Simpsons

After viewing the show in class today, there was one really obvious connection that no one has made yet. Sheri and Teri were quite obviously placed there to represent Sam and Eric. They were twins and, well, thats it. Seriously, though, the overall theme of the book and of the episode were the same. They both implied that human nature is essentially volital and wild. Even before the kids set off on their UN trip, they all got wild and argued. Even in the safety of civilization, they act upon their primal nature. This foreshadows the events on the island, and I can imagine the kids of the book acting similarly at their own homes. The rhetoric of the arguements suggests that people, not just kids, all have that internal tendency to turn savage. It is civilization, enforced by rules and punishment, that suppresses that tendency. That is the message that both the books try to portray. Of course, there are many parallels that are very obvious: Ralph and Bart, Milhouse and Nelson, the conche, the monster, etc. Overall, though, I believe it was the message that was the same. I don't know if The Simpsons was actually trying to portray this message themselves, or if it is just because they are trying to parady the book, but the same idea about human nature is there.