Archetype Analysis of Lord of the Flies - 2467 Words

Abstract: William Golding won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1983, for his first writing Lord of the Flies, in which symbolism is wildly used and attributes lots of symbolic meanings to the characters and events. The story thus becomes vivid and profound. This paper aims at using Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung’s collective unconscious and archetypal theories to interpret the archetypes of characters, natural scenes and themes. Key words: symbolism, Lord of the Flies, collective unconscious, archetypal theory 0. Introduction Lord of the Flies is the masterpiece of William Golding. With its medium size, the author exerts his imagination and creativity, and successfully produces plenty of vivid and appropriate symbols, which†¦show more content†¦Thus he matches with the title of being a hero. 2) Archetype of demon The antagonist in this novel, Jack, is the archetype of demon. Jack is described by Golding as â€Å"tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger† (251). His eyes are always used in the novel to depict his emotions, as they are above. His appearance leaves a bad impression on our readers. He seems to be crazy in hunting pigs, which turns worse and worse in a situation far away from the civilized society. Gradually, he becomes an animal without reason, so that sometimes he will disguise himself by the mixture of red, white and black dirt, like a barbarian. â€Å"In the beginning of the story Jack, still conditioned by the previous society he had been a part of, could not bear to kill a pig that was caught in the brush. As the plot progresses he becomes less and less attached to any social norms † (Li Xin 104). As structure breaks down, Jack forms his own separate sect separating from Ralph and the rest of the group. In the end, he breaks Piggy’s glasses and leads the others towards Piggy’s murder. He brings the boys into mass hysteria and eventually hunts Ralph down like an animal. Not seeming to care about being rescued,Show MoreRelatedComparative Analysis Of Brave New World And Lord Of The Flies 888 Words   |  4 PagesWorld and Lord of the Flies: Comparative Analysis on Archetypes Sometimes, societies cannot avoid sacrifice in order to thrive. Unfortunately, the purest individuals often make the sacrifices, not the deserving. Jesus Christ, a common archetype among literary characters, sacrificed himself for His community and people around Him. William Golding and Aldous Huxley’s contemporary dystopian novels reflect a similar theme through their use of archetypes. For instance, both Brave New World and Lord of theRead MoreEssay on The Two Faces of Man Exposed in The Lord of the Flies2677 Words   |  11 PagesThe Two Faces of Man Exposed in The Lord of the Flies  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         William Golding was inspired by his experiences in the Royal Navy during World War II when he wrote Lord of the Flies (Beetz 2514). Golding has said this about his book: The theme is an attempt to trace the defeats of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectableRead MoreHoratian and Juvenalian Satire1884 Words   |  8 Pagesrepresentations of public figures or archetypes of existing groups or modes of thought (Rankin). The characters are made to act in such a way that the beliefs or behaviors the satirist wishes to attack are made to appear evil or ludicrous (Rankin). Juvenalian satirists are generally very critical of their targets. They tend to see these targets as malicious or deliberately harmful to society (â€Å"What’s the Difference†). In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Juvenalian satire is used to mock societalRead MoreLiterary Analysis : An Inspector Calls 2046 Words   |  9 Pageslevel to the level of writing is the level of reading; both reading and writing, as they respond to motives not always available to rational thought, can be illumined by psychoanalytic thought. (Psychoanalytic Criticism) For example, in The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, Jack, throughout the story is shown to be a character with psychopathic characteristics, and his actions show clearly that something is wrong but as many psychopaths think, Jack is not aware of his inner craziness and attemptsRead More African American Culture through Oral Tradition Essays3405 Words   |  14 Pagesproved that they were not, after all an inferior race. The idea of a slave outwitting his master is seen clearly in many old folktales. Virginia Hamilton, a distinguished writer of fiction for children today, published a book called The People Could Fly, which is a compilation of African American folklore stories. One of the folktales in her book reflects the idea that most slaves told stories in which the slave owner would be outfoxed by his slave. The following is a brief summary of the story namedRead MoreAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 Pagespoetry? Good questions! This web page provides a quick overview of poetry analysis. Please note that this handout discusses the basics of poetry; there is much more to know about it than there is room to discuss here. Laurence Perrine s book LITERATURE: STRUCTURE, SOUND, AND SENSE can provide more detailed information about poetry analysis. Until you can get a copy of the book, I hope this page helps you begin your poetry analysis work. What is poetry ? Poetry goes beyond the rhyming of words. TheRead MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pagescreates a sense of quiet, reinforcing the meaning of the line 3. allegory – Where every aspect of a story is representative, usually symbolic, of something else, usually a larger abstract concept or important historical/geopolitical event. Lord of the Flies provides a compelling allegory of human nature, illustrating the three sides of the psyche through its sharply-defined main characters. A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meaningsRead MoreA Picatrix Miscellany52019 Words   |  209 