grade three thinkers

Uncritical - are people who do not examine and question things.

Aggressive - Like an animal, people from this level will become hostile or more likely to attack if
they feel that their comfort zones (beliefs, prejudices and perspectives) are threatened.
Instinct "feeling rather than thought" - reliance on emotion and prejudice. Blindly believing
whatever you have been taught or told.
Conformity - grade three thinkers are most likely to be people who join the bandwagon.These
are people who "like sheep" go with the flock and submit themselves to people in power.
Mr Houghton - one of the teachers of golding who was more described as a hypocrite who
often contradicted everything he preached such as living a healthy life while being a drunkard,
and having a sexless life and too much focus on work but is easily distracted by a girl walking
down the corridor.
Leopard - one of the statuettes. The leopard is the only statuette that is incapable of thought
and hardly relies on instinct/feeling which is full of unconscious prejudice, ignorance and
hypocrisy. The leopard best suits the previous descriptions gathered throughout the essay as
the best character that symbolizes grade three thinkers.

grade two thinkers

Detection of contradiction – in grade two thinking, people are able to identify flaws and
contradictions but lack the initiative and drive to come up with solutions and alternatives. These
people know how to criticize without providing solutions to their criticisms.
Vulnerable – Even if grade two thinkers already have thoughts of their own and know how to
question things. Their thoughts are still vulnerable/weak from being influenced by grade three
thinkers (leopard)
Ruth – flees/left speechless after she and Golding have a religious argument. She detects a
contradiction in her beliefs and doesn’t know what to do.
Destructive – Grade two thinking is destructive by nature. Golding remarks “Grade-two thinking
destroys without having the power to create”. It can shred and question ideologies and beliefs
but cannot build one itself.
What is truth? - Pontius Pilate coined the infamous “What is truth?”, Golding categorized this
as a grade two thinkers act where one can only question something without giving an extra
effort to find out the answer.
Venus de Milo – represents grade two thinkers through the depiction of her statue. Venus is
aware of her falling robe but lacks arms with which to put it back.
grade one thinkers
Radical – Grade one thinkers are people who engage in deep thought and comes up with
solutions, ideas and alternatives and putting these into action. One example of radical thinkers
are people who join and support movements for social and political change.
Change – Grade one thinkers are the people who leads change. If taken in the positive light,
these are the people who has greatly contributed to the advancement of humanity in sciences
and the arts such as Michelangelo, Newton, Einstein etc...
Independent – Grade one thinkers do not rely on anyone. Grade one thinkers are not
influenced or easily controlled by people because they have solid foundations of what they
believe in and can engage in meaningful discussion.
Brave learners – Grade one thinkers are people who are not afraid of learning. These kinds of
people welcome new knowledge with a critical approach. Brave learners tread the dangers of
going outside their boxes.
Einstein – One of the most influential and brightest humans to have ever existed. Professor
Einstein came in contact with Golding where they both broke their language barriers in order to
communicate in their very brief moment together.
Rodins Thinker – represents grade one thinkers. Locked in an eternal stance of deep
contemplation, the thinker symbolizes people who consistently hungers for knowledge and are
in search of their own personal truths. People who do not only seek to discredit that which is
wanting, but to discover that which is good.

The essay of Golding outlines his entire thinking process and its development from his early
years as an ignorant, careless student into his seemingly grade one level position as a person.
It outlines the growth and maturity of his mind and perspectives in relation to the statuette’s
symbolism of the three grades of thinkers. From his first encounter of the Venus de Milo, the
leopard and the Thinker which was arranged based on the headmaster’s perspective of how life
is, we can see how William Golding develops his understanding of the statuettes throughout his
essay and maturity later in life.