"Telly" from Matilda the Musical related to Lord of the Flies and Human Nature
I noticed, when watching the song, that the "telly" is similar to the boys home, the one they dream of going back to. The island the boys in Lord of the Flies are stranded on represents all struggles or, as Mr. Wormwood would say, reading a book. I see that Mr. Wormwood represents a "typical" human, wanting to go the easiest way, and thinking he or she's right. When Mr. Wormwood says "All I know I learnt from Telly, what to think and what to buy." it shows how the boys only knowledge comes from the world they were in before the plane crash. They were influenced by their lifes, similar to the thoughts in the Geography of Thought. "Endless content, endless channels, endless chat on endless panels! All you need to fill your muffin, without havin' to really think or nothin.'"Like many humans, the song stresses the fact that we think we have "endless" resources, so we can choose the easiest way out, and there will be no consequences. We also sometimes think that being the most fortunate, we are the best, "The bigger the telly, the smarter the man!"
Mr. Wormwood has many of the characters combined in him. He does have a Piggy side, he is saying some very clever things, but he doesn't realize the deeper side. He is also trying to get everyone to follow him, (towards the end he says, "All together now!") which is similar to Jack, and also Ralph. Before the song begins, Mr. Wormwood says, "Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you today the pinnacle of our achievements as a species. The very reason we bothered evolving out of unicorns in the first place." While we may think we are smart, there's so much more than on the cover.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood use the word "somewhere" for the first word of their numbers. This shows that, like the boys in Lord of the Flies, they don't know exactly what's going on but they infer based on their previous experiences. Sometimes the inferences aren't accurate but there's no one to tell them that, just like there was no one to tell Roger that throwing rocks at people isn't morally right. When there's no restrictions, things get out of hand.
This connection is really good Phoebe! I watched the show and movie of Matilda and when you brought up how there is a connection of Matilda's plot to the boys wanting to go home is really good. When you brought in how Mr.Wormwood has different sides of him it also is a good connection to what we have talked about in class and that under each person there are different sides towards them. Who do you Matilda represents?
Phoebe, Great observations! Especially in your last paragraph, although it was a clear observation, it showed a very significant point. I like how you said that "they infer based on their previous experiences" because this is really exhibited through Golding's writing and all of the memories and flashbacks. In some parts, Golding will take quite a bit of time out of the story's plot to describe their past experiences, so I think it's great you were able to connect to that through a song! Great post! :)
I think that your point of Mr.Wormwood having many of the different characters inside of him relates to how Mr. Kersten said that we all have a little bit of them all inside of us. Your other point of saying he is a 'typical' human in comparison with your other point just mentioned before, reminds us that no matter how crazy and scary the boys actions on the island are, when put together, we are made of all those characters combined.
This connection is really good Phoebe! I watched the show and movie of Matilda and when you brought up how there is a connection of Matilda's plot to the boys wanting to go home is really good. When you brought in how Mr.Wormwood has different sides of him it also is a good connection to what we have talked about in class and that under each person there are different sides towards them. Who do you Matilda represents?
ReplyDeletePhoebe,
ReplyDeleteGreat observations! Especially in your last paragraph, although it was a clear observation, it showed a very significant point. I like how you said that "they infer based on their previous experiences" because this is really exhibited through Golding's writing and all of the memories and flashbacks. In some parts, Golding will take quite a bit of time out of the story's plot to describe their past experiences, so I think it's great you were able to connect to that through a song!
Great post! :)
I think that your point of Mr.Wormwood having many of the different characters inside of him relates to how Mr. Kersten said that we all have a little bit of them all inside of us. Your other point of saying he is a 'typical' human in comparison with your other point just mentioned before, reminds us that no matter how crazy and scary the boys actions on the island are, when put together, we are made of all those characters combined.
ReplyDelete