readers have dismissed it
as an unremittingly dull, tedious, and tiresome worka waste oI time. The verdict:
The novel needs another century or two to Ierment, marinate, or whatever literary
works do when they go through the "test oI time" (as literary tastes change and
standards evolve) to reveal itselI in all oI its Iullness to an unbiased judge. This
much can be said Ior certain about the novel: Except in academia, not many people
read Ulysses. Those who do decide to have a go at the thick, allusion-laden,
language-bending tome Irequently put it down aIter reading a Iew chapters, never
again to pick it up.
Mockery of Religion
In Ulysses, Joyce relentlessly mocks the Roman Catholic Church and its rites and
pokes Iun at the Jesuits, an order oI Roman Catholic priests who educated him,
nurturing his writing talent and sparking his curiosity and imagination. A devout
Catholic when he was growing up, Joyce abandoned his Iaith as a young adult
because he Ielt oppressed by its strict rules oI morality and because he resented its
inIluence on Irish society. His ridicule oI the Jesuits and his childhood religion,
rarely executed with subtlety and nuance, comes across as petty and selI-
indulgent.
Fascinating Fact
The name Shakespeare occurs 50 times in Ulysses. ReIerences to Shakespeare by
another name, as well as to his works and style, occur hundreds oI other times. It
may well be that Joyce wanted to be another Shakespeare in stature. II so, his hope
outran his talent.

$tudy Questions and Essay %opics

O Do you agree with some critics that Ulysses is one oI the greatest novels
ever written? Or do you agree with other critics that it is mostly balderdash?
Whatever your view is, write an argumentative essay deIending your
position. Include in your essay the views oI at least three authoritative
sources to support your position. In addition, include the views oI at least
three authoritative sources that hold the opposing position, then attempt to
reIute their views.
O What is the most important message in the novel?
O Write an inIormative essay explaining the structure oI the novel.
O Write an inIormative essay comparing and contrasting the events in Joyce's
novel with the events in Homer's Odyssey.
O Ulysses Iaced censorship when it was published in the U.S. in The ittle
Review. Would you ever support banning a literary work, a speech, an
advertisement, a television program, a movie, etc.? Examples: an
advertisement Ior pornography in a daily newspaper, a scheduled speech at a
university that advocates a racist point oI view, a TV news program showing
terrorists torturing a captive American soldier, an essay published in the U.S.
that advocates the violent overthrow oI the American government, a top-
secret government document that identiIies by name covert American
intelligence agents in Ioreign countries, a magazine article that explains in
detail how to construct an atomic bomb.

TOT THE LIGHTHOUSE VIRGINIA WOOLF 1927
N%RODUC%ON
One oI the most prominent literary Iigures oI the twentieth century, WoolI is
widely admired Ior her technical innovations in the novel, most notably her
development oI stream-oI-consciousness narrative. In To the ighthouse (1927)
WoolI sought to come to terms with her parents' stiIling Victorian marriage and
events oI her own childhood, as well as to explore such Ieminist issues as the
necessity, or even desirability, oI marriage Ior women and the diIIiculties Ior
women in pursuing a career in the arts. A striking mix oI autobiographical
elements, philosophical questions, and social concerns, To the ighthouse is
generally considered to be WoolI`s greatest Iictional achievement.

Plot and Major Characters

To the ighthouse is divided into three parts: 'The Window, 'Time Passes, and
'The Lighthouse. Despite the inherent complexities oI WoolI's many themes and
stream-oI-consciousness narrative, the plot oI the novel is simple. Mr. and Mrs.
Ramsay, their children, and numerous house guestsincluding Lily Briscoe, the
central consciousness oI 'The Lighthouse sectionare vacationing in the remote
Hebrides islands. An expedition to a nearby lighthouse is put oII by Mr. Ramsay,
and ten years later, aIter the deaths oI Mrs. Ramsay and two oI the Ramsays'
children, the trip is successIully executed by Mr. Ramsay and his children James
and Cam. 'The Window is the longest section oI the book, but it takes place in a
single day and Iocuses primarily on the character Mrs. Ramsay, a beautiIul, placid,
upper-middle-class Victorian wiIe and mother who devotes herselI to Iamily and
Iriends. The years between the planned trip to the lighthouse and the actual event
are poetically recounted in the short section 'Time Passes, in which the eIIects oI
time are illustrated in a description oI the slow decay oI the Ramsays` empty
vacation home, combined with Ilashes oI imagery oI World War I, the physical
aging oI the characters, and death. Lily Briscoe becomes the dominant character in
the third section, 'The Lighthouse. A struggling artist who never married
despite Mrs. Ramsay`s attempts to play matchmaker Ior herLily mourns the loss
oI Mrs. Ramsay, whom she alternately adores and misunderstands, and attempts to
resolve her Ieelings about Mr. Ramsay, whom she considers at times overly
philosophical, arrogant, and detached. Lily also must come to terms with her own
decision not to marry and to pursue work as an artist, despite social pressure to
lead a more conventional liIe. In the Iinal scene oI the novel, Mr. Ramsay and his
children reach the lighthouse at last, and Lily Iinishes the painting she has been
working on throughout the novel, both acts signiIying the characters` attainment oI
an integrated vision oI liIe, art, and death.
Major %hemes
AIter the novel`s publication, WoolI wrote oI her depiction oI her parents`
marriage in To the ighthouse, 'I was obsessed by them both, unhealthily; and
writing oI them was a necessary act. Her own mother had died suddenly when
WoolI was thirteen. Considered a model wiIe and mother, Julia Stephen was
known to exhaust herselI regularly to please her demanding husband, the writer
and intellectual Iigure Leslie Stephen. But Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay are heavily
Iictionalized portrayals oI WoolI`s parents, and neither they nor the other
characters in To the ighthouse are meant to Iully represent the Stephen Iamily;
rather, they are extremely complex, symbolic, and, some say, mythical Iigures who

are not easily categorized. Literary theorists are sharply divided over the deeper
meanings oI WoolI`s characters. Some interpret Mrs. Ramsay as the embodiment
oI the Ieminine ideal and Mr. Ramsay as that oI the masculine idealthe pure,
elemental Iorces oI the genders. Feminist critics dispute this notion, positing
instead that the Ramsays` marriage is typical oI most marriages in the pre-World
War I period, Iorcing the wiIe into the role oI 'angel oI the house
unquestioning, supportive, generous, and selI-sacriIicing at any cost to personal
ambition and satisIaction. These critics consider Mr. Ramsay an overbearing and
domineering patriarch who drives his wiIe to the brink oI Ieeble-mindedness. Still
others surmise just the opposite: namely, that Mrs. Ramsay is a cold-hearted,
social-climbing harpy, and Mr. Ramsay a hen-pecked husband. Regardless oI
conIlicting interpretations oI the Ramsays, Lily Briscoe is generally considered
representative oI WoolI`s strong Ieminist principles, particularly in her reIusal to
marry and her commitment to painting, despite the urging oI others to abandon art.
Overriding concerns oI To the ighthouse and all oI its characters are death,
mourning, and the inexorable passage oI time. When Mrs. Ramsay dies, she takes
with her the sense oI order in the Iamily; children die, Lily and Mr. Ramsay Iall
into abiding grieI, and even the house itselI declines into disrepair. The
consummation oI the trip to the lighthouse and Lily`s completion oI her painting,
with a single line down the center representing Mrs. Ramsay, signiIy the triumph
oI order over disorder and liIe over death and grieI.
Critical Reception
To the ighthouse has sustained critical predominance in WoolI`s canon since its
publication in 1927. It is widely considered her most successIul use oI stream-oI-
consciousness narrative, nonlinear plot, and interior monologue, crisply identiIying
characters without the Iormal structure oI chronological time and omniscient
narration, as well as her most perIectly realized Iictional reIlection on mortality,
subjectivity, and the passage oI time. The novel is oIten described as an elegy to
WoolI`s mother, and as such it is thought to be a complex and poetic character
study, incorporating all Iacets oI personality, including emotions dark and
hopeless. In her diary WoolI recorded her many diIIiculties in writing To the
ighthouse, including her Iears about reliving her parents` deathsevents that
precipitated two oI her most devastating emotional breakdowns. But WoolI
evidently realized the greater signiIicance oI To the ighthouse beyond its Iictional
portrayal oI her childhood; in a diary entry written during her Iinal revision oI the
novel in 1926 she wrote, 'My present opinion is that it is easily the best oI my
books, an assessment with which most critics agree.

To the Lighthouse is generally considered to be V. WoolI`s most
accomplished work. The vision oI the book is an optimistic one. Out oI the
multiple oscillations between liIe and death, joy and sorrow, light and dark, ebb
and Ilow oI the sea, there is an expressed belieI in the survival oI the human spirit.
To the Lighthouse has a symbolic design, which gives coherence to the Iorm oI
this abstract novel. Each and everyone oI its section has a signiIicant
meaning:The Window symbolizes integration, 'Time Passes, symbolizes
disintegration and 'The Lighthouse represents reintegration.
This light dark light pattern resembles with the beam Irom the lighthouse
which Iunctions centrally in the novel, both as a literal place and as a symbol. The
novel begins with a desire to visit the lighthouse and concludes with the journey to
it, so the lighthouse is bound up with the journey theme oI the novel.
Mrs. Ramsay is the central character oI this novel, being both a symbol and
an individual. She is the mother oI eight children, a beautiIul woman who Iinds a
great pleasure in matchmaking, always trying to build bridges between people, a
practical nurse and noble hostess.
Mr. Ramsay is a diIIerent person Irom his wiIe, representing a kind oI
embodiment oI the masculine principle: selI-centered, objective, melodramatic and
in constant need oI love. Mrs. and Mr. Ramsay represent Ior the author two
opposing approaches to liIe and reality. He is the cynical realist while she has
warmth and intuitive power to understand liIe and people. The limitation and
Iailure oI Mr. Ramsay, thinking and judgment are reIlected in the Iact that he
Iragments knowledge in an alphabetic arrangement, lacking the wisdom oI an
integrated view oI liIe.
The meaning oI symbols in 'To the Lighthouse is directly related to V.
WoolI`s concepts oI human values and reality. She considered that the most
important thing about any person is his quest Ior the meaning oI liIe and Ior
identiIication. Her characters are always searching Ior reality and they achieve
their moments oI perception and insight by means oI psychic itselI. As a structural
device the lighthouse symbol represents the subdivision oI the novel itselI: the
three parts oI the novel are reproducing, in eIIect, a lighthouse beam with its long
Ilash oI light, then an interval oI darkness, and Iinally a short Ilash. Moreover, it

uniIies the themes oI the opening and closing scenes oI the novel and it also uniIies
the theme oI James` quest to the symbolism associated with Lily Briscoe`s
painting.
Last but not least, the lighthouse symbol stands Ior two opposing attitudes
towards liIe, those oI Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay.
The lighthouse symbolism has a private meaning to each character in the
novel. It represents Iirst oI all a quest Ior values, which are mirrored both in Lily`s
art and Mrs. Ramsay eIIort to create order out oI disorder and chaos. Reaching the
lighthouse seems to signiIy the establishment oI warm, personal relationship with
other people.
The sea is a Irequent symbol in V. WoolI`s novels and stands Ior the external Ilux-
Ilow oI time and liIe. It changes oIten; sometimes it has a shooting coming
inIluence, and other times, a ruthless destructive power. The sea surrounds the
island, where the story unIolds and it surrounds the lighthouse.
However, the lighthouse (man made) is able to withstand the ravages oI the
sea (time), thus representing the continuity oI human values and humanity.
Art has the ability to Iuse the temporal and eternal into a lasting Iorm, into
an enduring reality.
Lily`s intuitive vision oI truth, symbolized by her ability to Iinish the
painting is that reality is synonymous with harmonious relations between parents
and children, woman and man, man and nature and past and present.