Pagesused in conjunction with the correct constellations, this chapter is devoted to the latter. The author gives a descriptive list of the twenty-eight mansions of the moon, according to the â€Å"Indian† system, and assigns to each its correct talisman. Analysis of the passage shows that it is a compound of â€Å"Indian† doctrines, the tenets of Dorotheus of Sidon (both attested by Ibn abi ‘l-Rijà ¢l) and elements from a list ascribed to Hermes (attested by t he Ihwà ¢n al-Safà ¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢) (pp.14-21). At the beginning of theRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesï » ¿TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS The purpose of Text Interpretation and Analysis is a literary and linguistic commentary in which the reader explains what the text reveals under close examination. Any literary work is unique. It is created by the author in accordance with his vision and is permeated with his idea of the world. The reader’s interpretation is also highly individual and depends to a great extent on his knowledge and personal experience. That’s why one cannot lay down a fixed â€Å"model†Read MoreTop 1 Cause for Project Failure65023 Words   |  261 Pagesprivate and public sectors, I would say that the biggest #1 cause of project failure is incorrect business requirements specification (BRS). You may have the stakeholder buy-in, scope defined etc, but if the project has not performed a proper analysis phase right at the beginning of the execution stage with the milestone of a business requirements specification defined; no matter what you do, the end result of the project will not be done as to what the business wanted. I have had the

Marketing Audit - 977 Words

Explanation of what a marketing audit is: The purpose of a marketing audit is to review and appraise existing marketing activities and to look at the way the marketing is planned and managed, giving the opportunity for a systematic examination of each element of the organisations current marketing activity and achievements, and to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of the organisations investment in marketing. The marketing audit assists in the evaluation of the whole marketing activity, and provides the tools to assess past and present performance to provide a basis for evaluating possible future courses of action. You are able to discover the strengths and weaknesses in relation to opportunities and threats you face as an†¦show more content†¦It will assist in assessing whether the organisation has the required capabilities, structure and resources to pursue market opportunities and improve the market position. Some of the benefits of an audit are to provide an in-depth picture of what you are doing; to spread awareness throughout the business; build internal relationships; improve marketing efficiency and effectiveness; and provide insight into the improvement of marketing planning. The audit will enable senior management to discover the organisations strengths and weaknesses in relation to the opportunities and threats faced in the marketplace, and assist in identifying more effective uses of marketing resources. Practical examples of how a marketing audit can assist an organisation: AstraZeneca –internally they had only 35% recall of messages, so they couldn’t expect any more than 35% customer recall. This was a problem that was identified through a marketing audit that obviously needed fixing. Hiscox – the audit highlighted a gap in knowledge in some aspects of the digital space and also reviewed the reporting process of results and analytics. This led them to change the reporting process, which in turn led to them making their digital marketing campaign more measurable. Hiscox were then able to attribute sales to specific activities,Show MoreRelatedMarketing Audit933 Words   |  4 PagesA marketing audit is not unlike a financial audit in that it helps the organisations to examine progress or lack of process towards the goals. A marketing audit is an evaluation of the marketing within an organisation to see if their strategies in place are effective within the marketing environment. There is an â€Å"internal and external† form of audits. The internal audit assists with considering the effectiveness of the marketing strategies in place at the time of the audit. The â€Å"external† auditRead MoreThe Marketing Of A Marketing Audit2488 Words   |  10 PagesA marketing audit is a comprehensive and methodical examination of a company’s failures and successes in terms of marketing. An audit, evaluates the market environment, the marketing strategies, and the company’s goals to better see where the company may be falling short, and similarly, it shows what is working. In this Audit we will be observing several fields of marketing relative to the Sony Corporation, it will examine and focus on the Marketing Mix, Environmental Analysis, and SWOT AnalysisRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Marketing Audit1229 Words   |  5 Pages1.1 Marketing Audit Marketing audit can be defined as a study, inspection, review and/or evaluation of marketing activities of any company. Basically, it estimates the marketing environment of the company, aims, strategies, and policies of the company. After evaluation of marketing plans and strategies, it has to identify the mistakes, weaknesses, insufficiencies, complications and other issues to be encountered in firm’s marketing purposes. The final outcome of the marketing audit recommends measuresRead MoreMarketing Analysis : Marketing Audit Essay1049 Words   |  5 Pagesviews on Marketing Audit. As we all know, Marketing Audit is a systematic, critical and appraisal of the total marketing operation of the objectives and policies and the assumptions which underlie them as well as the methods, procedures, personnel and organization employed to implement the policies and achieve the objectives. It evaluates mainly three key areas i.e. external marketing environment, internal marketing environ ment, evaluation