Thursday, August 13, 2015

How should I go about writing an essay with three points, including quotes from the text that support my thesis, about Lord of the Flies?

I think the best thing you should is this: research the book before reading if you havnt read it already. Look for themes that the book explores and understand what they mean and how they are relevant.
Define what kind of paper you are writing and what direction you want to take it. Start with big ideas and work your way down to smaller ones. This can help you find a thesis.
All a thesis is, is a one to two sentences of of your idea, that you take a stand on. It takes time to work on a good just remember you need to have main points that support the thesis. Detailed explanations and quotes, and restate the thesis and main points int he final paragraph.
Also look up examples if you need help but do NOT copy and paste. DON'T plagiarize and remember to GIVE credit where credit is due.
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/


William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a novel that is rich in psychological, geopolitical, and religious symbolism. You could create a thesis and support it with three points taking any of these perspectives.
To approach the novel from a psychological perspective, you can analyze the characters Ralph, Jack, and Piggy using Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory (see link below for more information). It's easy to show Jack as the manifestation of the id, the part of the personality that operates selfishly to satisfy its own desires. You can quote passages where Jack leaves Ralph's group and says he won't play anymore and in chapter 9 where he asks, "Who'll join my tribe and have fun?" Piggy clearly stands for superego, or the voice of conscience and adult caregivers. He often asks, "What's grown-ups going to think?" or makes similar remarks that sound like a parent. Ralph operates primarily as the ego, maintaining a balance between the id and the superego. You can quote the passages at the beginning that show Ralph having fun swimming and later where Ralph enjoys hunting the pig with the others to show his id side, and then quote his lecture to the boys about keeping the fire lit in chapter 5 to show his superego side.
Another way to look at the book is through a geopolitical interpretation. Golding wrote the book shortly after WWII ended, and the way the boys divide echoes the way countries allied themselves during that conflict. Ralph represents Great Britain or democracy; you can prove this by pointing out how he runs the meetings democratically, trying to assure that all voices are heard and all concerns are addressed. Piggy, as Ralph's closest ally, represents the US. He's fat and has a bad accent—perhaps the way America looked to its more refined counterparts in the United Kingdom. Piggy's glasses represent technology—allowing the boys to use fire—and the US provided superior technology during the war. Finally, Jack represents Germany or Hitler. He lures boys to his tribe by offering meat, just as Hitler gained a following by promising to improve Germany's economy. Jack silences the other boys and favors dictatorial rule as evidenced in chapter 10 when he beats Wilfred. Roger could be viewed as the Gestapo, gleefully punishing Jack's enemies.
You could also write about the religious allusions in the novel. Three obvious ones are that the island itself represents the Garden of Eden: the failure of the boys' civilization parallels the Fall into sin and Simon functions as a Christ figure. See the link below for more information on the Christ figure angle. Depending on the length required, you could write the entire essay on Simon's role.
As you can see, you can find many ways to discuss Lord of the Flies. The novel is rich with meaning psychologically, politically, and religiously.
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson800/psychoanalysis.pdf

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