Sample Literary Analysis Essay, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Literary Analysis

Download Sample Literary Analysis Essay and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Literary Analysis in PDF only on Docsity! 36 Sample Literary Analysis Essay The purpose of a literary analysis essay is to closely examine some aspect of a literary work. In this essay, RHS student Moses Martinez analyzes the fears felt by the characters in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Notice that the essay follows the proper MLA format. Martinez 1 Moses Martinez Ms. Banick English II November 17, 2005 Island of Fear As humans, we all fear something, and we deal with those fears in ways that match our personalities. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the fears of Jack, Ralph, and Piggy and chooses specific ways for each to deal with his fears. Therefore, each of the three boys reacts to fear in his own unique way. The first boy, Jack, believes that a beast truly does exist. He is afraid and admits it; however, he deals with his fear with aggressive violence. He chooses to hunt for the beast, arm himself with a spear, and practice killing it: “We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”(91). He also uses the fear of the beast to control and manipulate the other children. Because they fear the beast, they are more likely to listen to Jack and follow his orders. Furthermore, Jack fears Ralph’s power over the group and Piggy’s rational thought. This is because he knows that both directly conflict with his thirst for absolute power. He responds to these fears in his familiar, violent way. He physically and verbally abuses Piggy, and he argues with Ralph and questions his authority to such an extent that he ends up leaving the group. Jack eventually consolidates his power by forcing the last members of Ralph’s group into his tribe and ordering a hunt for Ralph.