The serene and maternal Mrs Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr Ramsay,
together with their children and assorted guests, are holidaying on the Isle oI
Skye. From the seemingly trivial postponement oI a visit to a nearby
lighthouse Virginia WoolI constructs a remarkable and moving examination
oI the complex tensions and allegiances oI Iamily liIe, and the conIlict
between male and Iemale principles. One oI the great literary achievements

oI the twentieth century, To the Lighthouse is oIten cited as Virginia WoolI's

most popular novel.


1h0 Pictur0 of Dorian Cra is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde,
appearing as the lead story in ippincotts Monthly Maga:ine on 20 June 1890,
printed as the July 1890 issue oI this magazine.
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Wilde later revised this edition,
making several alterations, and adding new chapters; the amended version was
published by Ward, Lock, and Company in April 1891.
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The title is sometimes
rendered incorrectly as The Portrait of orian Gray.
The novel tells oI a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject oI a painting by
artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes
inIatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible Ior a new mode in his art.
Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a Iriend oI Basil's, and becomes enthralled by
Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the
only things worth pursuing in liIe are beauty and IulIillment oI the senses.
Realizing that one day his beauty will Iade, Dorian (whimsically) expresses a
desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than
himselI. Dorian's wish is IulIilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait
serves as a reminder oI the eIIect each act has upon his soul, with each sin
displayed as a disIigurement oI his Iorm, or through a sign oI aging.
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It starts on a beautiIul day with Lord Henry Wotton observing the artist Basil
Hallward painting the portrait oI a handsome young man named Dorian Gray. Lord
Henry asks to meet Dorian, and when he arrives later, Basil is hesitant but agrees.
AIter hearing Lord Henry's world view, Dorian begins to think beauty is the only
worthwhile aspect oI liIe, the only thing leIt to pursue. He wishes that the portrait
Basil is painting would grow old in his place. Under the inIluence oI Lord Henry
(who relishes the hedonic liIestyle and is a major exponent thereoI), Dorian begins
to explore his senses. He discovers actress Sibyl Vane, who perIorms Shakespeare
in a dingy theatre. Dorian approaches her and soon proposes marriage. Sibyl, who
reIers to him as "Prince Charming," rushes home to tell her skeptical mother and
brother. Her protective brother James tells her that iI "Prince Charming" harms her,
he will certainly kill him.
Dorian invites Basil and Lord Henry to see Sibyl perIorm in Romeo and Juliet.
Sibyl, whose only knowledge oI love was love oI theatre, loses her acting abilities

through the experience oI true love with Dorian. Dorian rejects her, saying her
beauty was in her art, and he is no longer interested in her iI she can no longer act.
When he returns home he notices that his portrait has changed. Dorian realizes his
wish has come true the portrait now bears a subtle sneer and will age with each
sin he commits, whilst his own appearance remains unchanged. He decides to
reconcile with Sibyl, but Lord Henry arrives in the morning to say Sibyl has killed
herselI by swallowing prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide). With the persuasion and
encouragement oI Lord Henry, Dorian realizes that lust and looks are where his
liIe is headed and he needs nothing else. That marks the end oI Dorian's last and
only true love aIIair. Over the next 18 years, Dorian experiments with every vice,
mostly under the inIluence oI a "poisonous" French decadence novel, a present
Irom Lord Henry. The title is never revealed in the novel, but at Oscar Wilde's trial
he admitted that he had 'had in mind' Joris-Karl Huysmans's Rebours (Against
ature).
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One night, beIore he leaves Ior Paris, Basil arrives to question Dorian about
rumours oI his indulgences. Dorian does not deny his debauchery. He takes Basil
to the portrait, which is as hideous as Dorian's sins. In anger, Dorian blames the
artist Ior his Iate and stabs Basil to death. He then blackmails an old Iriend named
Alan Campbell, who is a chemist, into destroying Basil's body. Wishing to escape
his crime, Dorian travels to an opium den. James Vane is nearby and hears
someone reIer to Dorian as "Prince Charming." He Iollows Dorian outside and
attempts to shoot him, but he is deceived when Dorian asks James to look at him in
the light, saying he is too young to have been involved with Sibyl 18 years earlier.
James releases Dorian but is approached by a woman Irom the opium den who
chastises him Ior not killing Dorian and tells him Dorian has not aged Ior 18 years.
While at dinner, Dorian sees James stalking the grounds and Iears Ior his liIe.
However, during a game-shooting party a Iew days later, a lurking James is
accidentally shot and killed by one oI the hunters. AIter returning to London,
Dorian inIorms Lord Henry that he will be good Irom now on, and has started by
not breaking the heart oI his latest innocent conquest, a vicar's daughter in a
country town, named Hetty Merton. At his apartment, Dorian wonders iI the
portrait has begun to change back, losing its senile, sinIul appearance now that he
has given up his immoral ways. He unveils the portrait to Iind it has become worse.
Seeing this, he questions the motives behind his "mercy," whether it was merely

vanity, curiosity, or the quest Ior new emotional excess. Deciding that only Iull
conIession will absolve him, but lacking Ieelings oI guilt and Iearing the
consequences, he decides to destroy the last vestige oI his conscience. In a rage, he
picks up the kniIe that killed Basil Hallward and plunges it into the painting. His
servants hear a cry Irom inside the locked room and send Ior the police. They Iind
Dorian's body, stabbed in the heart and suddenly aged, withered and horrible. It is
only through the rings on his hand that the corpse can be identiIied. Beside him,
however, the portrait has reverted to its original Iorm.
Characters

Basil and Lord Henry survey the portrait oI Dorian
In a letter, Wilde said the main characters were reIlections oI himselI: "Basil
Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry is what the world thinks me: Dorian is
what I would like to bein other ages, perhaps".
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The main characters are:
O Dorian ray a handsome and narcissistic young man who becomes
enthralled with Lord Henry's idea oI a new hedonism. He begins to indulge
in every kind oI pleasure, moral and immoral.
O Basil Hallard an artist who becomes inIatuated with Dorian's beauty.
Dorian helps Basil to realize his artistic potential, as Basil's portrait oI
Dorian proves to be his Iinest work. A devout Christian with conservative
values, he is later murdered by Dorian.
O Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton an imperious and decadent dandy who is a
Iriend to Basil initially, but later becomes more intrigued with Dorian's
beauty and naivety. Extremely witty, Lord Henry is seen as a critique oI
Victorian culture at the end oI the century, espousing a view oI indulgent
hedonism. He conveys to Dorian his world view, and Dorian becomes
corrupted as he attempts to emulate him, though Basil points out to Harry
that "You never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing."
Other characters include:
O $ibyl Vane An exceptionally talented and beautiIul (though extremely
poor) actress with whom Dorian Ialls in love. Her love Ior Dorian destroys
her acting ability, as she no longer Iinds pleasure in portraying Iictional love

when she is experiencing love in reality. She commits suicide when she
realizes Dorian no longer loves her. Lord Henry likens her to Ophelia.
O 1ames Vane Sibyl's brother who is to become a sailor and leave Ior
Australia. He is extremely protective oI his sister, especially as his mother is
concerned only with Dorian's money. He is hesitant to leave his sister,
believing Dorian will harm her and promises to be vengeIul iI any harm
should come to her. AIter Sibyl's death he becomes obsessed with killing
Dorian and begins to stalk him. He is later killed in a hunting accident.
James's pursuit oI revenge against Dorian Ior the death oI his sister emulates
the role oI Laertes, Ophelia's brother in Hamlet.
O lan Campbell a chemist and once a good Iriend oI Dorian; he ended
their Iriendship when Dorian's reputation began to come into question.
Dorian blackmails him into disposing oI Basil's body, and he later commits
suicide.
O Lord Fermor Lord Henry's uncle. He inIorms Lord Henry about Dorian's
lineage.
O Victoria, Lady Henry Wotton Lord Henry's wiIe, who only appears once
in the novel while Dorian waits Ior Lord Henry. She loves her husband who
treats her with disdain and she later divorces him in exchange Ior a pianist.
%hemes
estheticism and duplicity
Aestheticism is a strong motiI and is tied in with the concept oI the double liIe. A
major theme is that aestheticism is merely an absurd abstract that only serves to
disillusion rather than digniIy the concept oI beauty. Although Dorian is
hedonistic, when Basil accuses him oI making Lord Henry's sister's name a "by-
word," Dorian replies "Take care, Basil. You go too Iar"
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suggesting Dorian still
cares about his outward image and standing within Victorian society. Wilde
highlights Dorian's pleasure oI living a double liIe.
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Not only does Dorian enjoy
this sensation in private, but he also Ieels "keenly the terrible pleasure oI a double
liIe" when attending a society gathering just 24 hours aIter committing a murder.
This duplicity and indulgence is most evident in Dorian's visit to the opium dens oI
London. Wilde conIlates the images oI the upper class and lower class by having
the supposedly upright Dorian visit the impoverished districts oI London. Lord
Henry asserts that "crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders... I should Iancy
that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method oI procuring
extraordinary sensations", which suggests that Dorian is both the criminal and the

aesthete combined in one man. This is perhaps linked to Robert Louis Stevenson's
Strange Case of r Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which Wilde admired.
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The division that
was witnessed in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, although extreme, is evident in Dorian
Gray, who attempts to contain the two divergent parts oI his personality. This is a
recurring theme in many Gothic novels.

InIluence is a recurring theme throughout the book. InIluence is largely depicted
by the author as immoral, as it eventually may turn people toward decisions that
are not true to themselves, as best exempliIied by Dorian Gray. However, all
people are inIluenced and act as inIluences, and ironically, the book itselI may
inIluence its reader, though the preIace paradoxically states that no artist, in their
work, "desires to prove anything" or has "ethical sympathies."
In addition to inIluence is the problem oI who is to be held responsible Ior certain
actions. Dorian's major Ilaw is that he is never able to hold himselI accountable,
instead, avoiding admission oI responsibility by justiIying his actions according to
the philosophy oI the new hedonism. When Sibyl commits suicide, Dorian
distances himselI Irom the blame by viewing her death as a work oI arta sort oI
tragic drama. In his Irenzy to assign the responsibility to anyone but himselI,
Dorian blames Basil Ior the path his liIe has taken. In killing Basil, the narrator
even writes the scene to demonstrate Dorian's perception that it is the kniIe that
commits the murder, leaving Dorian himselI, again, blameless. Wilde's own
involvement in the Aesthetic Movement only Iurther clouds the common
understanding as to whether his protagonist, in evading responsibility Ior his
actions, is intended primarily to be perceived tragically or heroically (or, perhaps,
both equally).

