Lord Of The Flies Mob Mentality Analysis

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William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’ is a text that shows how society and mob-mentality causes the boys in the text to decent into savagery. Set during a futuristic war; it's about a group of British boys who crash land on an uninhabited island, with no adults present they are left to fend for themselves. At first they follow the rules of ordered society however as time passes on the island the boys become subject to mob-mentality and drift into savagery. The author has used the novel as a microcosm of society to show how in given circumstances anyone can give into the darkness within them that a beast lurks inside all of us. The author shows this through the boys in the novel, especially jack who is first to decant into savagery and from …show more content…
I can sing C sharp” which shows his self obsessive behaviour but he loses this position to Ralph when Ralph “Who wants jack as chief...Who wants me?” the boys seeing the conch in Ralphs possession choose Ralph, the conch becoming a symbol of ordered society and democracy. Here Golding highlights jack's self obsessive behaviour by saying “the freckles on jack's face disappeared under a blush of mortification” Ralph noting jacks displeasure makes jack the leader of hunters(his choir) which appeases jack for the time being . This is the start of the rising conflict between the two, however Ralph offers a hand of friendship by offering the role as leader of the hunters/his choir which satisfies Jack for the time being. Once Chief Ralph calls assemblies, establishes rules for the boys to follow, and organises the boys. He organises for a signal fire to be built and also shelters. This shows that the boys are acting responsibly and rationally. However, as time passes on the island, one by one, the boys starting with jack begin to prioritise their own desires over what needs to be done for instance jack lets the signal fire out in chapter 4, because he was too busy completing his desire to hunt a pig as a consequence a ship passed by without noticing the
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Chapter 7 Lord Of The Flies Mob Mentality Analysis

In Chapter 7 of Lord of the Flies, Golding symbolizes mob mentality by Ralph’s loss of innocence. For example, when the group surrounds robert, “Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it” (Golding 114). This passage shows that even the most innocent give into mob mentality when others are participating in it. This shows Ralph’s loss of innocence by portraying him as hurting one of his own. Furthermore, an individual doesn’t have to be violent…

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