C, TBC women analysis

Paton characterizes women differently in Cry, the Beloved Country. He does this using different, more feeble or self-conscious adjectives to describe their actions/feelings. One example can be found when he writes, “It was not I who opened it, she said, hurt by his accusation.” Here, Paton shows the reader how submissively the wife responds to her husband. Paton also doesn’t give her a name or title. This shows a sense of inferiority to her husband, making her seem humbled.

Cry, the Beloved Country theme analysis. Chap 1-4

Character-yellow-antagonist (pg. 49)
       “’- You have been cheated, umfundisi.’” Here, the reader is introduced to, arguably, the first antagonist of the story. This man robs unsuspecting umfundisi of a pound. The author creates this problem for umfundisi this early in his arrival at Johannesburg to show the reader that this city is a tough one to live in, and one must be careful who they trust. By having umfundisi meet this person first, he is able to learn a lesson about the people that populate this large city, they can’t be trusted. This helps to portray theme in that it gives the reader something they can relate to, and helps introduce them to how new umfundisi is with this city.

Language-coral-tense (pg. 33)
       “The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil.” In this spot, the author chooses to use present tense to describe setting, a tense rarely used in other novels. In doing this, he creates a friendly atmosphere that helps the reader relate to the story. One can more clearly visualize scenery in this tense than in say, past tense. Alan uses this in many descriptive cases, and makes it almost repetition or stability.

Setting-pink-figurative language (pg.33 & 45)
       “, and they are lovely beyond singing of it.” “, through hills lovely beyond any singing of it.” In these 2 places, Paton uses a figurative language tool, repetition, to describe the hills he sees. The author is able to make a calming, familiar type feeling by doing this. He is able to create the feeling that no matter where umfundisi may travel, the rolling hills will always be “lovely beyond singing of it.” Alan shows us that umfundisi can relate to his home no matter where he is.

Plot and plot structure-yellow-symbol (pg. 42)
       “And under her eyes the great lorry [truck] crushed the life out of her son.” In this quote, the author is introducing the uncertainty that umfundisi feels for this new city. The lorry is used as a symbol of his fear, or an amplifier of his fear. Umfundisi is not sure what is in store for him in this new, unpredictable city, and he has heard stories that make him fearful of the future. The lorry is a parallel for the fear he feels for finding his son and his aunt.

Golding Portraying Theme

There are several ways an author can portray theme through their writing. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding chooses to interpret his theme (a position of power should never be an outlet for violence) through several types of communication. The most obvious however, is through the use of characters. In Lord of the Flies, there are 2 main, powerful characters, Ralph and Jack. Throughout most of the story, they have very different points of view on the way camp should be run, and ultimately ends up causing the death of 2 important characters of the story. The first death is caused by Jack’s uncivilized beliefs on authority. He encourages the boys of “his tribe” to beat another boy, Simon, to death.
Golding also portrays this theme through the point of view he chooses to take. In being very unbiased about his opinion of the running and leadership of the island, he makes the actions of the characters seem more exaggerated. By doing this, William helps to make the theme more noticeable to the reader. The point of view he chooses to take is extremely beneficial to the development of thee theme because of this.

LOTF women on the island?

       If there were women or girls in Lord of the Flies, there would have been many changes. Golding would have had to make vast differences to the entire plot of the story. One can’t necessarily assume a female would lessen the amount of violence, because that would be completely dependent of the individual themselves. However, William Golding would have had to change some of the conflicts that came up in the story. For example, having only one female on the island with the boys could potentially cause jealousy and inequality. I think the author intentionally left women out of the story because it may have restricted the free feeling the boys had between one another. It would have been unrealistic if the boys had started swimming naked in front of another similarly-aged girl that they more likely than not, had never met before.

Golding's decisions and effects

       On the first page of Lord of the Flies, William Golding introduces a character we learn to be a boy named Piggy, and he is careful to point out the spectacles he wears. In familiarizing the reader with Piggy and his spectacles this soon in the story, it allows the reader to assume that the two have a sort of special importance/impact on the story. In doing this, the reader is already interested in Piggy and his curious spectacles. This effect helps to foreshadow to later parts in the story where Piggy, and his spectacles, end up playing major roles of importance in the lives of the older boys, and of the lighting of the fire.

       Golding is also careful to describe Piggy’s actions as relatively delicate and thought-out, where as his appearance is quite blunt. In doing this, the reader is already aware of the fact that Piggy is an intellectual, caring person who uses his mind to think through obstacles, however, he may not always be taken as seriously as he should. This is evident when he writes: “He bent down, removed the thorns carefully, and turned around. He was shorter than the fair boy, and very fat.” Later in the story, Piggy becomes one of the only boys able to make civilized decisions, but is usually dismissed and the center of endless ridicule.