Nineteen Eighty-Four

$ummary

The story starts, as the title tells us, in the year oI 1984, and it takes place in
England or as it is called at that time, Airstrip One. Airstrip One itselI is the
mainland oI a huge country, called Oceania, which consists oI North America,
South AIrica, and Australia. The country is ruled by the Party, which is led by a
Iigure called Big Brother. The population oI Oceania is divided into three parts:
1. The Inner Party (app. 1 oI the population)
2. The Outer Party (app. 18 oI the population)
3. The Proles
The narrator oI the book is 'Third Person Limited'. The protagonist is Winston
Smith, a member oI the Outer Party, working in the Records Department oI the
Ministry oI Truth, rewriting and altering records, such as newspaper-articles, oI the
past. The action starts when Winston develops critical thoughts against the ruling
dictatorship oI the party, Ior the Iirst time. Doing so he buys a book, a rare thing
these days, to use it as a diary. As individual expression is Iorbidden by the Party,
having a diary is a crime, which may even be punished by death. There are so-
called telescreens in each room, showing propaganda and political pamphlets, and
which has a built-in camera and microphone, in order to spy on people. ThereIore
keeping a secret book is not only Iorbidden, but also very dangerous. When
Winston makes the Iirst entry in the diary, he thinks about an experience he has
made during the Two Minutes Hate, a propaganda Iilm repeated each day. During
this Iilm he caught the eye oI O'Brien, a member oI the Inner Party, whom he
thought might also be critical to the regime, or that at least there is a bond oI some
kind between them. AIter this reminiscence, he Iinds that he has written the
sentence: "Down with Big Brother" all over the page. The same night Winston
dreams about his mother and sister, who starved to death in the war, because he
had been so greedy. Then he dreams oI having sex with a girl he has seen in the

Records Department, during the Two Minutes Hate. Early in the morning, Winston
is woken by the harsh voice Irom the telescreen. During the perIormance oI the
physical exercises, Winston's thoughts move back to his childhood. The last thing
he remembers clearly is the World War. AIter the WW, the Party took control oI
the country, and Irom then on it has been diIIicult to remember anything, because
the Party changes history constantly to their own beneIit (see Doublethink -
Political System). AIter the exercises Winston goes to work at the Minitrue
(Ministry oI Truth), where his job is to alter records, and once altered, to throw
them into the Memory Hole where they are burnt. For example B.B. (Big Brother)
has promised that there will be no reduction oI the chocolate ration, but there has
been one, so Winston has to rewrite an old article, where the speech oI B.B. is
reported. At dinner Winston Smith meets Syme, a philologist, who is working on
the 11th edition oI The Newspeak Dictionary (see Newspeak - Political System).
Syme explains the main character oI their work on this dictionary. During their
conversation the telescreen announces that the chocolate ration has been increased
to 20 g a week, whereas yesterday it was cut down to 20 g a week. Winston
wonders whether he's the only person with memory who isn't inIlicted with
Doublethink. As he looks around in the dining room he catches the eye oI the dark-
haired girl he had dreamed oI the same night. Back home again he makes an entry
in his diary about his meeting with a prostitute three years ago. He remembers her
ugliness, but nevertheless he had sex with her. Winston had a wiIe, but she was
very stupid and just Iollowing the orders oI the Party, which said that there may
only be sex to produce "new material" Ior the Party, and that sex Ior personal
pleasure is a crime. Then Winston thinks about the Party and believes that the only
hope lies in the Proles who constitutes over 80 oI Oceania`s population. Later he
remembers another Iact oI his past - Jones, Aaronson and RutherIord, the last three
survivors oI the original leaders oI the Revolution. They were arrested in 1965 and

conIessed to all kinds oI sabotage during their trial; they were pardoned, reinstated
but not long aIter arrested again and executed. During the brieI period Winston
saw them in the Chestnut Tree CaIe. In the same year, a halI page torn out oI The
Times came to Winston trough the transport tube in the Minitrue. This page oI The
Times showed the three men in Eastasia on a certain day. But Winston
remembered clearly that they had conIessed to being in Eurasia on that day (at this
time Eurasia was at war with Oceania, and Eastasia was an allied). So Winston
could prove that the conIessions were lies. But Winston had sent this paper down
to the Memory Hole (a kind oI paper basket). The last entry Winston writes in his
diary is that Ireedom is the Ireedom to say that two and two make Iour. II this is
granted everything else Iollows. The next day Winston decides not to participate in
the community actions, but to take a walk in the quarters oI the Proles, around St.
Pancras station. During the walk a rocket-bomb explodes nearby. AIter a while
Winston Iinds himselI in Iront oI the junk-shop, where he has bought the diary.
There he sees an old man just entering a pub. He decides to Iollow the man, and to
ask him about the time beIore the revolution, but the old man has already Iorgotten
nearly everything about this time, except Ior some useless personal things. Winston
leaves the pub and goes to the shop, where he Iinds a pink piece oI glass with a
piece oI coral inside which he buys. Mr Carrington, the owner oI the shop leads
him upstairs to show him an old-Iashioned room. Winston likes the room because
oI its warmth and oI course because there are no telescreens. When Winston leaves
the shop he suddenly meets the dark-haired girl in the street. He now believes that
this girl is an amateur spy or even a member oI the Thought Police, spying on him.
The next morning he meets the girl in the Ministry oI Truth, and in the moment she
passes, she Ialls down and cries out in pain. When Winston helps her up, she
presses a piece oI paper into his hand. At the Iirst opportunity he opens it and Iinds
the startling message: "I love you" written on it. For a week he waits Ior an

opportunity to speak with her. Finally he is successIul, and he meets her in the
canteen where they Iix a meeting. Some time later they meet at the Iixed place, and
there the girl gives Winston precise instructions how to get to a secret place on
Sunday. It is Sunday, and Winston is Iollowing the girl's directions. On the way he
picks some bluebells Ior her. And then Iinally she comes up behind him, telling
him to be quiet because there might be microphones hidden somewhere. They kiss
and he learns her name: Julia. She leads him to another place where they cannot be
observed. BeIore she takes oII her blue party-overall, Julia tells Winston that she is
attracted to him because oI something in his Iace which shows that he is against the
Party. Winston is surprised and asks Julia iI she has done such a thing beIore. To
his delight she tells him that she has done it scores oI times, which Iills him with a
great hope. Evidence oI corruption and abandon always gives him with hope.
Perhaps the whole system is rotten and will simply crumble to pieces one day. The
more men she has had, the more he loves her, and later as he looks at her sleeping
body, he thinks that now even sex is a political act, a blow against the Ialseness oI
the Party. Winston and Julia arrange to meet again. Winston rents the room above
Mr Carrington`s junk shop, a place where they can meet and talk without the Iear
oI being observed. It is summer and the preparations Ior "Hate Week", an
enormous propaganda event, are well Iorthcoming, and during this time Winston
meets Julia more oIten than ever beIore. Julia makes him Ieel more alive, she
makes him Ieel healthier, and he even puts on weight. One day O'Brien speaks to
Winston in the Ministry oI Truth. He reIers obliquely to Syme, the philologist, who
has vanished a couple oI days earlier and is now, as it is called in Newspeak, an
unperson. In doing so O'Brien is committing a little act oI thoughtcrime. O'Brien
invites Winston to his Ilat, to see the latest edition oI the Newspeak dictionary.
Winston now Ieels sure that the conspiracy against the Party he has longed to know
about - the Brotherhood, as it is called - does exist, and that in the encounter with

O'Brien he has come into contact with its outer edge. He knows that he has
embarked on a course oI action which will lead, in one way or another, to the cells
oI the Ministry oI Love. Some days later Winston and Julia meet each other to go
to the Ilat oI O'Brien, which lies in the district oI the Inner Party. They are
admitted to a richly Iurnished room by a servant. To their astonishment O'Brien
switches oII the telescreen in the room. (Normally it is impossible to turn it oII.)
Winston blurts out why they have come: they want to work against the Party, they
believe in the existence oI the Brotherhood and that O'Brien is involved with it.
Martin, O'Brien's servant brings real red wine, and they drink a toast to Emmanuel
Goldstein, the leader oI the Brotherhood. O'Brien asks them a series oI questions
about their willingness to commit various atrocities on behalI oI the Brotherhood
and gets their assent. They leave, and some days later Winston gets a copy oI "The
Book", a book written by Emmanuel Goldstein, about his political ideas. Now it is
Hate Week and suddenly the war with Eurasia stops, and a war with Eastasia starts.
This oI course means a lot oI work Ior Winston. He has to change dozens oI
articles about the war with Eurasia. Nevertheless, Winston Iinds time to read the
book. The book has three chapters titled, "War is Peace", "Ignorance is Strength"
and "Freedom is Slavery", which are also the main slogans oI the party. The main
ideas oI the book are:
1. War is important Ior consuming the products oI human labour; iI this work
were be used to increase the standard oI living, the control oI the party over
the people would decrease. War is the economic basis oI a hierarchical
society.
2. There is an emotional need to believe in the ultimate victory oI Big Brother.

3. In becoming continuous, war has ceased to exist. The continuity oI the war
guarantees the permanence oI the current order. In other words, "War is
Peace"
4. There have always been three main strata oI society; the Upper, the Middle
and the Lower, and no change has brought human equality one inch nearer.
5. Collectivism doesn't lead to socialism. In the event, the wealth now belongs
to the new "upper-class", the bureaucrats and administrators. Collectivism
has ensured the permanence oI economic inequality.
6. Wealth is not inherited Irom person to person, but it is kept within the ruling
group.
7. The masses (proles) are given Ireedom oI thought, because they don't think!
A Party member is not allowed the slightest deviation oI thought, and there
is an elaborate mental training to ensure this, a training that can be
summarised in the concept oI doublethink.
So Iar the book analyses how the Party works. It has not yet attempted to deal with
why the Party has arisen. BeIore continuing with the next chapter Winston turns to
Julia and Iinds her asleep. He also Ialls asleep. The next morning when he awakes
the sun is shining, and down in the yard a prole women is singing and working.
Winston is again Iilled with the conviction that the Iuture lies with the proles, that
they will overthrow the greyness oI the Party. But suddenly reality crashes in. "We
are the DEAD", he says to Julia. An iron voice behind them repeats the phrase, the
picture on the wall Ialls to bits to reveal a telescreen behind it. UniIormed man
thunder into the room and they carry Winston and Julia out. Winston is in a cell in
what he presumes is the Ministry oI Love. He is sick with hunger and Iear, and
when he makes a movement or a sound, a harsh voice will bawl at him Irom Iour
telescreens. A prisoner who is dying oI starvation is brought in, his Iace is skull-

