Connections

=Connections= 1. The characters in Macbeth are influenced by ambition in the same way that the characters in Lord of the Flies are influenced by some of their own primal instincts. In moderation both could be good qualities, but in both texts the characters lose sight of right and wrong and can't or won't see where to draw the line.

2. The short story "The Voice from the Wall" connects to Macbeth in that there is a conflict between what the main characters can see and what they hear. In the short story Lena is forced to hear things, but learns to control what she sees. In Macbeth both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth consciously choose not to see things to prevent themselves from guilt.

3. In Macbeth blood is a frequent image and metaphor. It stands for death, for guilt, for the past, for power, etc. In Lord of the Flies, blood is also frequently used symbolically. The boys repeat the chant "kill the pig, spill her blood," Jack smears blood on another boy's face, the descriptions of both Simon's and Piggy's deaths include descriptions of their blood. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden is hit or beaten up and bloodied multiple times. Obviously, blood means a lot more than just, well, blood! Compare/contrast.

4. In both, Lord of the Flies and Macbeth we see a similarity between how far each leader would be willing to go to have power and to keep the power he's obtained.

5. In Macbeth and Lord of the Flies there is a struggle for power of the individual over the power of the group. In contrast, many short stories such as "Story of an Hour" and the "Yellow Wallpaper" are about an individual struggling just to take power over her own life.

6. Macbeth has an internal conflict just like Holden in Catcher in the Rye. Neither Macbeth nor Holden really knows what the right decision is. Both are haunted by the past. Neither is satisfied with what he has.

7. Catcher in the Rye is, in many ways, about a boy in crisis. Holden is "lost" metaphorically in that he does not know what to do with his life, how to be happy, how to be successful without conforming. A lot of the other works we've read deal with the same issues--being an individual, asserting individuality, achieving and defining success, struggling against society, coming to terms with the past, etc.

8. The boys in Lord of the Flies are literally lost--on a remote island in the Pacific. They're also metaphorically "lost." Holden, in Catcher in the Rye, is also "lost" in this second sense, in many ways that are similar to the boys in LOTF.

9. The word "creeper" is used many times and in many different ways throughout the LOTF. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the protagonist claims to have seem a woman outsider her window "creeping." There's something about this word... "Creep" suggests so many different meanings and has so many connotations. Is there a thematic connection between the book and the short story as well?

10. Like Macbeth, Jack in Lord of the Flies is willing to use all of his resources to acquire power. He either doesn't care if others suffer as a result, or he is willing to do anything to get what he wants. Like Macbeth, he is ruthless.

11. In a literal sense both The Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies chronicle the "coming of age" of adolescent boys. What does it mean to "come of age?" Are there other connections in the other texts we've read?

12. In Macbeth Lady Macbeth serves as a driving force that keeps Macbeth from straying away from his goals; in LOTF Piggy also keeps Ralph from straying from the overall goal. But both Lady Macbeth and Piggy die before the end of the play/book. They serve a certain purpose, and then they are eliminated.

13. Since the short stories we read were written by women, in some ways they reflect how women were treated in the time period that they were written. The main characters are not always strong women or conventional women. But they are nevertheless strong as individuals in their own minds; they believe what they think is correct and usually don't listen to male "authorities."

14. In every short story we read, characters are reaching out or pulling away from a human connection. Some are completely codependent and some are completely independent, but always present is some kind of analysis of human connections and the human need to reach out. The main characters all grow in some way--through shared experiences or vicariously living through told experiences.

15. In "I Stand Here Ironing" the mother shows remorse for failing to do things for her daughter and protect her from occurrences in her life. Similarly, in "A Voice From the Wall," Lena's mother shows remorse for not protecting her daughter when the Chinese man lunged at them. These women are haunted by the past in the same way that Holden is haunted by his past and his feelings of regret and remorse about his brother Allie.

16. Certain characters take on a nurturing or "motherly" role. Simon and Piggy, in LOTF, care for the littluns. Mr. Antolini and Mr. Spencer, Holden's former teachers, both try to guide him and give him advice. The husband of the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" tries to control her life and her "recovery." The narrator in "I Stand Here Ironing" reflects on what she sees as her own failures as a mother. In "Winter Night," the holocaust survivor was a surrogate mother for a little girl in a concentration camp and becomes a surrogate mother for Felicia. But in general none of these characters seems to fare very well in the end!

17. A lot of the texts we've read focus on gender in interesting ways--the behavior, lives and concerns of teenage boys, for example. Or the restrictions, frustrations and fears of women, mothers and girls. Some of the differences are pretty obvious. But what about the similarities? Is there common thematic ground between the experiences of men and boys and the experiences of women and girls in the texts we've studied?

18. Point of View. This makes a big difference in all of the texts we've studied. Who is telling the story and how? How does the narration influence how we interpret and understand the characters and events of the story?

19. Lady Macbeth is much like the woman in the wallpaper in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” They’re both hidden under their husbands repression and assumed weak because of their gender. LMB and the narrator both break free of their husbands and become individuals. Their motives were different because LMB breaks free for power, while the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper” does it just to be an individual.