of current marketing strategy. The marketing audit is a fundamentalRead MoreToyota Marketing Audit1937 Words   |  8 PagesMarketing Audit How to conduct a marketing audit The marketing audit is a fundamental part of the marketing planning process. It is conducted not only at the beginning of the process, but also at a series of points during the implementation of the plan. The marketing audit considers both internal and external influences on marketing planning, as well as a review of the plan itself. There are a number of tools and audits that can be used, for example SWOT analysis for the internal environment, asRead MoreMarketing Audit Report4886 Words   |  20 PagesMarketing Audit Report on Hot n Spicy- Group Case Study Submitted by: Zhang Lin (4341958) Saltanat Yelgonova (4630014) Waqas Nadir (4634305) Sara Al Zaabi (4619961) Sagar Patel (4632618) Submitted to: Dr. Prakash Vel University of Wollongong Dubai 1 Table of contents 1. Executive summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Introduction to the restaurant industry ..................Read MoreMarketing Audit Process4717 Words   |  19 PagesTHE MARKETING AUDIT PROCESS How is a marketing Audit conducted? We recommend that the following simple three-step procedure be followed when carrying out a marketing audit. 1. Setting the Objectives and Scope The first step calls for a meeting between the student (the auditor) and a company officer(s) to explore the nature of the marketing operations and the potential value of the marketing audit. If the company officer is convinced of the potential benefits of the marketing audit, he andRead MoreMarketing Audit of Bic7918 Words   |  32 PagesMarketing audit BIC * INDEX 1 MARKETING STRATEGY AUDIT 4 1.1 Business Mission 4 1.1.1 The company’s mission, vision and values 4 1.2 Marketing Objectives and Goals 5 1.3 Strategy 6 2 Product strategy audit 8 2.1 BIC’s product mix 8 2.2 The product lines and their augmented level 14 2.2.1 FAQ 15 2.2.2 Contact us 15 2.3 Comparison of BIC’s product mix with its 2 main competitors’product mix 18 2.4 Expansion Strategies 20 2.5 Areas that need improvementRead MoreMarketing Audit Sample3854 Words   |  16 PagesMarketing Audit Sample Marketing Audit: BAE Systems Regional Aircraft Division Overview of BAE Systems Regional Aircraft and Market â€Å"BAE SYSTEMS has a proud heritage that dates back to the early days of manned flight and wireless communications.† (BAE Systems, 2011) BAE Systems Regional Aircraft was a major manufacturer of aircraft such as the Avro family of regional jets including the 146 and the Jetstream 31 and 41 as well as turbo prop aircraft. These aircraft achieved much success especiallyRead MoreMarketing audit of Nike3562 Words   |  15 PagesMARKETING AUDIT PROJECT ON: SUBMITTED BY: ANOOP KHURANA -2012081 SHASHANK MAKKAR -2012*** MANRAJ SINGH SANDHU-2012136 OJASWI SHARMA-2012154 SUSHANT SHARMA-2012156 INDEX SR. NO. CONTENT PAGE NO. 1 INTRODUCTION 2 2 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS †¢ ECONOMIC †¢ CUSTOMER †¢ COMPETITION 3 MARKETING ASPECTS †¢ OBJECTIVES †¢ STRATEGIES †¢ TACTICS 6 4 4P’S

History Of The Hells Angels - 1163 Words

History of the Hells Angels The Hells Angels were originally a band of military aircrafts that flew over the skies of Europe during the Second World War. The men that served in the Hells Angels were some of the most prestigious and recognized pilots in the history of the military. However, the name now associates itself with one of the most infamous biker gangs that was established by San Bernardino back in 1948. The name has been so tarnished since, that once we hear it, all that we can think about is motorcycles, drugs, alcohol, guns and violence. It began as an idea where motorcycle enthusiast would join together and care for one another at the initial indication of trouble such as a family would. The leaders of the club would recruit prospects and evaluate over a large period of time to determine whether or not they would stand by their new brothers and forever support the organization. Over the years as the Hell’s Angels continue to expand, they found themselves on the antithetical side of the law for numerous reasons. Furthermore, with their growth they found that the ties to the organization itself were strengthening to the point of which if any affiliate of the Hell’s Angels experiences an encounter the Criminal Justice System, every single Angel is anticipated to provide aid in some fashion. This can range from acquiring bail money for the individual or employing a legal professional to combat the charges. The ideology of family is the foundation upon which theShow MoreRelatedThe Tragic Fall Of Satan From Heaven And The Downfall Of Doctor Faustus770 Words   |  4 PagesThe tragic fall of Satan from heaven and the downfall of Doctor Faustus embrace a similar course. Satan was once the most powerful and superior angel in heaven. But because of his pride and arrogance, He trusted to have equall d the most High (Milton, Book 1.1720. 40). Satan waged war against heaven and God, but was defeated and Hurl d headlong flaming from th Ethereal Sky... To bottomless perditi on... and penal Fire (Milton. Book 1.1720. 45-48). Similarly, Doctor Faustus held a higher statusRead MoreDr. Faustus as an Allegory897 Words   |  4 PagesApril 9th 2013 Allegorical Findings in Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, or in simpler terms Dr. Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe is said to be based on the German legend of Faust, in which a man sells his soul to the devil for hierarchy and knowledge. No Elizabethan play outside the Shakespeare canon has raised more controversy than Marlowe’s tale of Dr. Faustus. Although there is no agreement concerning the nature of the text andRead MoreHell In John Miltons Paradise Lost : Hell1034 Words   |  5 PagesLost: Hell Term Paper Hell has a very long history; it comes up even before Christianity where the idea of hell has been mentioned across many different cultures. Over the period of many centuries, the concept of hell has changed and developed. To further understand John Milton’s description of hell in his poem â€Å"Paradise Lost† it would be a good idea to look at what the standard notion of hell in Europe before or during the 17th century. When looking back at the middle ages in Europe, hell was thoughtRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1071 Words   |  5 PagesGod and his Angels reside. It is atop all creation as a figurative Throne. Representative of the hierarchy of the Universe. Chaos- The fathomless void that separates Heaven and Hell. This chasm is what was before God created light. Earth- Where Eden is, where mankind lives and also the cause for Satan’s jealousy. God gifts his Son Earth and Satan grows envious. Hell- The lowest of the low, here Satan constructs Pandemonium, his demonic castle. From here he plots, with his fallen angels, the downfallRead MoreSatan, Beelzebub, El Diablo And The Old And New Testament1713 Words   |  7 Pagesright hand angel and then he tried to exalt himself to the same level as God and in turn got cast out of heaven along with his followers, one third of the angels. This sentiment is often restated in the new testament with one of the most striking passages being Revelation 12:9 â€Å"The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.† This places Satan now on earth, not in hell like mostRead MoreThe Tragic Downfall of Faustus in Tragical Histor of Doctor Faustus921 Words   |  4 PagesThe Tragic Downfall of Faustus in Tragical Histor of Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe’s Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is about a man who seeks power that comes from knowledge beyond the human realm. Throughout the story, the seven deadly sins are shown and have an impact on Dr. Faustus during his search for ultimate power. However, it is one of these vices of the seven deadly sins that plays a particular and key role in his demise. Pride, creates Dr. Faustus’ inability to repentRead MoreExploring Spirituality in Angels in America1472 Words   |  6 Pagescoming professionals. In his play, Angels in America, Tony Kushner uses religious imagery and biblical references to help his characters find meaning in modern America as well as a means for convincing the audience that prophecy is possible in secular times and to help illustrate the age-old struggle between religious morals and sexuality in the twenty-first century. Tony Kushner, who is of Jewish descent, utilizes Christian and Mormon ideologies in the writing of Angels, but Judaism is by far the mostRead MoreGood Vs Evil Essay1198 Words   |  5 PagesMarlowe’s complex play, The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, implores readers to evaluate the theological concepts of good versus evil. This play tells a story of an educated man who signs a deal with the devil in order to be on the same level as a God. Through this journey, Faustus fights with himself over the implications of his actions and becomes scared of his impending damnation. Despite a breach of contract, Faustus should be damned at the end of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus based on theRead MoreSatan in Paradaise Lost and Dantes Inferno1138 Words   |  5 PagesParadise Lost one should note that a reoccurring theme of: â€Å"its better to rule in Hell then be a servant in Heaven,† (Milton.I.263) makes a few significant points regarding make aspects into the neo sis of Satan, but more so the appearance of Satan. The line in itself causes one to believe that he hath experienced both dominions in the physical and may further lead us to the pathogenesis and origins on this fallen Angel. However Milton gives us a contrasting view of the Devil compared to Dante. â€Å"HeRead MoreCharacteristics Of Satan In Paradise Lost906 Words   |  4 PagesEpic tradition has existed long throughout the history of literature, built around the concept of the hero—the protagonist whose talents and admirable characteristics propel them to conquer an impossible task. In the case of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan exists as the protagonists of Milton’s epic, seeking revenge on God for punishing him to the depths of hell for leading a revolt against heaven. However, although Satan’s actions are villainous and sinful, his tale follows that of the traditional

Sundiata/ Things Fall Apart Essay - 1236 Words

Andrea C. Mathis Dr. T. P. Mahadevan Introduction to Humanities I 21 October 2014 Revised: 1 December 2014 Make Believe Creatures Historically Africa has been partly constructed by journals, books, etc. written by white hand. It is believed by many that one cannot truly talk about the land, unless they have lived the land. Two particular novels and oral epics that depict this perspective, the perspective of the colonized, are Things Fall Apart, written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, and Sundiata by author Djibril Tamsir Niane. At the end of Things Fall Apart, the District Commissioner, who was the British colonial administrator put in place to govern the Igbo society, is shown writing a book he plans to call the Pacification of the†¦show more content†¦Not only would the British colonial showcase how the natives were unprivileged, but also how they were savage. In seek of revenge, Ikemefuna had been residing in the Okonkwo’s household and after three years must now be killed. The oldest clan elder of Umuofia seeks Okonkwo and tells him, â€Å"that boy calls you father, [so] do not bear a han d in his death†. Okonkwo disobeys the advice from authority and joins the party to kill Ikemefuna in fear of appearing weak. His actions are too close to killing a kinsman; which leads to the importance to Okonkwo how he is perceived to the clan that he will exhaust all levels of savagery even if it means violating tribal laws. Gender roles played a crucial part to the understanding of the people of Umuofia; especially to Okonkwo. But just as in today’s world, one person of a group cannot define the entire group, it was the same back then, which further proves how the District Commissioner’s view of Umuofia would not represent the entire clan, let alone Africa as a whole. Okonkwo’s motivation behind his views of patriarchy stem from his father Unoka; he wanted to be such a great man of the tribe, unlike his â€Å"agbala† of a father. Okonkwo’s son â€Å"[n]woye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell, and which she no doubt still told to her younger children†¦but he now knew that they were for foolish women

