Microcosm In Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies dates back to 1954 when a famous novelist, William Golding decided to write a book which could show an unusual version of the human beings. Born into an environment where his mother was a suffragette and later experiencing World War II where human ruthlessness was at its peak, made him better inclined in to writing a piece where he could explain his readers how human beings react in different situations. The setting of the novel depicts a situation where the human behavior is rational. The novel hence persuades the readers to realize the importance of ethics and civilization and how their absence can disrupt the society .Furthermore, the novel shows a negative aspect of the mankind and explains the reason it develops savagery

Have you ever wondered what would happen to a group of young children if they were stuck on an island with no adult? This is the exact scenario that was depicted in William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies. Children from the age of six to fourteen unexpectedly crash land on a deserted island, with no adult to assist them. No one has any idea whatsoever about whether they will be rescued or not. Some of these boys take a step forward to keep order between their minuscule population. One of these main characters is Ralph, a boy no older than twelve year. He had blown the conch shell, which allowed all the boys on the island to find each other. This prompted everyone to elect him as their chief. The way Ralph acts also plays an immense role

War has engulfed humans for centuries. The outcomes of war have either been positive or negative depending on the scenario, however who is the real winner? In the novel, Lord of Flies, by William Golding, conflict leads to chaos because of wanting power. Jack’s unwillingness to abide by Ralph’s rules creates chaos and strips morality from the group. This leads to death and a dark realization that war can only result in mutual loss.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies gives an overall grim and pessimistic view of humans and leadership. Heavily inspired by the events of World War II, psychology, and dystopian fiction, Golding develops these ideas through the characters, which all represent different types of people. The narrator is also used to explicitly state these ideas. In the book, Golding touches upon his views of the masses, leadership, society, and rules. The island, in Golding’s eye, is really a parallel of the whole world and all of society.

Mob mentality is a term used to describe how certain negative characteristics surface when people are combined in large groups (Smith). Mobs usually portray an aggressive image, since people feed off of other’s negative emotions toward the victim of the mob. People were influenced by mob mentality for many reasons. Being apart of a mob alters people’s thinking, since they feel invincible whilst in the middle of a mob (Edmonds). People think that if they are in a group of people they will not be held responsible for the crime being committed (Edmonds). Mob mentality can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. An example of mob mentality in the article, What is Mob Mentality, is when there is a department store sale and loads of shoppers are rushing to the racks, pushing each other out of their way (Smith). This situation could cause snowballing violence and could cause people to get trampled (Smith). In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are a few examples of mob mentality. One of those examples is when the mob of men showed up at the jail to kill Tom (Lee 241). Mob mentality shows how being in a group of people can bring out the worst characteristics of people. Jim Crow and mob mentality are not the only two connections to To Kill a Mockingbird, the Scottsboro trials are as

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a novel that revolves around the concept of civilization versus savagery. The boys argue about points that eventually split the boys amongst themselves. These disputes come up multiple times over the course of the novel. One of which being the fight over the leader of the boys. Some believed the leader should be Jack while others believed it should be Ralph. Ralph was the leader of the civilized group, and Jack was the leader of the savage and bloodthirsty hunting group. Important arguments between the civilized boys and savage boys come up in three important moments throughout the book: when the signal fire is allowed to go out and a boat passes by the island, when Jack leaves the civilized group to create his group of savages, and when the savages steal Piggy’s glasses to make their own fire.

Arthur Miller’s portrayal of a town in the midst of a downfall “The Crucible”, tells the story of how mob mentality and hysteria can significantly influence not only individuals but the whole town. This mob mentality leads to unthoughtful acts and false accusations. Two characters who demonstrate how mob mentality can lead to the demise of Salem are Abigail and Mary Warren. As Abigail begins to be accused she is pressured to deter from the truth. While Mary Warren gets pressured by Proctor to reveal the truth about Abigail, but the overwhelming pressure from the mob makes her turn from the truth. Thus demonstrating how mob mentality can impact an individual and ultimately drive the action of the play. This shows us how one person who starts

“All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.” (Aristotle) In mob mentality people follow what is established. Mob mentality occurs when people forget about their own beliefs and follow what everyone else is doing. Mob mentality occurs in The Lord of the Flies and in To Kill a Mockingbird. A setting with a dictator leadership and deindividuation in the people, is when mob mentality is more likely to occur. Mob mentality in The Lord of the Flies and in To Kill a Mockingbird occurs when people join a group or a mob, they lose their identity and follow the group's actions instead of their own.

Mob mentality is how people are influenced by others to adopt certain behaviors. Mob mentality works, because when people are in a group, they lose their sense of being a separate individual and become deindividualized. As a result, people may participate in activities they typically do not participate in as individuals. For example, when people applause for a performance, others join in due to the fear of being left out. So when they do clap, they feel that they are part of the group, instead of feeling different. In addition, being in a group offers people anonymity, so instead of feeling that only the particular person is blamed for doing an activity, they can blame the entire group, rather than putting all of the responsibility on their shoulders.

William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies is about a group of young boys, aged around 6-12, that crash land on an uninhabited island, and without adults, they fail miserably. In E.L Epstein’s article “NOTES ON LORD OF THE FLIES” Golding reveals in his novel that the flaws in human nature lead to a flawed society; which is seen in society (Epstein par. 3).

George R.R. Martin once said, “There is a savage beast in every man, and when you hand that man a sword or spear and send him forth to war, the beast stirs.” William Golding demonstrates that every person has savagery inside of him in his novel, Lord of the Flies. In this novel, Golding shows us that civilization is lost and savagery begins when the urge to kill takes hold of us. William Golding’s character development of Jack and motif of weapons help develop his point.

Also the lack of a strong leader among the boys of Lord of the Flies leads them to make many savage and wrong going decisions, which compare the concepts of Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan. A quote from Goldings novel, The final scene of “Lord of the Flies” is a hunt of the main character Ralph who is getting chased by the savages once his trusting friends and little boys who were in the same “boat” as him. Now hunting him and trying to harm him until Ralph finds his way onto shore where he and the other boys run into the first adult in the book who is their way off the island. In the novel the mood suddenly changes “The ululation faltered and died away a semicircle of little boys, their bodies streaked with colored clay, sharp sticks in their hands, were standing on the beach making no noise at all (200).” The juxtaposition between the scene and the previous is strong. Where the previous scene featured an intense chase with the savages and Ralph facing almost near death, this scene features all the boys frozen and awkward. Realizing that all the mistakes that they

Stephen King once said, “Every book you pick has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (It is not about the good or bad of the quality of the book but the concepts and themes that it covers). As evil and pleasure are linked together, people learn about certain perceptions. William Golding's discussion about the human nature leaves the reader certain insights and lessons that people have witnessed during the past and further knowledge of how these can be used in the reality. The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding leaves several insights including the potential or influence of power, mob mentality, and the excessive show of greed that can all bring disorder to a society.

Everyone has this underlying darkness within them that is hidden away deep inside the nooks and crannies of their hearts. Golding demonstrates this through the use of his major characters, Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding utilizes character development to suggest the idea that when individuals are separated from civilization, dark forces will arise and threaten unity and harmony.

A community can only thrive when there is a hierarchy to impose rules. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a plane with a group of boys crashes on an uncharted island. The children are stranded without any adult supervision. The group attempts to form an organized society to stay alive and sane. As the novel progresses, they collectively struggle to keep order and they become savages. Golding 's message is that a society falls apart when rules are not enforced and there is a lack of respect for each other.