Lord of the Flies and Of Mice and Men Through a Critical Lens Essay

Emotion is defined to be any feelings of joy, sorrow, fear, hate, love, etc. The quote, All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason that motivates characters in literature, can be proved to be true. Things happen because your emotions overpower you, not because the things around you make you into who you are. In the two literatures, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, this quote can be proved to be true.

In the literature Of Mice and Men, the characters overpowered themselves with their emotions. The protagonists George and Lennie had a strong urge to fulfill the American Dream. George and Lennie were desperate to succeed in their lives by owning land and living wealthy. They felt anxious that they might have to live poor for the rest of their lives. Because of these emotions, George and Lennie tried to make a change. These emotions motivated the protagonists to raise a lot of money so they may be able to purchase their own land. Through this, emotions overthrew George and Lennie and the American Dream was never accomplished. Lennie ended up killing a girl name Candy, causing his own death and left a tragic ending. In this literature, the conflict helped prove the power of emotions and how emotions motivate characters. George and Lennie wanted to make a living by achieving the American Dream. The American Dream is a life of personal happiness and material comfort sought by individuals in theU.S. Therefore using the conflict, man vs. society, the protagonists had to fight against their level of poor in order to become wealthy and attain contentment. The symbolism friendship was used in this literature between George and Lennie. Although they fought a lot and didnt express how much they cared about each other on the outside, their close relationship enabled them to try to fulfill the American Dream together. Until the end, they tried to protect each other bringing up the emotion of love.

In the literature, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, this quote can be proved to be true. In Lord of the Flies, the protagonists Ralph, and other important characters, were filled with emotions. Such emotions as hate, fear, competitive, and anger emerged throughout this book. Using setting and symbolism these points can be proved. The setting of this book is in a deserted tropical island. The characters were clueless to which location they were brought to. They had no idea when and how they were going to get back home. This brought fear into all of the boys because they all wanted to survive. Because they were all looking for survival they learned negative aspects of life. Some negative aspects were killing, shouting, and arguing. Through this knowledge and misbehavior, Piggy had to face death. Their emotions caused Piggys death and although they had a bad environment around them, all this didnt have to end in a negative way. Even though an environment can be harsh, the people dont have to harsh. The conch was an important symbol in this novel, and represented civilization and order. This conch gave voice and power to whoever was holding it. Therefore, the emotion of self-confidence was shown and this caused tension between the characters.

All literature shows us the power of emotion. It is emotion, not reason that motivates characters in literature. This can be proved to be true through Of Mice and Men, a novel by John Steinbeck, and The Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding. Emotions cause people to be who are they are and act the way they act, not other qualities such as environment or reason. Emotions can be powerful, and when they are, it can change anybody regardless of the situation.