The Man In The Well Literary Analysis

1000 Words4 Pages
Albert Camus once said “[t]he evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and [that] good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding”. Throughout the Lord of the Flies and The Man in the Well, this quote is incorporated into the writing to illustrate that evil exists everywhere. The authors William Golding and Ira Sher similarly use setting, symbolism, and amplification to portray that evil is ubiquitous; while Golding is more effectively able to use setting to depict the idea, they both equally use symbolism and Although Sher and Golding both use setting to portray that evil can be found anywhere, Golding is more successfully able to get the idea across. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph, the main…show more content…
Both of the authors use the symbolism between premonition of death and rain to present this topic. In Golding’s novel, he writes, “Big drops of rain fell among them making individual sounds when they struck” and also writes, “Then the clouds opened [up] and let down the rain like a waterfall…[and] even in the rain they could see how small a beast it was; and already its blood was staining the sand” (151 & 153). After the boys kill the ‘beast’ (Simon), it is still raining. This rain represents premonition of death. As it starts storming, the boys get more violent, until they murder Simon. So, the rain almost foreshadows Simon’s death since the rain symbolizes premonition of death. Furthermore, the rain directly represents evil in the world because death, or murder, is evil in itself. On the other hand, Sher’s use of symbolism is not directly related to the main idea. In Sher’s short story, there is an excerpt that reads, “That night it rained, and I listened to the rain...we didn’t go back”(26). Throughout the story, the man is always wondering when the rain is coming. This is important because the rain in her writing also symbolizes the coming of death. When the rain finally comes, the man is dead by that time. This supports the statement that evil is omnipresent. At this point, Sher is also able to show the deeper knowledge of evil in her…show more content…
At the end of Lord of the Flies, “...Ralph we[eps] for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy”(202). Golding could have easily said that Ralph wept, which would have not been as successful as this amplification. This excerpt brings forth the fact that the innocence of the boys has been lost, and that evil is all around them. The description of Ralph’s weeping shows that evil is indeed omnipresent since evil is present in the loss “of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart…” and in the wicked actions of humans. Like Golding, Sher is also able to incorporate amplification in the Man in the Well by showing her deeper understanding that evil is universal. The main character tells the reader that he “...think[s] it’s important that [they] decided not to help [the man in the well]. Everyone, like [himself], was probably on the verge of fetching a rope, or asking where we could find a ladder, but then we looked around at each other and it was decided”(21). The way Sher built the sentence in the quote increases the emphasis on the fact that evil is a part of human nature. There may not be a reason why people commit immoral deeds, but evil can spring up at any given moment. This idea assists the conclusion that evil is in fact ubiquitous. Sher continues to show the same level of knowledge as Golding
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