Jack's Transformation In Lord Of The Flies

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In 1971, Stanford did an experiment to see how a person will react to total power over others. They randomly assigned several student participants to act as prisoners, and other to be guards. Guards wore reflective sunglasses and had total control over the prisoners. They watched what happened, and how the participants reacted to the situation. Much to their surprise, the guards became extremely violent, and they had to end the simulation over a week early, after only six days. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, a group of young British schoolboys are stranded on an island by themselves. Without adult supervision, they create their own government, and have to survive on their own. One of the older boys, Jack, does not get elected chief …show more content…
Through Jack’s transformation from a civilized schoolboy to a violent cult leader, Golding demonstrates his belief that all people are inherently evil. In the beginning of the book, Jack’s actions show that he wants to participate in savage behaviour, but his connection to civilization keeps him from it. Once the boys get together and set up a government, they decide that Jack, Ralph, and Simon will go exploring the island. As they go through the forest, they see a piglet stuck in some bushes. Jack raises his knife to stab it, but “there wa a pause, a hiatus...only long enough for them to understand what an enormity the downward stroke would be” (Golding 31). Jack attempts to kill the pig, but he hesitates, and can’t bring himself to do it. Since it is a piglet, it wouldn’t give the boys much meat, so killing it would be useless. HE realizes how enormous the action would be, as he is very …show more content…
In her article, Sunglasses Make You Less Generous, Alice Robb explains how using a mask or even just sunglasses to hide one’s face can cause one to be less giving. Many experiments have been done to determine whether covering one’s face actually makes a difference in behaviour. She summarizes “social scientists have contributed empirical data showing that masks make people more likely to violate rules and norms” (Robb 2). Those who wear masks feel more anonymous, which makes them feel okay with breaking rules. They feel as if their actions cannot be traced back to them, making them less afraid of social judgment. This allows their truer, likely less socially acceptable selves to come out. Jack proves this phenomenon by becoming more violent while wearing his mask. He has trouble hunting, and decides it is because he pigs can see him before he can get close enough to kill them. So, he uses clay to paint a mask onto his face to camouflage with the forest. Once he is happy with it, “he looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger” (Golding 63). A mask like this contrasts greatly with the proper school uniform he arrived on the island in, and wearing the mask helps him distance himself from British society. This may help with feeling “savage” enough to kill a pig, but later proves to make him incredibly
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