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Lord of the Flies 103793 Views


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Description:

Are humans civilized, or are we just savages waiting to come out? William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies tackles that question.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:07

Lord Of The Flies, a la Shmoop. Watch for falling rocks.

00:13

Gather your comrades round, for the devil is inside each and every one of us.

00:19

Or is it? Just as the boys struggled to find out whether

00:23

they were 'civilized' or 'savage'...

00:25

...do we still struggle with the same question? We can be 'savages.' That's for sure.

00:37

We can still exhibit the same Jack-like bloodlust and betrayal.

00:43

Just like in the book, when the 'savages' betray one another and kill for the first

00:47

time. Isn't it human nature?

00:52

Aren't we just being competitive? It's a jungle out there...be it real or the

01:01

working world. It's survival of the fittest.

01:08

On the other hand, we can be 'civilized', too. Right?

01:14

Just like Ralph's side, we debate... ...we discuss...

01:18

...and we can usually get along without killing each other.

01:21

Unless it's over the remote control. So are we 'savages' or are we 'civilized'?

01:31

Maybe a little of both. We learn that leaning too far toward either

01:37

extreme... ...can be polarizing and divisive.

01:43

There's often a choice to be made. Sometimes it's not as black and white as it

01:48

seems. The savage side resides in all of us.

01:55

But, then again, so does the civilized side. We still need to make the decision though:

02:05

Which side wins out... ...and when?

02:17

Shmoop Amongst Yourselves.

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