BoysGirls Club Free Essays

The Boys Girls Club has opened my eyes to many opportunities. This is a safe place where parents can drop off their children or child when they have to go to work. Every day after school I go the Boys Girls and I have so many things I could do. We will write a custom essay sample on BoysGirls Club or any similar topic only for you Order Now Such as playing sports in the gym, and even swim in the indoor swimming pool. The Boys Girls club has a teen center where I always have someone to talk to like friends, counselors, even staff members. I have been a member of the Boys Girls club since the third grade. I used to like coming to the club but now I love it even more. The club is where I can study and do my homework. I have many interests I’m involved with such as the torch club, mentoring, and previously in apprentice. These activities help me get involved with the community as I grow up. For example the torch club helps me keep the earth clean by recycling, helping the elderly, and giving food and other items needed by people. The mentoring program helps me improve my learning skills for any subject. They help with homework, tests, quizzes, and have fun with you like a best friend. The club means a lot to me as you can see and I’m pretty sure other kids think the same way. I think I am very lucky to be part of the club. I will always keep the club in my heart because their like my second family. I have been a member for 5 years and I think this place is sweet. The club is a great place to be. That’s what the Boys Girls club means to me. How to cite BoysGirls Club, Essay examples

Art attack Essay Example For Students

Art attack Essay The show ended at San Franciscos Theater Rhinoceros one February night like any other. The audience applauded and went home; the cast washed up and headed out. One actor, pleased enough with his performance in a variety of roles in Joe Pintauros Wild Blue among them, a gay uncle making amends with an estranged niece and a gay actor with a younger lover left the theatre around 10:30, and within a couple of blocks was attacked by four men. Faggot! they screamed, as they punched and kicked him. He appeared on stage the next night with 20 stitches in his head. Incidents of violence against gay men and lesbians rose 31 per cent last year, with nearly 2,000 cases reported, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). Many more incidents go unreported. In one community survey, one out of four gay people said theyd experienced physical abuse; three out of four said they had been verbally abused. Across America, gay-bashing has become a sport. On warm weekend nights, young men fill their trunks with beers and baseball bats and drive into gay neighborhoods, where its open season on queers. Experts explain that typical bashers men between the ages of 15 and 25 are acting out of profound anxiety about their own sexual identity. Gays are achieving more visibility and a modicum of political power: gay rights legislation in Americas largest cities and several states; gay caucuses in churches and synagogues, some of which are ordaining gay and lesbian clergy; graduate students writing dissertations on gay and lesbian themes hoping to get Ph.D.s, and later jobs, in gay and lesbian studies. And in response, homophobes compensate with personal enforcement. They lash out, as if their own sexual insecurity and a perceived threat to their privilege could be beaten into oblivion. Things have gotten so bad in some neighborhoods of San Francisco, says Adele Prandini, artistic director of the gay and lesbian Theater Rhinoceros, Im getting letters from people saying they can no longer come to our theatre because they dont feel safe. A few weeks after the Wild Blue actor was attacked, a gay man was beaten unconscious on the same corner. Hes been in a coma ever since. Public response to such crimes, gay activists charge, ranges from discreet sympathy to utter indifference. The press has often been reluctant to report the gay-related aspects of bias crime. In New York, an anti-bias crime bill has been languishing in the state legislature for years, vehemently opposed by the Republican majority because the bill dares to define gay-bashing as a hate crime. Public schools have caved in to pressure from local religious institutions, refusing to include homosexuals in curricula aimed at combatting prejudice. Indeed, the NGLTF, releasing its annual report on gay-bashing in March, blamed political, religious and entertainment industry leaders for fostering a climate of homophobia in which violent assaults are tolerated and in some cases, even encouraged. This is the real trickle-down effect, Prandini says. The violence outside our theatre happens, in part, because anti-gay hatred is being fanned by people in power. The Vatican, for instance, in its 1986 l etter on the pastoral care of homosexuals declared, People should not be surprised when a morally offensive lifestyle is physically attacked. For gay men and lesbians working in the arts and by extension, all gay men and lesbians this second epidemic reaches beyond beatings outside bars and slurs snarled on streetcorners, to an aggressive strike against their most fundamental rights of expression. The infamous pledge on National Endowment for the Arts applications, for instance, equated homosexuality with obscenity, at the very time, says performance artist Tim Miller, when the need for representation is crucial to the ecology of gay and lesbian life. Little theatres in small cities (the very