like. Later the man is brought to "Room 101" aIter screaming and struggling, and
even oIIering his children's sacriIices in his stead. O'Brien enters. Winston thinks
that they must have got him, too, but O'Brien says that they got him long time ago.
A guard hits Winston, and he becomes unconscious. When he wakes up he is tied
down to a kind oI bed. O'Brien stands beside the bed, and Winston Ieels that
O'Brien, who is the torturer, is also somehow a Iriend. The aim oI O'Brien is to
teach Winston the technique oI doublethink, and he does this by inIlicting pain oI
ever-increasing intensity. He reminds Winston that he wrote the sentence: "
Freedom is the Ireedom to say that two plus two makes Iour". O'Brien holds up
Iour Iingers oI his leIt hand, and he asks Winston how many there are. Winston
answers Iour a couple oI times, and each time the pain increases (this is not done to
make Winston lie, but to make him really see Iive Iingers instead oI Iour). At the
end oI the session, under heavy inIluence oI drugs and agony, Winston really sees
Iive Iingers. Now Winston is ready to enter the second stage oI his integration (1.
Learning, 2. Understanding, 3. Acceptance). O'Brien now explains how the Party
works. The image he gives oI the Iuture is that oI a boot stamping on a human Iace
- Ior ever. Winston protests, because he thinks that there is something in the human
nature that will not allow this; he calls it "The Spirit oI Man". O'Brien points out
that Winston is the last humanist, he is the last guardian oI the human spirit. Then
O'Brien gets Winston to look at himselI in the mirror. Winston is horriIied by he
sees. The unknown time oI torture has changed him into a shapeless and battered
wreck. This is what the last humanist looks like. The only degradation that
Winston has not been through, is that he has not betrayed Julia. He has said
anything under torture, but inside he has remained true to her. Winston is much
better now. For some time he has not been beaten and tortured, he has been Ied
quite well and allowed to wash. Winston realises that he now accepts all the lies oI
the Party, that Ior example Oceania was always at war with Eastasia, and that he

never had the photograph oI Jones, Aaronson, and RutherIord that disproved their
guilt. Even gravity could be nonsense. But nevertheless Winston has some
unorthodox thoughts that he cannot suppress. But now it is time Ior the last oI the
three steps, reintegration. Winston is taken to Room 101. O'Brien says that the
room 101 is the worst thing in the world. For each person it is his own personal
hell. For some it is death by Iire or burial alive. For Winston it is a cage containing
two rats, with a Iixture like a Iencing mask attached, into which the Iace oI the
victim is strapped. Then there is a lever that opens the cage, so that the rats can get
to the Iace. O'Brien is approaching with the cage, and Winston sense the bad smell
oI the rats. He screams. The only way to get out oI this is to put someone else
between himselI and the horror. "Do it to Julia", he screams in a Iinal betrayal oI
himselI. Winston is released, and he is oIten sitting in the Chestnut Tree CaIe,
drinking Victory Gin and playing chess. He now has a job in a sub-committee, that
is made up oI others like himselI. On a cold winter day he meets Julia, they speak
brieIly, but have little to say to each other, except that they have betrayed each
other. A memory oI a day in his childhood comes to Winston`s mind; it is Ialse, he
is oIten troubled by Ialse memories. He looks Iorward to the bullet, they will kill
him with some day. Now he realises how pointless it was to resist. He loves Big
Brother!
Characters
Winston $mith
Orwell named his hero aIter Winston Churchill, England's great leader during
World War II. He added a common last name: Smith. The action oI this novel is
built around the main person, Winston Smith, and thereIore the understanding oI
his personality and his character is important Ior the understanding oI the whole

book. Winston was born beIore the Second World War. During the War, there was
a lack oI Iood, and Winston had taken nearly all oI the Iood that was allocated to
the Iamily, although his younger sister was starving to death. In 1984, Winston
oIten dreams oI this time, and he oIten remembers how he once stole the whole
piece oI chocolate that was given to the Iamily. I think that Winston now (1984)
somehow regrets his egotistic behaviour. He also sees a kind oI link between his
behaviour and the behaviour oI the children that are educated by the Party. These
children persecute their own Iamilies (Parsons). He Iinally realises his and the
Party's guilt. To my mind Winston is a sort oI hero, because he is aware oI the
danger that he has encountered. So, Ior example, he knew Irom the very beginning
that his diary would be Iound. And as one can see, the things that are written in this
book (that Ireedom is to say that two and two makes Iour) are used against him
later. He also knew that his illegal love aIIair was an act oI revolution, would be
disclosed by the Thought Police. But nevertheless he is also somewhat naive. He
has opened his mind to O'Brien beIore he was sure that he was also against the
Party.
1ulia
Julia is a women around 25, and she works in a special department oI the Minitrue,
producing cheap pornography Ior the proles. She has already had a couple oI
illegal love aIIairs. Unlike Winston, she is basically a simple woman, something oI
a lightweight who loves her man and uses sex Ior Iun as well as Ior rebellion. She
is perIectly willing to accept the overnight changes in Oceania's history and doesn't
trouble her pretty head about it. II Big Brother says black is white, Iine. II he says
two and two make Iive, no problem. She may not buy the Party line, but it doesn't
trouble her. She Ialls asleep over Winston's reading the treasured book by
Goldstein. Orwell draws Winston's love object lovingly. Julia is all woman, as

sharp and Iunny as she is attractive, but she may also be a reIlection oI the author's
somewhat limited view oI the opposite sex.
O'Brien
Probably the most interesting Iact about O'Brien is that we have only Winston's
opinion oI him. This burly but sophisticated leader oI the Inner Party is supposed
to be the head oI the secret Brotherhood dedicated to the overthrow oI Big Brother.
In his black overall, he haunts both Winston's dreams and his waking moments to
the very end oI the novel. Another very interesting thing about O'Brien is that the
reader doesn't precisely know iI he is a Iriend or an enemy oI Winston. Even
Winston himselI doesn't know it. I would say that O'Brien, the powerIul and
mighty Party member, is a kind oI Iather Iigure to Winston. BeIore Winston's
capture, O'Brien "helps" Winston make contact with the Brotherhood, and he
teaches him about the ideology and the rules oI this secret organisation. AIter
Winston`s capture, O'Brien gives him the Ieeling that he is somehow protecting
him. The relation between O'Brien and Winston has all attributes oI a typical
relation between a Iather and a child: The Iather is all-knowing, all-mighty; he
teaches, punishes and educates his child, and he is protecting it Irom anything that
could harm the child. But I think that O'Brien is only playing his role to reintegrate
Winston.
Big Brother
Big Brother is not a real person. All-present as he is, all-powerIul and Iorever
watching, he is only seen on TV. Although his picture glares out Irom huge posters
that shout, BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, nobody sees Big Brother in
person. Orwell had several things in mind when he created Big Brother. He was

certainly thinking oI Russian leader Joseph Stalin; the pictures oI Big Brother even
look like him. He was also thinking oI Nazi leader Adolph Hitler and Spanish
dictator Francisco Franco. Big Brother stands Ior dictators everywhere. Orwell
may have been thinking about Iigures in certain religious Iaiths when he drew Big
Brother. The mysterious, powerIul, God-like Iigure who sees and knows
everything - but never appears in person. To Inner Party members, Big Brother is a
leader, a bogeyman they can use to scare the people, and their authorisation Ior
doing whatever they want. II anybody asks, they can say they are under orders
Irom Big Brother. For the unthinking proles, Big Brother is a distant authority
Iigure. For Winston, Big Brother is an inspiration. Big Brother excites and
energises Winston, who hates him. He is also Iascinated by Big Brother and drawn
to him in some oI the same ways that he is drawn to O'Brien, developing a love-
hate response to both oI them that leads to his downIall.
Plot
The plot has three main movements, corresponding to the division oI the book in
three parts. The Iirst part, the Iirst eight chapters, creates the world oI 1984, a
totalitarian world where the Party tries to control everything, even thought and
emotion. In this part, Winston develops his Iirst unorthodox thoughts. The second
part oI the novel deals with the development oI his love to Julia, someone with
whom he can share his private emotions. For a short time they create a small world
oI Ieeling Ior themselves. They are betrayed, however. O'Brien, whom Winston
thought was a rebel like himselI, is in reality a chieI inquisitor oI the Inner Party.
The third part oI the novel deals with Winston`s punishment. Finally he comes to
love Big Brother. Generally, the plot is very simple: a rebel, a love aIIair with a
like-minded, capture, torture, and Iinally capitulation. Apart Irom Julia, O'Brien,
and oI course Winston, there are no important characters; there is no attempt to

create a range oI social behaviour, and the complex personal interactions therein,
all traditional concerns oI the novel. Indeed, one oI Orwell's points is that liIe in
1984 has become totally uniIorm. So the traditional novel would be unthinkable. In
Iact, Winston is the only character worth writing about; all the other characters are
halI-robots already. So one could say that the plot was built around Winston`s
mind and liIe. This gave Orwell the opportunity to Iocus on the reaction oI the
individual to totalitarianism, love, and cruelty.
Political $ystem
%he Party
The Party oI Oceania is made up oI about 19 oI the whole population oI
Oceania`s mainland. Generally, one could divide the Party into the Inner Party,
which is comparable to the communist nomenclature, and the Outer Party. Winston
Smith himselI is a member oI the Outer Party. The members oI the Inner Party
hold high posts in the administration oI the country. They earn comparably much
money, and there isn't a lack oI anything in their homes, which look like palaces.
The people oI the Outer Party live in dull grey and old Ilats. Because oI the war
there is oIten a lack oI the most essential things. The liIe oI the Outer Party is
dictated by the Party, even their spare time is used by the Party. There are so-called
community hikes, community games and all sorts oI other activities. And reIusing
participation in this activities is even dangerous. The liIe oI a Party member is
dictated Irom his birth to his death. The Party even takes children away Irom their
parents to educate them in the ideology oI Ingsoc. (One can Iind this also in the
communist Iuture plans.) The children are taught in school to report it to the
Thought Police when their parents have unorthodox thoughts, so-called
"thoughtcrimes". AIter their education, Party members start to work mainly Ior one

oI the Iour Ministries (Minipax, Minitrue, Miniluv, Miniplenty). The Iurther liIe oI
a "comrade" continues under the watchIul eyes oI the Party. Everything people do
is recorded by the telescreens. Even in their homes people have telescreens. Each
unorthodox action is then punished by "joycamps" (Newspeak word Ior 'Iorced
labour camps").
Proles
The proles make up about 81 oI the population oI Oceania. The Party itselI is
only interested in their labour, because the proles are mainly employed in industry
and on Iarms. Without their labour, Oceania would break down. Despite this Iact,
the Party completely ignores this social caste. The curious thing about this
behaviour is that the Party calls itselI socialist, and generally socialism (at least in
the beginning and middle oI this century) is a movement oI the proletariat. So one
could say that the Party abuses the word "Ingsoc". Orwell again had pointed at
another regime, the Nazis, who had put "socialism" into their name. One oI the
main phrases oI the Party is "Proles and animals are Iree". In Oceania, the proles
live in very desolate and poor quarters. Compared with the districts where the
members oI the Party live, there are Iar Iewer telescreens, and policemen. And as
long as the proles don't commit crimes (crimes in our sense, not in the sense oI the
party - Thoughtcrime) they don't have any contact with the state. ThereIore in the
districts oI the proletarians one can Iind things that are abolished and Iorbidden to
Party members. For example, old books, old Iurniture, prostitution and alcohol
(mainly beer) Except "Victory Gin" all oI these things are not available to Party
members. The proletarians don't participate in the technological development.
They live like they used to do many years ago. To my mind, the Party ignores the
Proles because they pose no danger to their rule. The working class is too

