When looking at Timon of Athens and the stage production
of The Lord of the Flies, it’s
important to look at the difference between human nature, what we’re born with,
and human sociality. I believe Timon of
Athens is much more of a negative commentary on the social norms and rules
of society, whereas Lord of the Flies
comments on human nature, and how easy it is to turn to savages when these
rules don’t exist.
First, I think Timon of Athens is more condemnatory of human sociality because the
story is set in a sophisticated society, and not on a remote island. The whole
premise also deals with the social norm of repaying favors and gifts that you
receive from friends. But it shows that if these norms aren’t followed, then a
man can go from having everything to having nothing in no time at all. Like in Lord of the Flies, alliances are formed.
To me it seemed like everyone that Timon was expecting repayment from
collectively refused to help him. If one of them were to help him, I’m sure the
rest would too. But that doesn’t happen, like they’re all succumbing to peer
pressure. Kind of like in Lord of the
Flies, when Piggy asks Ralph to not tell anyone his nickname is Piggy, but
Ralph tells them anyways to fit in.
Lord
of the Flies is much more condemnatory of human nature, in my opinion. The
children in the play aren’t accustomed to the societal norms that the adults in
Timon would be, so when these social
relations cease to exist on the island, it isn’t saying as much as when the men
of Athens break them. Furthermore, Lord
of the Flies shows that human sociality and the norms a civilized society
has are thrown out the window when our survival instincts overcome the
standards society sets, or when our id overpowers our super ego. Lord of the Flies is about the absence
of normal everyday social relations, whereas Timon of Athens shows what happens when these relations are broken.
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