spaces that would surely be lost if the NEA were to close down, or decide to fund only the Metropolitan Museums and Boston Philharmonics) often must remove the funding credits on programs for Millers performances; still, audiences, especially young audiences, flock to his shows, he says, desperately needing to see images of ourselves other than the monstrous serial killers Hollywood keeps offering up. Of course, homophobia is nothing new in American culture, and the current melee can only be understood in the context of a wider onslaught a retrenchment, really against irreversible changes in Americas population, workforce, family structure and values. Gays, as during the purges of the McCarthy era, remain an acceptable target, especially as they represent, in conservative corners, a nexus of menace: subversive art, rejection of the nuclear family, repudiation of traditional gender roles and now, AIDS. Bashers take swings in a vain effort to stave off change. Presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan has, at least figuratively, wielded the bat himself, blaming gay men for AIDS and calling the virus divine retribution on an immoral lifestyle of a pederast proletariat. Most notoriously, he has bashed gays as a means of attacking the NEA. In this instance, the powers that be have been far from indifferent: They have joined the mob. Last February Buchanans campaign aired a television commercial in Georgia that showed frames of dancing men from Marlon Riggss elegiac film Tongues Untied while a voiceover charged President Bush with wast our tax dollars on pornographic and blasphemous art too shocking to show. Did the President (or any other candidate) publicly reject such a crass appeal to prejudice? No. Politicians make a cold if erroneous calculation that they will lose votes if they champion gay rights, says Urvashi Vaid, executive director of the NGLTF. Buchanans incendiary statements must be challenged by political leaders, but get attent ion only from the gay and lesbian community. Instead, the President responded by dismissing John Frohnmayer as chairman of the NEA, which had indirectly contributed $5,000 to the film about black gay men. Its a mistake, however, to blame Buchanan alone for forcing Frohnmayer to resign. Frohnmayer had been the target of a two-year campaign by Vice President Dan Quayle and then White House chief of staff John Sununu, who wanted to bulldoze the NEA into institutionalizing content-based criteria for arts funding; meanwhile, the justice Department actually suggested that the NEA remove from its mission statement a clause saying that every citizen of the United States is guaranteed freedom of expression. At the same time, the new, nationally organized, high-tech grassroots organization, the Christian Coalition, led by evangelical minister and 1988 Presidential candidate Pat Robertson (who supports Bush over Buchanan this time around), inundated the White House with petitions in February coincidently, just as the Buchanan ad was aired calling for the ouster of Frohnmayer. Certainly, none of these threats to the integrity of the NEA could come as a surprise. Since 1980, when Reagan first proposed dismantling the NEA altogether, the agency has remained an embarrassment to the Republican White House. As with so many other issues a voucher system for parochial schools, affirmative action rollbacks Reagan introduced a proposal that seemed too far out for congressional support. But the Bush administration, often egged on by sensationalist campaigns by the radical Right, has brought these proposals into the realm of respectable discussion, and the longer theyre discussed, the more legitimacy they seem to acquire. With each incremental gain dissent becomes more difficult. Without making a big claim for a causal connection, one may ask whether a climate in which the public has come to accept government restrictions on certain kinds of expression when it comes to art makes, for instance, the Pentagons ability to control news coverage of the Gulf War that much more acceptable. In the ongoing debate  over the National Endowment, proponents of arts funding have emphasized free-speech guarantees in arguing against content-based restrictions. In a stirring speech after his dismissal about Sen. Jesse Helmss attempts to prohibit the NEA from funding obscenity, Frohnmayer himself stated, All of us in government are sworn to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and for two-thirds of both houses to have voted for the last Helms language, which would pass constitutional muster on no level, in my view violates that oath. But artists embroiled in the controversy, as well as gay and lesbian critics and activists, have been frustrated by the arts communitys failure to recognize, name and renounce the homophobia driving attacks by Buchanan, Helms, American Family Association head Donald Wildmon and others. Playwright Tony Kushner points out that arts community leaders dont sufficiently acknowledge the extent to which gay and lesbian artists have been prime targets of the anti-art frenzy. Whats more, instead of understanding how gaybashing sets an acceptable ground for arts-bashing in general, activists explain, mainstream artists have often tried to distance themselves from the work under fire, arguing that most NEA money funds unobjectionable work, such as symphony orchestras and ballet companies. Many are fond of quoting a statistic showing that of the 64 cents each American taxpayer contributes to the NEA each year less than paltry to begin with only .02 cents goes to potentially controversial art. As actor Christopher Reeve told a crowd of some 2,000 rallying in New York against NEA restrictions in 1990, Were not fringe; were mainstream. This line of argument misses the point. For one thing, as performance artist Holly Hughes puts it, That so little money is spent on controversial work, work that challenges our complacency or that makes us look at whats going on in the world, is not something to brag about. For another, it just