Favorite Book Debate

I don't know if my opponent understands the rules. I said round 1 is for introductions, yet my opponent went on anyway and decided to pick the "Cat in the Hat". Perhaps I should restate my rules. Each round (except for round 1 which was for introductions) is used to present a book. The voters decide who has the better book each round so there are no attacks or refutations. I even gave an example: my battles challenges. I have done many.Lord of the FliesPublished: 1954Author: William GoldingI read the Lord of the Flies last year and I must say that it was a good book. It uses a lot of major symbolism in it to give examples of many things that can relate to everyday life.I. Symbolism - The Island and Things on ItThe story is about a plane crash that led to several children from Britain being stuck on the island. Many children become excited about starting their own new civilization in an island that seems to have not been discovered yet. The island is a perfect place to live as there is a drinking water and food for the children to use. The island is supposed to represent a blank slate for humanity. Golding argues that humanity is always doomed to destruction without a civilized and stable society. Would you rather be civilized or would you rather be an anarchist? This helps us understand the danger of a lack of a civilized society. The boys turn from good and well-disiciplined to bad and bloodthirsty children. Ultimately, this leads to the destruction of the island.There are numerous objects on the island that help symbolize different things. The group discovers a conch shell, which becomes the key to their civilized society. The shell is used to call the group together. Once it is together, whoever holds the shell has a right to speak. As the boys' civilized society erodes, the conch shell loses its power and influence over them. Civilization is completely gone when the conch shell is shaterred near the end of the book.Another key object that is created by the boys on the island if a signal fire. At the beginning, the civilized boys know that they need to create a large fire to signal passing ships. As the story progresses, the signal fire gets weaker and then goes out entirely. This means that the boys have accepted their savagery on the island and do not want to go back.Finally, I will discuss an "animal" on the island. The boys eventually believe that there is a "beast" on the island. This beast represents the instinct of savagery that exists in everyone. The boys are at first scared of the beast. Only one boy on the island finally realizes that this beat does not exist, but it matters not as this occurs closer to the end of the novel and the boys have lost all civilization and are now worshipping the beast a god, going as far to make sacrifices for him.II. Symbolism - The CharactersIn Lord of the Flies, all the characters in the book represent some aspect in society. The first is the story's protagonist, Ralph, who is good-looking and athletic. He becomes a favorite among others immediately and becomes a leader of the group. Ralph represents a civilized society. He starts building huts and keeps the signal fire going to get people to rescue them. Sadly, the group gradually turns to instincts of savagery and Ralph loses followers and power. At the end of the book, he is nearly killed before a group of sailors come on the island to rescue the boys.The story's anatagonist is Jack. He is ultimate opposite of a civilized society. At first, Jack is obsessed with power but soon becomes incredibly uncivilized and bloodthirsty. He paints his face like a barbarian and is obsessed about hunting pigs. Most boys in the group start following Jack rather than Ralph as the novel progresses. He is able to use the boys' fear of the beast to maintain his power as the group leader. Ralph is helped by Piggy, an unfit boy with glasses. This boy is hated and made fun of by Jack. Piggy is really smart and logical. He gives Ralph and the group several ideas and mainly takes on the role of keeping the conch shell safe. Near the end of the book however, Piggy is killed by Jack's gang leading to the destruction of him representing logic and the conch shell representing a civilized society. While Ralph and Jack are standing at two different ends in the battled between civilization and anarchism and Piggy stands in support of Jack, a fourth major character, Simon stands somewhere else. Simon in a sense stands for spiritual goodness and seems to stand for the value of morality. Simon is generally very nice to the other boys on the island and is the first boy to be aware that the beast the boys fear does not exist. However, Simon is killed by Jack's group in the book, proving there is just as much evil, if not more, as there is good.AnalysisThe Lord of the Flies is a perfect story about civilization and savagery, good and evil, and logic and ignorance that exists in every world. Can humanity truly make a perfect world or is humanity stuck in a world of violence and the danger of the end of civilization. What are the roles of people in our world today? These questions are all asked in the book.