Little boys from the ages of 6-12 display the effects of mob mentality to hide behind their morality. Golding’s experience in World War 2 had drastically changed his view on society and wrote Lord of the Flies to highlight the evils of society. In the book, six to twelve year old boys get stranded on an island with no adult supervision and decide to call a meeting. Ralph, the elected leader, was voted in and lays the framework for their civilized/moral society. He stood for civilization, and attempting to keep a fire up as a smoke signal so they could be found. Jack, a hunter, splits off from Ralph’s group to become another group that stands for savagery, hunting, and eventually outnumbers Ralph’s group. This leaves Ralph with no alleged allies. …show more content…
It's a very important symbol because the chant is always sung after or before or after something is killed. For example, when Jack is describing the story to Ralph of how they killed the pig, and the boys started mimicking the pig and they started to chant. “The pig's head hung down with gaping neck and seemed to search for something on the ground. At last the words of the chant floated up to them, across the bowl of blackened wood and ashes. "_Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood_” (Golding PDF 52). This chant symbolizes how they are throwing away their morality and innocence in return for security and to conform to this higher power, the dangerous mob. The lyrics to the chant, “-Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding PDF 52) is very inappropriate, especially for younger …show more content…
The mob isn’t able to act violently separately, so they rather be brutal together. Jack invited Piggy and Ralph to come and eat meat with his newly formed tribe. Then, after they were done eating, they hosted a dance relating to the pig. “Roger became the pig, grunting and charging at Jack, who side-stepped. The hunters took their spears, the cooks took spits, and the rest clubs of firewood. A circling movement developed and a chant. While Roger mimed the terror of the pig, the littluns ran and jumped on the outside of the circle.” (Golding PDF 117). This can be interpreted as the transformation from civilization to something more primal. In this case, being civilized is to have strong morals. Violence, isn’t permissible in their own weak morals, nor is permissible in the eyes of Ralph (civilization). However, it is permissible under the rules of Jack. If Jack is the leader, then the mob will adapt to his actions. This can be viewed as a domino effect, if everyone else is being violent and uncivilized, I won’t be punished for doing so. In this case, they are being dissolute and not listening to their morals. “While Roger mimed the terror of the pig, the littluns ran and jumped on the outside of the circle” (Golding PDF 117), This shows the littluns letting go of their innocence, to conform to a bigger mentality, the mob’s dissolute
"At once the crowd surged after [him], ...screamed, struck, bit, tore," (Golding 169) these words demonstrate a repercussion of mob mentality. This phenomenon refers to the behaviours that one exhibits when in a group situation or mindset. Besides literature, it can be seen in everyday such as the riots in Vancouver or the short-lived popular trends. But how does this occur in the first place? Well, the existence of mob mentality in the modern world and in Golding's Lord of the Flies both suggest that the situation occurs because people are influenced by by their peers, the environment, and by their emotions.
During the first group meeting while discussing laws , jack says, “I agree with Ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.” This statement is ironic because Jack eventually becomes the most savage out of the boys, leading the group who kills Piggy towards the end of the novel.
they tear apart Simon with their bare hands and teeth, brutally killing him. But that isn’t the end of it. The next day, when the attempt to retrieve Piggy’s specs goes terribly wrong, resulting in the death of Piggy, Jack gives up hunting pig. His hatred for Ralph mixed with his savage thirst for blood drives him to start hunting Ralph. This leads to one of my favorite quotes in the entire book: in Chapter 12, “They were all running, all crying out madly.
Jack knows the boys need food and shelter, yet Ralph and Simon are the ones who build the huts because he would rather try to take a group of boys to be in his tribe of killing. Hunting is the only way they had to eat, however, the way Jack executed this showed mob mentality. After he had a knife and stabbed the pig, he had the boys caper for joy and chant “Kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her
In summary, certain scenes in Lord of the Flies explore the consequences of mob mentality and the ease with which individuals can be drawn into violent behaviors when they remove themselves from their identities by painting their faces, transform acts of violence into something appealing and ritualistic, and conform to a misleader that initiates a mob. The treacherous obscuration of the mob shrouds not only our identities in uncertainty, but also
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.
The true nature of human instincts and evil actions lurk behind the social masks that society forces upon. In William Golding’s fictional novel Lord of the Flies, the author features the alteration of a group of young males who are isolated on a deserted island, projecting their regression from innocent children to killer savages. Golding conveys how effortlessly one's morality can be ripped apart when isolated from civilization which is shown through the savagery and remorse of the group of boys. In chapter 11, the young group of boys dispute on the idea of civilization or savageness being better. Ralph, who stands together with Piggy, fights for the goodness of mankind and believes in orderly conduct as opposed to unlawfulness and killing for fun.
Imagine, you are walking down the street to get to work when suddenly, someone suggests that you all start a riot. Everyone else seems eager to do it, and you do not want to be the one to back out, so you decide to do it too. Fast forward one month, and you are sitting alone in a jail cell. Individuals are found in these types of situations every day, and many can not find the courage to voice their opinion for many different reasons. Mob mentality is defined as the inclination that some humans have to be a part of a large group, often neglecting their individual thoughts in the process (Tech Target).
Ralph even asked “Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?” (Golding 180). Jack and his group of hunters fought Ralph on this idea because they believed food, and savagery was more important than government. The fact that hunting and killing is being argued as better alternitve than unity is disgraceful and shows how detriemtnal this impact truly is on
There is a struggle over power and who has it as Jack was jealous of how Ralph was voted the official leader of the group originally as Jack wanted it, he took his first official chance to become the chief of the kids other than his hunters. Jack doesn’t know how to lead a group full on with all of their burdens and needs and he will surely kill them all in some sort of
The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a book where a group of boys end up stranded on a deserted island; leaving them to form their own society. Ralph goes through a significant transformation of his character throughout the story. He is portrayed as a mature leader, confident, and charismatic. However, Ralph’s experiences cause his character to become more complex. There were many challenges that Ralph faced in the novel.
Unlike the other pig slayings, the pig is ravished and defiled by the boys. A line has crossed here. Not solely do Ralph and Piggy emerge to be maturing, but Jack and his hunters appear to be maturing as well, albeit more darkly and savagely. The sow's head is severed and left to spill blood and guts onto the ground. " 'This head belongs to the beast.'
Synthesis Writing Assessment “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.
Jack proposes that he forms his own tribe.. Within this rebel tribe he suggests that they act only as savages. The temptation to hunt won many of the boys over in favor of orderly society as suggested by Ralph. The two groups of boys reach the culmination of the conflict when logic battles savagery; “ ‘Which is
On the beach, the littluns are in disarray, they scream “...and [blunder] about, fleeing from the edge of the forest, and one of them broke the ring of biguns in his terror. Him! Him!”(168). Furthermore, the literary technique of syntax adds to the theme of the power of fear by portraying Simon’s death as a gruesome and savage, spur of the moment incident through exclamatory phrases, repetition and word choice. The chant reveals the unification of the boys due to a mutual fear.