doesnt wash in Protestant-ethic America. Theres a longstanding mistrust of artists who represent, in our national tradition, the antithesis of all thats encompassed by the phrase traditional family values the cornerstone not only of campaigns of Buchanan, Helms and Wildmon, but the platform on which the American electorate put Ronald Reagan and George Bush in the White House. Artists are traditionally thought of as bohemian, explains Zelda Fichhandler, artistic director of the Acting Company and of New York Universitys graduate acting program. The arts permit maverick styles of living you dont have to have a house and two children to live in the arts world. So were considered nonconformist, nonconventional, even frivolous. Commenting on the pro-Nea mail coming from his constituency last year, one Congress member remarked, Most of my favorable letters are coming from actors and artists and very few from real people. Its no wonder artists arent counted as real people. According to an NEA report developed under Frank Hodsolls chairmanship, only nine American states require art classes in high school; more than 80 per cent of Americans have had no lessons in visual arts, ballet, creative writing, art appreciation or music appreciation. In Cincinnati in 1990, of 50 prospective jurors being considered for the obscenity trial of the Contemporary Arts Center, which had exhibited Robert Mapplethorpes photographs, the New York Times reported, only three had ever been to an art museum. With the examples of contemporary Western Art, as EssayThe U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the law was, indeed, unconstitutional, but when the case moved on to the Supreme Court, no majority decision was reached. With Justice Powell absent due to illness, the Court was divided four-to-four, which meant that the ruling reverted to the Appeals Court decision and was therefore thrown out. Echoing one of Platos and later antitheatricalists biggest objections to actors, arguments supporting the statute focused heavily on the idea of role models. Just as Plato warned that art threatens the state by acquainting the public with evils that otherwise remain in the world of dreams, advocates of the Oklahoma law worried that pro-gay teachers, straight and gay alike, might give innocent pupils wicked ideas that would otherwise never occur to them. The Supreme Court hearings were a very scary moment, recalls Hunter, who attended the oral arguments in 1985. This should have been a blindingly simple First Amendment decision. It was amazing that four Justices could find those kinds of restrictions on speech to be constitutional. A year later, in Bowers v. Hardwick, the Court, in upholding Georgias anti-sodomy laws, ruled that the right to privacy does not extend to gay men and lesbians. Indeed, the Court opinion explicitly stated that certain sexual acts were no business of the state when performed by consenting heterosexual adults, but could be deemed illegal when engaged in by partners of the same sex. Thus gay and lesbian expression of the most intimate kind was officially excluded from constitutional protection. Describing or depicting such relationships, then, could easily be banished to a realm beyond the compass of the First Amendment. Certainly the aids  epidemic has brought these issues to the surface, as it has increased the visibility of gay men, for better and for worse. If a centuries-old association has linked gays to the arts, a simple syllogism of popular understanding now links the arts to AIDS. Crudely put, the reasoning runs: Arts=Gays; GAYS=AIDS; therefore, ARTS=AIDS. Never mind that this hysteria-driven logic is based on stereotypes and incomplete information, it goes a long way toward explaining the rancor toward art that deals with sexuality. Antitheatrical tirades over hundreds of years have often used disease imagery to denounce the dangerous contagion of the stage. Most virulently, the 17th-century English Puritans railed against the Elizabethan playhouses as hotbeds of impurity and contamination, both literal and figurative. As illness itself was considered a moral sentence, a sort of physical manifestation of evil inclinations, disease and blasphemy were wrapped up together in harangues against the theatre. Perhaps the most extreme example of the periods countless pamphlets calling for abolishing theatre (which was achieved with the closing of the playhouses in 1642) was William Prynnes Histriomastix (1633), a venomous and voluminous diatribe whose repetitious and remonstrative rhetoric prefigures that of Jesse Helms so precisely, its tempting to think that the North Carolina senator has studied it. In the extended title alone Prynne fulminates, That popular Stage-playes (the very Pompes of the Divell which we renoun ce in Baptisme, if we beleeve the Fathers) are sinfull, heathenish, lewde, ungodly Spectacles, and most pernicious Corruptions; condemned in all ages, as intolerable Mischiefes to Churches, to Republickes, to the manners, mindes, and soules of men. And that the Profession of Play-poets, of Stage players; together with the penning, acting, and frequenting of Stage-playes, are unlawfull, infamous and misbeseeming Christians. He filibusters on paper in this manner for hundreds and hundreds of pages. Some 300 years seem to vanish when Helms stands on the Senate floor waving this or that federally funded abomination or obscenity, instructing women to leave the room, describing how ill he feels at even contemplating such filth. Repeating this now trademark and highly theatrical trope, Helms has wagged Mac Wellman scripts, phone sex ads, Mapplethorpe photos, Public Broadcasting videocassettes, and has called for the banning of them all. One of the first props Helms brandished in what has become encore after encore of outrage, was a safe-sex comic book published by Gay Mens Health Crisis. In the battle over this audience-specific manual, AIDS and gay expression converge, and the question of government funding for objectionable material is played most