uneducated and too unorganised to pose any real threat. So there is not really a
need to change the political attitudes oI this class.
Nespeak
Newspeak is the oIIicial language oI Oceania and has been devised to meet
ideological needs oI Ingsoc, or English Socialism. In the year 1984, nobody really
uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing. Only the leading articles are written in
this "language". But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will
replace Oldspeak, or common English. The purpose oI Newspeak is not only to
provide a medium oI expression Ior the world-view and mental habits proper to
devotees oI Ingsoc, but to make all other methods oI thought impossible. Another
reason Ior developing Newspeak is to make old books, or books which were
written beIore the era oI the Party, unreadable. With Newspeak, Doublethink will
be even easier. Its vocabulary is constructed so as to give exact and oIten very
subtle expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to
express, while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility oI arriving at
them by indirect methods. This is done partly by the invention oI new words, but
chieIly by eliminating undesirable words by stripping such words as remained oI
unorthodox meanings whatever. Generally Newspeak words are divided into three
groups: the A, B(also called compound words) and the C Vocabulary.
A-Jocabulary. The A-Vocabulary consists oI the words needed in business and
everyday liIe, Ior such things as drinking, working, and the like. The words oI this
group are nearly entirely composed oI Oldspeak words, but in comparison, their
number is very small. Nevertheless, the meaning oI these words is much more
deIined, and it allows no other interpretation.
B-Jocabulary. The B-Vocabulary consists oI words which have been deliberately
constructed Ior political purposes. Without the Iull understanding oI the principles

oI Ingsoc it is very diIIicult to use and understand these words correctly. The B-
Vocabulary consists in all cases oI compound words, two or more words merged
together in an easily pronounceable Iorm. Example: goodthink - Goodthink means
very roughly orthodoxy, or iI it is regarded as a verb "to think in a good manner".
The word is inIlected as Iollows: noun-verb goodthink; past tense and past
participle, goodthinked; present participle, goodthinking; adjective, goodthinkIul;
adverb, goodthinkwise; verbal noun, goodthinker. The B-Words are not
constructed according to any etymological plan. The words oI which they are made
up can be placed in any order, mutilated in any way which makes them easy to
pronounce (e.g. thoughtcrime, crimethink thinkpol, thought police). Many oI the B-
Words are euphemisms. Such words Ior instance as joycamp (Iorced labour camp)
or Minipax (Ministry oI Peace in charge oI the army), mean almost exact opposite
oI what they appear to mean. Again some words are ambivalent, having the
connotation good when applied to the party, and bad when applied to its enemies.
Generally, the name oI any organisation, building, and so on is cut down to a
minimum number oI syllables and to a minimum oI length, in an easily
pronounceable way. This isn't only in Newspeak; already other, especially
totalitarian systems, tended to used abbreviations Ior political purpose (Nazi,
Comintern, Gestapo, ....). But the diIIerence is that only in Newspeak this
instrument is used deliberately. The Party intended to cut down the possibility oI
associations with other words.
C-Jocabulary. The C-Words consist oI technical and scientiIic terms.
From the Ioregoing account it is very easy to see that in Newspeak the expression
oI unorthodox opinions, above a very low level, is impossible. It is only possible to
say "Big Brother is ungood". But this statement can't be sustained by reasoned
arguments, because the necessary words are not available. Ideas inimical to Ingsoc
can only be entertained in a very vague and wordless Iorm, and can only be named

in very broad terms. One can in Iact only use Newspeak Ior political unorthodoxy,
by illegitimately translating some oI the words back into Oldspeak. For example
"All mans are equal" is a possible Newspeak sentence, but only in the same sense
in which "All man have the same weight" is a possible Oldspeak sentence. It does
not contain a grammatical error, but it expresses a palpable untruth, i.e. that all
man have the same size, weight ..... The concept oI political equality no longer
exist. In 1984, when Oldspeak is still the normal means oI communication, the
danger theoretically exists that in using Newspeak words one might remember
their original meanings. In practice, it is not diIIicult Ior a person well grounded in
Doublethink to avoid doing this, but within a couple oI generations even the
possibility oI such a lapse will have vanished. A person growing up with
Newspeak as his sole language will no more know that equal had once had the
secondary meaning oI "politically equal" (also Iree,....). There will be many crimes
and errors which will be beyond oI the power to commit, simply because they are
now nameless and thereIore unimaginable. It is to be Ioreseen that with time
Newspeak words will become Iewer and Iewer, their meanings more and more and
more rigid, and the possibility oI putting them to improper uses always diminished.
So when Oldspeak has been once and Ior all superseded the last link with the past
will have been severed.
Doublethink
Doublethink is a kind oI manipulation oI the mind. Generally, one could say that
Doublethink makes people accept contradictions, and it makes them also believe
that the party is the only institution that distinguishes between right and wrong.
This manipulation is mainly done by the Minitrue (Ministry oI Truth), where
Winston Smith works. When a person that is well grounded in Doublethink
recognizes a contradiction or a lie by the Party, then the person thinks that he is

remembering a Ialse Iact. The use oI the word Doublethink involves doublethink.
With the help oI the Minitrue, it is not only possible to change written Iacts, but
also Iacts that are remembered by people. So complete control oI the country and
its citizens is provided. The Iact oI Iaking history had already been used by the
Nazis, who told the people that already German Knights believed in the principles
oI National Socialism.
$ymbolism
In "ineteen Eighty-Four" Orwell draws a picture oI a totalitarian Iuture. Although
the action takes place in the Iuture, there are a couple oI elements and symbols
taken Irom the present and past. So, Ior example, Emmanuel Goldstein, the main
enemy oI Oceania, is, as one can see Irom the name, a Jew. Orwell draws a link to
other totalitarian systems oI our century, like the Nazis and the Communists, who
had anti-Semitic ideas, and who used Jews as so-called scapegoats, who were
responsible Ior all bad and evil things in the country. This Iact also shows that
totalitarian systems want to arbitrate their perIection. Emmanuel Goldstein
somehow also stands Ior Trotsky, a leader oI the Revolution, who was later
declared an enemy. Another symbol that can be Iound in ineteen Eighty-Four is
the Iact that Orwell divides the Iictional superstates in the book according to the
division that can be Iound during the Cold War. So Oceania stands Ior the United
States oI America , Eurasia Ior Russia and Eastasia Ior China. The Iact that the two
socialist countries Eastasia and Eurasia (in our case Russia and China) are at war
with each other, corresponds to our history (Usuri river). Other, non-historical
symbols can be Iound. One oI these symbols is the paperweight that Winston buys
in the old junk-shop. It stands Ior the Iragile little world that Winston and Julia
have made Ior each other. They are the coral inside oI it. As Orwell wrote: "It is a
little chunk oI history, that they have Iorgotten to alter". The "Golden Country" is

another symbol. It stands Ior the old European pastoral landscape. The place where
Winston and Julia meet Ior the Iirst time to make love to each other, is exactly like
the "Golden Country" oI Winston`s dreams.

ord of the Flies

or/ of th0 Fli08 is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about
a group oI British schoolboys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern
themselves, with disastrous results. Its stances on the already controversial subjects
oI human nature and individual welIare versus the common good earned it position
68 on the American Library Association`s list oI the 100 most Irequently
challenged books oI 19901999.
|1|
In 2005, the novel was chosen by TME
magazine as one oI the 100 best English-language novels Irom 1923 to 2005
|2|
and
was awarded a place on both lists oI Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching
#41 on the editor's list, and #25 on the reader's list.
Published in 1954, ord of the Flies was Golding`s Iirst novel. Although it was not
a great success at the timeselling Iewer than 3,000 copies in the United States
during 1955 beIore going out oI printit soon went on to become a best-seller,
and by the early 1960s was required reading in many schools and colleges; the
novel is currently renowned Ior being a popular choice oI study Ior GCSE English
Literature courses in the United Kingdom. It was adapted to Iilm in 1963 by Peter
Brook, and again in 1990 by Harry Hook.
The book subtly indicates that it takes place in the midst oI an unspeciIied nuclear
war, perhaps implicitly relating the savagery oI the children characters to the
warIare oI adults. Some oI the marooned characters are ordinary students, while
others arrive as a musical choir under an established leader. Most (with the
exception oI the choirboys) appear never to have encountered one another beIore.
The book portrays their descent into savagery; leIt to themselves in a paradisiacal
country, Iar Irom modern civilisation, the well-educated children regress to a
primitive state.
At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conIlicting impulses toward
civilizationlive by rules, peaceIully and in harmonyand towards the will to

power. DiIIerent subjects include the tension between groupthink and

individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and
immorality. How these play out, and how diIIerent people Ieel the inIluences oI
these, Iorm a major subtext oI ord of the Flies.
|3|

edit] Plot summary
In the midst oI a wartime evacuation, a British plane crashes onto an isolated
island. The only survivors are male children below the age oI 13.
|4|
Two boys, the
Iair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy reluctantly nicknamed
"Piggy" Iind a conch which Ralph uses as a horn to bring all the survivors to one
area. Two dominant boys emerge during the meeting: Ralph and Jack Merridew, a
redhead who is the leader oI a choir group that was among the survivors. Ralph is
voted chieI, losing only the votes oI Jack's Iellow choirboys. Ralph asserts two
goals: have Iun, and work towards a rescue by maintaining a constant Iire signal.
They create the Iire with Piggy's glasses, nearly catching the whole island on Iire,
and, Ior a time, the boys work together.
Jack organises his choir group into the group's "hunters", who are responsible Ior
hunting Ior meat. Ralph, Jack, and a black-haired boy named Simon soon become
the supreme trio among the children. Piggy, the most sensible oI the bunch, is
quickly outcast by his Iellow "biguns" (older boys) and becomes an unwilling
source oI mirth Ior the other children. Simon, in addition to supervising the project
oI constructing shelters, Ieels an instinctive need to protect the younger boys.
The original semblance oI order imposed by Ralph quickly deteriorates as the
majority oI the boys turn idle. Around the same time, many oI the younger boys
begin to believe that the island is inhabited by a monster, reIerred to as "the beast".
Jack gains control oI the discussion by boldly promising to kill the beast. At one
point, Jack summons all oI his hunters to hunt down a wild pig, including those
who were supposed to be maintaining the Iire. A ship approaches, but passes by
because the signal Iire has gone out. Although the hunting oI the pig turns out to be
the hunters' Iirst successIul catch, Ralph is inIuriated that they have missed a
potential rescue. Later, Ralph envisages relinquishing his position, though Piggy
discourages him Irom doing so while the two oI them and Simon yearn hopeIully
Ior some guidance Irom the adult world.
AIter Sam and Eric report possibly seeing the beast atop a mountain, Ralph and
Jack investigate; they encounter the corpse and the open parachute oI a Iighter pilot
who has landed on the island and mistake it as "the beast" asleep. Jack assembles