20. Macbeth is related to Lord of the Flies because when anyone tried to challenge Macbeth's (like Jack's) power, something bad would happen. Macbeth gets challenged by Banquo and Macduff and so Macbeth goes on a killing rampage. When Jack is challenged he resorts to violence also, to get rid of those who challenge his authority. Macbeth is assumed leader because he is a war hero; in LOTF Jack is assumed leader because he can sing a musical note very well. Simon and Piggy died just like Banquo, Duncan, Duncan’s guards and many other people in Macbeth died.

21. In "A Telephone Call" the woman's mind is taking control. She completely obsesses over one thing because she was afraid that the guy didn't like her. Macbeth’s paranoia also takes over; he becomes completely obsessed with becoming king, then with being found out.

22. In both Macbeth and in Lord of the Flies, people are trying to gain power and they do so by attacking everyone in their path.

23. Macbeth can never be satisfied, like Holden can never be satisfied. They are both, ALWAYS unhappy with what they have and want more.

24. Lady Macbeth’s guilt ultimately drives her crazy. Several other characters in works we’ve read struggle with mental instability at some point. Holden has some kind of a nervous breakdown. The narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” crumbles under the pressure of being constantly watched and told what to do and starts obsessing about the wallpaper. Simon imagines or hallucinates a conversation with a “Pig’s head on a stick,” or “the Beast.” Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo. Even the girls in The Crucible seem to convince themselves that they do see witches and are being bewitched.

25. CONTRADICTIONS. Major connection between Macbeth, Catcher, and "A Voice from the Wall." In Macbeth, there are linguistic contradictions and the contradiction between what you think and what you do. In Catcher, Holden is almost hypocritical in the sense that though he calls everyone else phonies when in reality he the biggest phony of them all. He is contradictory because he goes against what he believes.

26. LIARS: Macbeth, Holden, and the woman in "....& Answers." Why do they lie?

27. LOTF, Macbeth: focus on changing their future and taking control. Catcher: wants future to stay the same. Doesn't work to control it/improve things.

28. Holden fears that Phoebe will turn into her. In "Voice from the Wall," the mother is terrified to have children because she doesn't want them to inherit the fear that she has.

29. CITR, Macbeth and LOTF are stories about individuals finding their place in society and adapting to their worlds. In every story the plot mainly consists of the struggles of individual characters adapting and settling into the niche in society they are making or have been assigned.

30. In both CITR and LOTF the main character/characters are away from their families for the majority of the book. While the characters are away they seem to take advantage of their freedom or doing things they wouldn't normally do. In CITR Holden smokes and drinks more then he would at home, and in LOTF the children turn into crazy violent people.

31. In "The Yellow Paper" the lady locked in the room is physically being isolated from others while in CITR Holden is emotionally locked in but not physically. Holden is free to do what he wants while the lady in the yellow wallpaper cant do anything except stay in that room/house all day.

32. CITR and LOTF are both about adolescence and adulthood. And the relationships that the characters have with adults or other children/teenagers.

33. In Catcher in the Rye Holden is struggling to be perceived as older and act older. In LOTF the boys are also struggling with growing out of adolescence and how to manage their new feelings and hormones.

34. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden is greatly affected by his family, especially his siblings. In LOTF, Piggy's actions are based on the adults in the real world. Also, Ralph is convinced that his father will come to rescue them, which shows his dependence on his family.

35. In “Doby's Gone,” Sue relies on Doby as a safeguard, just like Piggy does with his glasses in LOTF. Both of them have a security blanket that they use to keep himself calm and comforted. In addition, both Sue and Piggy use their "security blankets" as a way to divert them from socializing.

36. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden is an outsider but he tries to pull people in and make conversation even though he likes to be alone. In LOTF, a large group is sometimes safe and sometimes not, depending on its members. The characters must be careful who they are friends with.

37. In LOTF many of the boys are on the hunt for pigs, and in Catcher Holden is on the hunt for something, but he just does not know what it is.

38. In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into doing things he is not particularly proud of or cannot do on his own because of his conscience. In Lord of the Flies, Jack seems to manipulate the boys into doing things they would not do at home, and forces them to want to hunt down animals (in particular, the event related to the pig!). They both are similar in the way of forcing people to do what they want to do. Some of the time it is against their will, but they still force them into killing someone they may not have wanted to kill.

39. In LOTF, at the beginning of the book, it seems as though Simon does not have a main role in the book, but as the book progresses and the boys begin to become more uncivilized, Simon begins to show signs of him being the beast and starts to freak out the littluns on the island. In Macbeth, Banquo starts out having a key role throughout the kingdom and community, but as the play progresses, he loses all power he once had due to Macbeth. Later in the play, Macbeth has him murdered, just as in LOTF, Simon was killed by everyone around him on the island.

40. In “The Lottery” they are in their own little world, with their own traditions which seem normal just like the boys in "The Lord of the Flies". A united society works well at first, then when someone disagrees they are overruled even if they are right. Like Piggy, Simon, and Tessie.

41. Both Catcher in the Rye and “A Telephone Call” are narrated in the first person, and both narrators show their insecurities, which makes them not likable.

42. In “Story of an Hour” and “A Telephone Call,” women are portrayed as weaker characters who allow their actions to be dictated by outside events.

43. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” it seems as thought the woman is trapped within the walls of the house. This relates to Catcher in the Rye because just like the woman is trapped inside the house, Holden is trapped mentally by society’s expectations.

44. In “The Lottery,” Mr. Summers is like Jack from LOTF in the sense that they both lead their people to a point where everything goes wrong.