blatantly in this double context. The controversy over the GMHC booklet, says Cindy Patton, author of Inventing AIDS, came at the end of a longer struggle between community health agencies and the Centers for Disease Control. In its first grants to community-based organizations for educational materials, the CDC included a line taken from obscenity law stating that any material produced needs to conform to community standards of decency. Some gay and AIDS activists objected, but there was little fuss surrounding this demand until the mid-80s, when the Los Angeles County Board of Health pulled a pamphlet on how to clean intravenous drug works saying it would be offensive to people who saw it. Suddenly it became clear that the community standards in question did not belong to the community to whom a publication was addressed, but to anyone who might come across it. In debates on every Aids-education funding bill that followed, Helms was able to attach riders prohibiting federal funding of any material that promotes ho mosexuality or promiscuity. His success stems from labelling such a pamphlet pornographic. You use that word, says Holly Hughes, and its like a blanket of panic has been thrown over the work that keeps you from seeing whats going on from seeing the lifesaving value of safe sex education, or, in the case of labelling our performances pornographic, from simply seeing what the work is like. According to Patton, Helmss ability to establish this obscenity precedent within public health added a pseudo-scientific basis to a more general queasiness about queer expression. I dont know if anyone ever said that Mapplethorpe is depicting things that cause AIDS, but there was already a public health doublespeak in place for imagining that. In terms of the NEA debate, Patton adds that people who defend the generally mainstream nature of the art the agency supports, talk about how this inappropriate art slipped through the cracks. Theres a tacitly homophobic implication in this image bad art snuck up from behind and buggered us. On a deeper level, theres a metonymic structure whereby public health concerns are available as a kind of justification: If obscene art can slip through this way, theres the possibility of other transmissions. It all adds up to a grand teleology: If degenerate art continues, it will end with everyone getting AIDS. Such degenerate art poses other threats as well, threats that have been decried throughout the centuries of antitheatricalism, and that are particularly tangible at this moment in American history. As borders dissolve, or are at least disputed, across the globe, the boundaries by which people situate and define themselves also enter a state of flux. The only boundaries people can rely on, it seems, are those delineated by their own skin. People steel themselves in gender divisions a major American preoccupation these days, as the abundance of scholarship and performances involving cross-dressing suggest. Confronting homosexuality challenges the certainty of such divisions, however, and calls into question the only distinction that seemed sure. Of course, theatre has always been a place of border-crossing, of transgression, as Plato and so many after him recognized. Attacks on theatre were most vicious when it flouted borders of sexuality, the most flagrant threat to the social order. In Histriomastix, for instance, Prynne charged theatre with impugning the moral precept of each individuals absolute identity. God, he rants, hath given a uniform and distinct and proper being to every creature, the bounds of which may not be exceeded Hence he enjoynes all men at all times to act themselves, not others. Its no surprise that much of what Prynne and his cohorts take issue with is the practice at the time of boys playing women, and of sexuality run amok. The category of homosexuality wasnt really available to them as a concept, explains Jonathan Goldberg, author of the forthcoming Sodometries, an examination of the spectacle of sodomy in the Renaissance. But its clear that theyre objecting to men having sex with each other, to a category of debauchery that violates certain limits. The current attacks,  says Michael Kahn, artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., are not about art. Theyre about sexuality. And thus as Kahn knows because hes currently directing Measure for Measure theyre also about government. As Michael Wamer, author of Fear of a Queer Planet, sees it, America is caught up in a deep cultural struggle over what democracy means. Will it be defined by the conservative view, which sees the highest possible degree of agreement among state, media and public opinion and implicitly, the arts as its greatest achievement? Where having more than 90 per cent of the populace supporting the Gulf War is seen as a sign of a good democracy? Or will we have a democracy defined by the greatest separation among state, cultural production and media, with little emphasis on mainstream or majority views? Where diversity flourishes? This is the question being waged on the battleground of the queer body. Artists are apt to lose if only because we tend to prefer the latter idea of democracy while insisting were full participants in the former. Artists are incredibly stupid about politics, suggests Tony Kushner. One reason Wildmon and Helms are so successful is that theyre right: The arts in this country do represent a largely liberal humanist viewpoint. You cant do a pro-Klan play in a resident theatre without everybody quitting. But were unwilling to articulate our ideology, to say: |Yes. This is what we stand for. Its the human way to be. In Measure for Measure the unruly polis is turned over to a law-and-order government, which tries to impose strict restraints on rampant sexuality, source of joy as well as transmitter of disease. Its clear enough that Angelos absolutist reign is cruel and ineffectual, though Shakespeare, naturally, doesnt offer any solution other than the ordering and restorative powers of theatrical art itself.