the children with the conch and conIirms the beast's existence to them. The
meeting results in a schism, splitting the children into two groups. Ralph's group
Iocuses on preserving the signal Iire. Jack becomes the chieI oI his own tribe,
which Iocuses on hunting while exploiting the iron-clad belieI in the beast. As Jack
and the hunters have already slain their Iirst pig, they oIIer promises oI meat, Iun,
and protection Irom the beast. Jack's tribe gradually becomes more animalistic,
applying Iace paint to liberate their inner savages while they hunt. The Iace paint
becomes a motiI which recurs throughout the story, with more and more intensity
toward the end.
Simon, a part oI Ralph's tribe, who had "cracked" and gone oII looking Ior the
beast by himselI, Iinds the head oI the hunters' dead pig on a stick, leIt as an
oIIering to the beast. Simon envisions the pig head, swarming with scavenging
Ilies, as the "Lord oI the Flies" and believes that it is talking to him. Simon hears
the pig identiIying itselI as the real "Beast" and disclosing the truth about itselI
that the boys themselves "created" the beast, and that the real beast was inside
them all. Simon also locates the dead parachutist who had been mistaken Ior the
beast, and is the sole member oI the group to recognise that it is a cadaver instead
oI a sleeping monster. Simon attempts to alert Jack's tribe that the "beast" is
nothing more than a cadaver. While trying to tell Jack's tribe oI this Iact, Simon is
caught in a ring during a primal dance and Jack's tribe kills him, with Ralph, Piggy,
Sam, and Eric in the ring also. Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric later try to convince
themselves that they did not take part in the murder.
Jack's tribe then raids Ralph's camp to steal Piggy's glasses. Ralph's tribe journeys
to Jack's tribe at Castle Rock to try to retrieve the glasses. In the ensuing
conIrontation, Roger drops a boulder aiming at Piggy. Piggy dodges the boulder,
but the conch is smashed into pieces, Piggy Ilies through the air and Ialls Iorty Ieet
onto the rocks below by the sea, killing him. Sam and Eric are captured and
tortured into joining Jack's tribe. Ralph is Iorced to Ilee.
The Iollowing morning, Jack leads his tribe on a manhunt Ior Ralph. However, the
Iire and smoke attracts the attention oI a nearby warship. Then a naval oIIicer lands
on the island near where Ralph is lying, and his sudden appearance brings the
children's Iighting to an abrupt halt. Upon learning oI the boys' activities, the
oIIicer remarks that he would have expected better Irom British boys, initially
believing them only to be playing a game. In the Iinal scene, although now certain
he will be rescued aIter all, Ralph cries.
llegorical relationships

Ralph
When he and the others arrive on the island, Ralph quickly becomes the chieI oI
the group, not by any harsh, overt or physical action, but by being elected.
|5|
Ralph
is described as having "the directness oI genuine leadership".
|6|
Ralph's Iirst big
decision is that they have "got to decide iI this is an island".
|7|
AIter Ralph, Jack,
and Simon discover that they are truly "on an uninhabited island",
|8|
Ralph suggests
that a Iire be lit because "iI a ship comes near the island they may not notice us".
|9|

However, towards the end oI the book he Iorgets the initial reason Ior maintaining
the Iire. This is representative oI the debilitating eIIects corruption has even on the
brightest mind. Ralph may seem to mean well, but oIten his obsession with being
popular overcomes him and he resorts to bullying Piggy to regain his power. Still,
in the midst oI all the island's chaos, it should be noted that Ralph has a tendency
to be polite and logical in the tensest oI moments; Ior example, when the children
are obliged to investigate Castle Rock, Ralph takes the lead despite being horribly
aIraid oI "the beast". Ralph is sometimes perceived as partially being a literary tool
to aid the audience's realisation oI inner evil throughout the duration oI the novel;
"Ralph wept Ior the end oI innocence..."
Ralph embodies good intentions in the implementation oI reason, but ultimately
Iails to execute these plans soundly. Ralph's reIusal to resort to violence throughout
the novel is counterpoised by Jack's inherent love oI violence. Beginning with his
selI nomination to be Ralph's hunter, Jack eventually degenerates into the beast he
is consumed with slaying. Eventually, towards the end oI the story, Jack abandons
the tribe and Iorms one oI his own. His darkly irresistible nature, along with the
lure oI meat, immediately sways the majority oI the island dwellers to his tribe,
which is a much more violent group. Jack's insurrection begins a chain oI events
that drives the island Iurther into chaos, initially resulting in the Irenzied mob
murdering Simon during a primal dance, and then culminating with the murder oI
Piggy by Roger beIore the group attempts to hunt down Ralph.
|10|



Piggy
Piggy is the intellectual with poor eyesight, a weight problem, and asthma.
|11|

Despite his greater intelligence, he is the most physically vulnerable oI all the
boys. Piggy represents an adult Iigure and the rational world. By Irequently
quoting his aunt, he also provides the only Iemale voice.

Piggy's intellect beneIits the group only through Ralph; he acts as Ralph's advisor.
He cannot be the leader himselI because he lacks leadership qualities and has no
rapport with the other boys. Piggy also relies too heavily on the power oI social
convention. He believes that holding the conch gives him the right to be heard. He
believes that upholding social conventions produces results.
As the brainy representative oI civilization, Piggy asserts that "LiIe...is
scientiIic".
|12|
Ever the pragmatist, Piggy complains, "What good're you doing
talking like that?"
|13|
when Ralph brings up the highly charged issue oI Simon's
death at their hands. Piggy tries to keep liIe scientiIic despite the incident,
"searching Ior a Iormula"
|14|
to explain the death. He asserts that the assault on
Simon was an accident and justiIiable because Simon asked Ior it by inexplicably
crawling out oI the Iorest into the ring.
|14|
Piggy is so intent on preserving some
remnant oI civilization on the island that, aIter Jack's tribe attacks Ralph's group,
he assumes they "wanted the conch",
|15|
when, in Iact, they have come Ior Piggy's
glasses
|15|
in order to make Iire. Even up to the moment oI his death, Piggy's
perspective does not shiIt in response to the reality oI their situation. He can't think
as others think or value what they value. Because his eminently intellectual
approach to liIe is modeled on the attitudes and rules oI the authoritative adult
world, he thinks everyone should share his values and attitudes as a matter oI
course. When Ralph and Piggy conIront Jack's tribe about the stolen spectacles,
Piggy asks "Which is better to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill? |...| law
and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?"
|16|
as iI there is no doubt that the
boys would choose his preIerence.
%he Conch
When Iirst blown, it calls the children to an assembly, where Ralph is elected
leader. They also agree that only the boy holding the conch may speak at meetings
to Iorestall arguments and chaos, and that it should be passed around to those who
wish to voice their opinion. The conch symbolises democracy and, like Ralph,
civility and order within the group. However, when Piggy is killed, the conch is
smashed into pieces at the same time.
|16|
ThereIore, the conch's destruction signals
the end oI order and the onset oI chaos.
|3|
Originally the conch is portrayed as
being very vibrant and colourIul, but as the novel progresses, its colours begin to
Iade, the same way society begins to Iade on the island.
edit] 1ack Merride

Jack epitomizes the worst aspects oI human nature when unrepressed or

untempered by society. Like Ralph, Jack is a natural leader. However, unlike
Ralph, Jack appeals to more primal desires in the children and relies on his status
as leader oI the choirboys (presumably ordained by the adults) to justiIy his
authority. Although his way oI behaving is neither disruptive nor violent at the
beginning oI the book, he does, at that time, express an unquenchable desire to
hunt and kill a pig and spends hours in solitude traversing the island.
This insatiable desire is kindled aIter the Iirst time Jack is presented with killing a
pig and cannot "because oI the enormity oI the kniIe descending and cutting into
living Ilesh; because oI the unbearable blood".
|17|
AIter this hesitation, Ior which he
is most ashamed, Jack's blood lust grows more and more irrational, to the point
where he abandons the Iire (and causes the boys to miss a potential rescue) simply
in order to hunt. During Jack's metamorphosis, he also begins to paint his Iace and
body with clay and earth, masking his humanity Irom the pigs and inspiring
terrible awe amongst the boys.
FateIully, Jack's transition into a demigod puts him on a collision course with
Ralph's elected authority. As Jack leaves and takes the majority oI the boys with
him, lured by the promises oI meat, play, and Ireedom, there has arisen a clear
dividing line between the two. Jack represents the irrational nature oI the boys
while Ralph represents rationality. Under Jack's rule, the baseness oI human nature
is unleashed, and he initiates a period oI inter-tribal violence, punishing other
children, inciting the Irenzy that leads to the murder oI Simon, and torturing the
twins until they submit to his authority.
The tale ends with Jack leading many oI the boys in a Irenzied attempt to kill
Ralph. At this time, the last remaining vestiges oI civilization are gone, and Ralph's
demise is only prevented by the abrupt and unexpected arrival oI a naval oIIicer.
|10|

edit] Roger
Roger, at Iirst, is a simple "bigun" who's having Iun during his stay on the island.
Along with Maurice, he destroys the sand castles made by three small children.
While Maurice Ieels guilt Ior kicking sand into a child's eye, Roger begins to throw
stones at one oI the boys, although the book states that Roger clearly threw the
stones to miss, and Ielt the presence oI civilization and society preventing him
Irom harming the children.
|18|
Later, once he Ieels that all aspects oI conventional
society are gone, he is leIt alone to his animal urges. During another pig hunt,
Roger shoves a sharpened stick up the animal's rectum while it is still alive.
|19|
He

kills Piggy with a stone that was no longer aimed to miss, and becomes the
executioner and torturer oI Jack's tribe. In the Iinal hunt Ior Ralph at the end oI the
novel, Roger is armed with "a stick sharpened at both ends,"
|20|
indicating his
intentions oI killing Ralph and oIIering his head as a sacriIice to the "beast". He
represents the person who enjoys hurting others, and is only restrained by the rules
oI society.
|21|

edit] $imon
Simon is a character who represents peace and tranquility and positivity, with some
reIerences to Jesus Christ. He is very in-tune with the island, and oIten experiences
extraordinary sensations when listening to its sounds. He loves the nature oI the
island. He is very positive about the Iuture. He also has an extreme aversion to the
pig's head, the "Lord oI the Flies", which derides and taunts Simon in a
hallucination. AIter this experience, Simon emerges Irom the Iorest to tell the
others that the "beast" that Iell Irom the sky is actually a deceased parachutist
caught on the mountain, only to be brutally killed by the boys, who ironically
mistake him Ior the beast and kill him in their "dance" in which they "ripped and
tore at the beast". It is strongly implied that Ralph, Piggy, Sam and Eric partake in
the killing. The Iinal words that the Lord oI the Flies had said to Simon vaguely
predicted that his death was about to occur in this manner. Earlier in the novel
Simon himselI also predicts his own death when he tells Ralph that he'll "get back
all right",
|22|
implying that, oI the two oI them, only Ralph will be saved. Simon's
death represents the loss oI truth, innocence and common sense.
|10|

edit] Naval Officer
Arriving moments beIore Ralph's seemingly impending death, the Royal Navy
oIIicer is surprised and disappointed to learn that the boys' society has collapsed
into chaos. He states that he would have expected "a better show"
|23|
Irom the
British children. The sudden looming appearance oI an adult authority Iigure
instantly reduces the savagery oI the hunt to a brutal children's game. Upon the
oIIicer asking who is in charge, Ralph answers loudly, "I am",
|23|
and Jack, who
was previously characterised as a powerIul leader, is reduced to "A little boy who
wore the remains oI an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the
remains oI a pair oI spectacles at his waist".
|23|
In the last sentence, the oIIicer,
embarrassed by the distress oI the children, turns to look at the cruiser Irom which
his party has landed a symbol oI his own adult war.
edit] %he Beast

