Killing Of Mud Eye The Dominant Group example essay topic

Brutality And Savagery are terms are used to describe what adult human beings do to each other all too often, but when they are used in reference to teenagers or children they become so much more powerful. In both The Killing of Mud-Eye by Celeste Waters, and Lord of the flies, the film adaptation of the classic novel by British author Sir William Golding. All the main characters are under the age of 19, and in both texts they show just how nasty things can get turn once all when the adult eye is turned away, by ruthlessly turning on the weaker members of their groups this bullying ends in death in both cases however there are quite a few differences in the circumstances surrounding the deaths of both piggy and Mud-Eye. In both Lord of the flies and The Killing of Mud-Eye the characters are members of groups there are two groups in Lord of the flies and only one in The Killing of Mud-Eye, the way each group are organised is very different.

In Lord of the flies, there is very distinct line between the "good" led by Ralph group and the "evil group" led by Jack. Ralph's group is run democratically and Ralph leads by common sense, Jack on the other hand is a ruthless dictator who uses fear to hold onto power, some very powerful examples of this are when Jack has a little " un whipped on the suspicion theft without a fair trial and without any real evidence another example of the contrast of leadership styles between Jack and Ralph is when "the monster" is discovered, Ralph uses common sense and says that there is no monster whereas Jack goes out of his way to instil fear in the hearts of his "tribe" and promise them that they " ll be safe with him as ruler, and claims that it was he that kept them safe from the monster at opportune times thereafter to reaffirm his status as leader of his group. The other characters in Lord of the Flies decide that Jack's group is the better option and all except Ralph, Piggy and Simon join Jack's tribe, who end up killing both Piggy and Simon, leaving Ralph as the sole target. In The Killing of Mud-Eye the dominant group is led by Richard Hewett (Goldfinger) who is a dictator, however Goldfinger does ask for input from the rest of the group during meetings, but it is always Goldfinger that chooses the idea and once he chooses it there's no turning back, Goldfinger is merciless in his treatment of Linton Begg (Mud-Eye) who's writing ability is exploited by Goldfinger who is in desperate need of an A to get himself into law school. The constant bullying from members of Goldfinger's group becomes a major factor in the eventual death of Mud-Eye, who hangs himself on the last day of school although there were other significant factors as well one of which being the fact that Mud-Eye suffers from schizophrenia (unbeknown to the other characters) and is very mentally and emotionally unstable as a result, which is only made worse by the torment he receives from his peers. The one character that can see that Mud-Eye may have a mental illness Ned doesn't report it to anybody in fear of being Goldfinger's next victim.

"He should be reported"-Ned The environment was quite a big theme in both texts, and in both texts the actions of the characters contrasted sharply with their surroundings. In Lord of the Flies the characters were marooned on an idyllic tropical island paradise and in The Killing of Mud-Eye all the action happens in a school with strict rules and regulations. In Lord of the Flies all the characters are boys (none older than 12) who are left stranded on a tropical island after their plane is shot down. The island is uninhabited and is full of lush green vegetation. The first thing the boys do is elect a leader (Ralph) and form some rules. The boys then try to find food and begin spear fishing and some other boys try to light a signal fire, which goes horribly wrong and burns half a hill.

After the group splits Jack's group become expert hunters very quickly and use their surroundings to camouflage themselves. Both groups used the environment to create shelter for themselves and for food and water. In The Killing of Mud-Eye all of the main characters are students at the exclusive St Christopher's college in Victoria, which has strictly enforced rules, nevertheless Goldfinger and his group are able to get away with tormenting Mud-Eye at will. Most of the bullying occurs in the same spot of the St Christopher's grounds, under the magnolia tree, which is another contrast in the novel as the magnolia tree is normally known for it's beauty and what takes place beneath it is far from beautiful.

The magnolia tree is used as a "stage" in the novel "And his stage, the white magnolia painted playground of St Christopher's College"-Ned. It is on this stage that the psychological bullying of Mud-Eye takes place. There are quite a few differences between Lord of the Flies and The Killing of Mud-Eye but they both reflect the pure cruelty human beings can use on each other and the total lack of respect that can be shown to a member of your own species. Although written by two different people, from two different parts of the world and at two different times, both texts c 1 on vey pretty much the same message, that no-one is incapable of evil and that the easy way out of something is not always the right way or the best way out. Both texts were also written in such a way that they try to persuade people to be more tolerant of each other because a lot of the world's problems are caused by intolerance and / or misunderstandings and eliminating these could end up stopping wars in the big picture.