The Beast is Iirst mentioned by a littlun and the notion is immediately dismissed
by Ralph. The Beast is thought to be within the water and described by the littluns
as such. Soon aIter the rumours oI the Beast begin to Ilourish, the corpse oI a
Iighter pilot, ejected Irom his aircraIt, Ialls to the island. His parachute becomes
entangled in the jungle Ioliage in such a way that sporadic gusts oI wind cause the
chute to billow and the body to move as iI still alive. Sam and Eric discover the
parachutist in the dark and believe that it is the beast. Ralph, Jack and Roger search
Ior the Beast and encounter it on the mountain, as well. The reality oI the Beast is
now Iirmly established in the boys' minds. Simon discovers the parachutist and
realises that the beast is really only the corpse oI a man. Jack's tribe Ieeds the Beast
with the sow's head on a stick. This act symbolises Jack's willingness to succumb
to the temptation oI animalism.
Simon is the Iirst child on the island to realise that the Beast is created by the boys'
Iear. He decides that "the news must reach the others as soon as possible".
|24|

Meanwhile, the boys have been Ieasting and begin to do their tribal pig-hunting
dance. When "the beast stumble|s| in to the horseshoe",
|25|
the Irenzied, terriIied
boys "leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore".
|26|
It becomes clear that the
boys have mistaken Simon Ior the beast and murdered him both when Golding
describes "Simon's dead body move|ing| out towards the open sea",
|27|
and on the
morning aIter when Ralph tells Piggy, "That was Simon. |...| That was murder".
|28|

edit] %he Lord of the Flies
Namesake oI the novel, the Lord oI the Flies is literally a pig's head that has been
cut oII by Jack, put on a stick sharpened at both ends, stuck in the ground, and leIt
as an oIIering to the "beast". Created out oI Iear, the Lord oI the Flies used to be a
mother sow who, though at one time clean, loving, and innocent, has now become
a manically smiling, bleeding last image oI horror. Near the end oI the book, while
Ralph is being hunted down, he strikes this twice in one moment oI blind anger,
causing it to crack and Iall on the Iloor with a grin "now six Ieet across".
|29|
This
transIormation clearly represents the transIormation that Jack and the boys have
undergone during their time in the island. In addition, the name "Lord oI the Flies"
is the literal English translation oI Beelzebub, a demonic Iigure that is oIten
considered synonymous with Satan. This discreet knowledge allows the boys
descent into material savagery and mysticism Iurther parallel the allegory oI the
story with western patriarchal society.
1. %he uthor and His %imes

William Gerald Golding was born on September 19, 1911 in Cornwall England.
His Iather was a schoolmaster and his mother was a suIIragette. His parents had
wanted him to study science, so he did Irom grammar school until the second year
oI college. AIter his second year oI college, he abandoned the study oI science in
Iavor oI English literature. He wrote poetry and worked in amateur theater Ior a
while beIore becoming a teacher where he was at the beginning oI World War II.
At the start oI World War II, he entered the Royal navy and served with distinction
on mine sweepers, destroyers, and rocket launchers. He believed that the horrors
oI World War II can be based on some innate evil which he explores in Lord oI the
Flies. AIter the war, he returned to teaching and writing, although had little
success getting published. He was able to get Lord oI the Flies published and it
experienced great success.
. Form, $tructure, and Plot
The Lord oI the Flies contains twelve titled chapters. The plot is simple and rarely
splits into more than one plot lines, although it does sometimes. Occasionally, the
story separates Irom the general group and Iollows one child. For example, the
story Iollowed the Iirst oI Jack`s hunts into the jungle, and also Simon`s
wanderings to be alone. One oI the techniques he uses in organizing plot is
Ioreshadow. Through the use and manipulation oI many symbols, he gives the
reader and idea oI what is to come Ioreshadowing Iuture events.
.5 Outline of Events
Exposition - The exposition is basically all oI chapter 1 and the Iirst part oI chapter
2. The characters are introduced and so is the problem. The readers learn that
because oI the war, the children was taken to be transported someplace by plane
when the place was attacked and crashed on the island. Ralph is made the leader
oI the entire group and Jack is made the leader oI the hunting party. Piggy tries to
maintain order. This takes the period oI 1 day.
Rising action - The rising action starts in the middle oI chapter 2 where the boys
attempt to make a signal Iire but it rages out oI control. One oI the boys are lost.
AIter this, order is slowly lost and chaos slowly takes its place.
Climax / Crises - The climax occurs when order is completely lost, the conch is
crush, and Piggy is killed. Jack takes over the group.

Falling action - The Ialling action is the brieI period between the time where Jack
takes over and the oIIicer arrives. We see the innate evil within the boys which is
a reIlection oI the evil within the entire mankind.
Resolution - The jungle catches Iire and a naval ship spots the smoke. An oIIicer
comes ashore just as Ralph is being hunted by the other boys and all are rescued
and taken back into society.

. Point of Vie
Golding write the novel in the third person perspective. There is one omniscient
narrator. Although the book generally Iollows Ralph, it occasionally breaks oII
and Iollows another character Ior a time. This entire book is autobiographical in
that it tells us something the author wants to show us. Golding tries to teach us and
warn us oI the evil nature oI mankind. He says through the book that we are evil
and that it is only society that keeps us Irom committing crimes.
. Character
Golding`s characters have a depth and are believable Ior the somewhat
unbelievable situation they are put in. Each character has his own Iully developed
personality. He does this while maintaining a certain symbolism in the characters.
Each characters, while being their own person, symbolizes some idea, but not to
the point where the characters are Ilat.
Ralph - Ralph is 12 and one oI the older boys on the island. He is the leader
throughout most oI the book being determined, rational, and understanding. He is
dressed as in a typical school uniIorm, but not as the choir boys. He tries to
understand the problem and the people on the island trying to give rational
solutions. However, psychologically, he loses Iaith in the boys and decides that he
has little hope to restore order into the island. His purpose is to show the reader
through his eyes the degradation oI the society on the island, and thereby show the
innate evil within man. 'This expresses his understanding and caring side.
Jack - Jack is also one oI the older boys and about Ralph's age. He starts as the
leader oI the choir boys, and develops into the leader oI the hunters eventually
taking over everyone on the island. He is dressed nicely in a choir boy outIit. He
is strong, villainous, and proud perpetuating the crimes committed by the boys on
the island. He cares only Ior his own power and not Ior the common good. He
disregards order and in him the reader clearly sees the innate evil oI man since he

was the one that cast oII society earliest. He becomes Ralph`s most powerIul
antagonist because oI this. 'I ought to be chieI because I`m chorister and head
boy. I can sing C sharp.
Piggy - Piggy is slightly younger than Ralph and in the weakling in the group
being overweight and suIIering Irom asthma. He is dressed similar to Ralph in a
typical school uniIorm and ears glasses. He is weak, smart, and Iriendly. While is
put down by the other boys, he is necessary on the island as a source oI intelligence
and insight. His insights are oIten ignored because oI his weak appearance and he
is killed by the Jack and his savages. 'My auntie told me not to run on account oI
my asthma.
Simon - Simon is the saint in the story. He is skinny and dressed similar to Ralph
in the school uniIorm. He is kind, caring and sincere. In the novel, he serves to
bring a certain insight into the story. He is the one that seems to best understand
the inner evil, and the Iirst to understand the beast. He takes care oI the littluns.
Sadly, his insight is lost among the boys as he is killed being mistaken Ior the
beast. 'Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved
his piece oI meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it. The twins giggled and
Simon lowered his Iace in shame.
5. $etting
The Lord oI the Flies takes place on an island during World War II. This is
signiIicant since the isolation Iorms a sort oI civilization and community, a sort oI
microcosm to the real world. At the same time, the island lacks a society and the
societal laws and rules allowing Ior the boys to run wild and show their true, ugly,
inner selves. Since the island is a microcosm, Golding uses it to reIlect our world
and give comments on our world and his view oI human nature. In this book, the
setting is used less to create a mood than to put the characters in a particular
situation
6. %hemes
1. This book traces the Iaults in society to the Iaults in the individual person.
Golding says that each person has in evil inner nature poorly covered by society.
II the society is taken away, then the inner nature comes out and chaos and
lawlessness erupt.
2. Each person has an evil nature and is capable oI committing heinous crimes. In
this book, virtually every person Iell to the level oI Jack`s savagery except those
that were able to see that evil such as Ralph, Simon, and Piggy.

3. The beast is human. In the beginning oI the book, a littlun told the others that
he saw a beast in the jungle starting everyone's Iears. However, it turns out that the
beast is actually a parachutist and human, symbolizing that what they should be
scared oI is not some evil creature, but their own selves and other humans.
. $tyle
Golding makes his novel come alive with a signiIicant use oI symbolism,
physiological development, and general truths. His writing style is simple but the
subject matter is deep. He uses a rather comparatively simple story to convey a
weighty idea.
8. Diction
In The Lord oI the Flies, Golding`s language is neutral. However, it is simple and
it is as iI he is telling the story himselI rather than writing prose. The vocabulary
and sentence structure are simply and easy to understand. Golding uses a lot oI
imagery and symbolic devices.
Passage 1 - 'The three boys walked briskly on the sand. The tide was low and
there was a strip oI weed-strewn beach that was almost as Iirm as a road. A kind
oI glamour was spread over them and the scene and they were conscious oI the
glamour and made happy by it. They turned to each other, laughing excitedly,
talking, not listening. The air was bright. Ralph, Iorced by the task oI translating
all this into an explanation, stood on his head and Iell over. When they had done
laughing, Simon stroked Ralph`s arm shyly; and they had to laugh again. (pg. 25)
Passage 2 - 'When you`re done laughing, perhaps we can get on with the meeting.
And iI them littluns climb back on the twister again, they`ll only Iall oII in a sec.
So they might as well sit on the ground and listen. no. You have doctors Ior
everything, even the inside oI your mind. You don`t really mean that we got to be
Irightened all the time oI nothing? LiIe, said Piggy expansively, 'is scientiIic,
that`s what it is. In a year or two when the war`s over they`ll be traveling to Mars
and back. I know there isn`t no beast - not with claws and all that, I mean - but I
know there isn`t no Iear, either. (pg. 84)
Passage 3 - 'Ralph looked at him dumbly. For a moment he had a Ileeting picture
oI the strange glamour that had once invested the beaches. But the island was
scorched up like dead wood - Simon was dead - and Jack had.... The tears began to
Ilow and sobs shook him. He gave himselI up to them now Ior the Iirst time on the
island; great, shuddering spasms oI grieI that seemed to wrench his whole body.

His voice rose under the black smoke beIore the burning wreckage oI the island;
and inIected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And
in the middle oI them, with Iilthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept
Ior the end oI innocence, the darkness oI man`s heart, and the Iall through the air
oI the true, wise Iriend called Piggy. (pg. 202)
Golding`s writes in a simple neutral style. His language is not complicated or
Ilowery. At the same time, it is not too inIormal. He uses a lot oI imagery as can
be seen in his description oI the 'weed-strewn beach that was 'as Iirm as a road
in passage one. The dialogue in passage two is not at all Ilowery and sounds like
typical speech Ior a 12 year old, except that Piggy seems to show an amount oI
wisdom greater than your typical 12 year old. Passage 3 is written clearly and
nicely shows emotion while still narrating in an neutral tone without too much
involvement Irom the narrator.
. $yntax
Most oI the sentences in The Lord oI the Flies are simple. There are sentences
that are complex and the occasional compound sentence. Most characters speak
simply and clearly. OIten, they speak Iragments and string together Iragments and
ramble suck as in passage 2. All the speech is written as iI it were speech.
The Iirst passage contain mostly simple sentences. One example oI a compound
sentence is, 'when they had done laughing, Simon stroked Ralph`s arm shyly; and
they had to laugh again.
The second passage contains both simple and complex sentences. In this passage,
the speech is somewhat rambling and contains several Iragments. However, this
sort oI speech conveys the idea that Piggy was thinking while he was speaking.
The third passage contains mostly simple and complex sentences. The writing
style here gives the Ieeling oI desperation and loss oI hope. The reader Ieels how
Ralph Ieels and understands what he understands about the 'loss oI innocence.
10. magery
Golding Irequently uses imagery to describe the scenery and the setting. A good
example occurs in the Iirst passage where Golding`s writes, 'there was a strip oI
weed-strewn beach that was almost as Iirm as a road. A kind oI glamour was
spread over them and the scene and they were conscious oI the glamour and made
happy by it.
11. $ymbolism

Golding uses a lot oI symbolism in The Lord oI the Flies. The entire book is
symbolic oI the nature oI man and society in general as the island becomes a
society metaphorical to society as a whole and the hunt at the end oI the book
symbolic oI the war. A symbol Golding uses throughout the book is the conch. It
represents authority and order. The person holding the conch had the power, and it
created order and rules since when it was called, everyone had to listen. Another
symbol is Piggy`s glasses. It symbolized knowledge and insight. While Piggy had
them, he was able to give advice to the group, such as that oI the signal Iire. It was
the glasses that created the Iire. However, aIter the glasses are broken, the group
loses what insight they had. The war paint is also a symbol. It symbolized the
rejection oI society. In a way, when they put on the mask oI war paint, they took
oII the mask oI society and revealed their true inner selves which was savage.
1. Figurative Language
PersoniIication - Golding uses little personiIication in this book. He does use it,
however, during the conversation between the dead pig head and Simon. The head
is personiIied and given able to speak to Simon. Although it is dead, it is proud
and deIiant in its speech.
Simile - Golding occasionally uses simile. One occasion occurs in the Iirst
passage when Golding compares the sand with a road saying, 'there was a strip oI
weed-strewn beach that was almost as Iirm as a road.
Metaphor - Golding oIten uses metaphor in this book. In Iact, all symbolism is a
type oI metaphor since they compare two unlike things. Other metaphors in the
book was when Golding described the choir boy at the beginning oI the book as a
dark creature crawling along the sand.
Allusion - Golding has several allusions in the book. The title itselI is an allusion
to the Bible since 'The Lord oI the Flies was a title given to Beelzebub. Simon`s
name in the book is also an allusion to the disciple Simon Peter.
1. ronic Devices
There are several cases oI irony in this book. Usually, the meaning is
straightIorward. However, I did Iind a case oI verbal irony. That case is when
Ralph and Piggy are discussing Simon`s death. Ralph says, 'I wasn`t scared. I
was - I don`t know what I was.
1. %one

Golding`s tone is that oI a lecturer. Through his book he tries to teach us and
warn us about our own evil. This tone is carried through the novel. The tone is
maintain more through the events and the characters in the story than by syntax or
writing style. An example is the discovery oI the parachutist. The writing style at
this part remained just as neutral as the rest oI the book, but the event oI Iinding
the parachutist as the beast teaches us that it is not some mystical monster we have
to be worried about but ourselves.
15. Memorable quotes
'`I ought to be chieI,` said Jack with simple arrogance, because I`m chapter
chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp. This shows the early signs oI the
tension between Jack and Ralph, and it also shows Jack`s pride.
'Ralph stirred uneasily. Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his
mouth and shoved his piece oI meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it. The
twins giggled and Simon lowered his Iace in shame. This quote shows that Simon
is kind and sincere.
'Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in. These expresses the increasing
intensity oI the boys` savagery.
'It was dark. there was that -- that bloody dance. There was lightning and
thunder and rain. We was scared! This describes how the boys` have gone
beyond the point oI Iun and games. They are no longer boys playing on the island
but a bunch oI savages.
16. dditional Comments and nalysis
I greatly enjoyed this book. The story without the symbolism was intricate and
emotional. Golding does a good job showing the emotional states oI Ralph and
Jack. We can see Ralph gradually losing hope and understanding the evil, and we
can see Jack become power hungry and savage. The murders add a nice touch to
the story since they are both dramatic and moving. The symbolism add another
level to the enjoyment oI the story since I can compare the ideas developed in the
story to my own liIe and my own belieIs.
0art of Darkn088

0art of Darkn088 is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. BeIore its 1902

publication, it appeared as a three-part series (1899) in Blackwoods Maga:ine. It is
widely regarded as a signiIicant work oI English literature
|1|
and part oI the
Western canon.
The story tells oI Charles Marlow, an Englishman who took a Ioreign assignment
Irom a Belgian trading company as a Ierry-boat captain in AIrica. Heart of
arkness exposes the dark side oI European colonization while exploring the three
levels oI darkness that the protagonist, Marlow, encounters: the darkness oI the
Congo wilderness, the darkness oI the Europeans' cruel treatment oI the natives,
and the unIathomable darkness within every human being Ior committing heinous
acts oI evil.
|2|
Although Conrad does not give the name oI the river, at the time oI
writing the Congo Free State, the location oI the large and important Congo River,
was a private colony oI Belgium's King Leopold II. In the story, Marlow is
employed to transport ivory downriver. However, his more pressing assignment is
to return Kurtz, another ivory trader, to civilization, in a cover-up. Kurtz has a
reputation throughout the region.
This symbolic story is a story within a story or Irame narrative. It Iollows Marlow
as he recounts Irom dusk through to late night, to a group oI men aboard a ship
anchored in the Thames Estuary, his Congolese adventure. The passage oI time
and the darkening sky during the Iictitious narrative-within-the-narrative parallel
the atmosphere oI the story.
Background
Eight and a halI years beIore writing the book, Conrad had gone to serve as the
captain oI a Congo steamer. On arriving in the Congo, he Iound his steamer
damaged and under repair. He became sick and returned to Europe beIore serving
as captain. Some oI Conrad's experiences in the Congo and the story's historic
background, including possible models Ior Kurtz, are recounted in Adam
Hochschild's King eopolds Ghost.
|3|


Plot summary
The story opens with an unnamed narrator describing Iive men, apparently
colleagues, on a boat anchored on the River Thames near London and the
surroundings as dusk settles in and they await the turning oI the tide. The narrator
cites a passenger known as Charlie Marlow, the only one oI the men who "still

Iollowed the sea." Marlow makes a comment about London having been "one oI
the dark places on earth"; thus begins the story oI Marlow and a job he took as
captain oI a steamship in AIrica.
He begins by ruminating on how Britain's image among Ancient Roman oIIicials
must have been similar to AIrica's image among 19th century British oIIicials. He
describes how his "dear aunt" used many oI her contacts to secure the job Ior him,
calling him an "emissary oI light." When he arrives at the job, he encounters many
men he dislikes as they strike him as untrustworthy. They speak oIten oI a man
named Kurtz, who has quite a reputation in many areas oI expertise. He is
somewhat oI a rogue ivory collector, "essentially a great musician," a journalist, a
skilled painter and "a universal genius".
Marlow arrives at the Central Station run by the Manager, an unwholesome
conspiratorial character. He Iinds that his steamship has been sunk and suspects the
Manager oI causing the "accident," then spends three months waiting Ior parts to
repair it. During this time, he witnesses the brutality with which the colonialists
treat the AIrican population. He also hears rumors regarding Kurtz being ill; this
makes the delays in repairing the ship all the more costly. Marlow gets the parts
and he and the manager set out with a Iew agents and a crew oI cannibals on a
long, diIIicult voyage up the river.
Marlow and the crew discover a hut with stacked Iirewood together with a note
saying that the wood is Ior them but that they should approach cautiously. Shortly
aIter the steamer has taken on the Iirewood it is surrounded by a dense Iog. When
the Iog clears, the ship is attacked by an unseen band oI natives, who shoot arrows
Irom the saIety oI the Iorest, killing one oI the crew. When they later reach Kurtz's
station, they are met by a guileless Russian trader, the Harlequin, who assures them
that everything is Iine and inIorms them that he is the one who leIt the wood and
the note. They Iind that Kurtz has persuaded the natives to treat him as a god, and
has led brutal raids in the surrounding territory in search oI ivory.
Marlow and his crew take the ailing Kurtz aboard their ship and depart. Kurtz is
lodged in Marlow's pilothouse and Marlow begins to see that Kurtz is every bit as
grandiose as previously described. However, Marlow Iinds himselI disappointed
with Kurtz's childish schemes Ior Iame and Iortune. During this time, Kurtz gives
Marlow a collection oI papers and a photograph Ior saIekeeping; both had
witnessed the Manager going through Kurtz's belongings. The photograph is oI a
beautiIul woman whom Marlow assumes is Kurtz's love interest, or, as Marlow
calls her, "his intended."

One night Marlow happens upon Kurtz, obviously near death. As Marlow comes
closer with a candle, Kurtz seems to experience a "supreme moment oI complete
knowledge" and speaks his last words: "The horror! The horror!" Marlow believes
this to be Kurtz's reIlection on the events oI his liIe. Marlow does not inIorm the
Manager or any oI the other voyagers oI Kurtz's death; the news is instead broken
by the Manager's child-servant.
Marlow later returns to his home city and is conIronted by many people seeking
things and ideas oI Kurtz. Marlow meets Kurtz's Iiancee about a year later; she is
still in mourning. When she asks him about Kurtz's death, Marlow tells her that his
last words were "your name," and not "the horror! the horror!"
The story concludes back on the boat on the Thames, with a description oI how the
river seemed to lead into the heart oI an immense darkness.