Changing It Up- LoTF Essay- Autumn Lor

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, a  group of boys became wild and aggressive when being left alone without adult supervision. Would being alone create a person to go insane? Personalities changes the heart of the human because of the heart and the brain are connected to each other and makes new choices. William Golding tries to make the characters go against each other, where they end up killing each other. People can see their “correct” actions as a good idea but can be an act of darkness. Their behavior shows that humans cannot have a set personality and can change based on those around them.

There are two teams on the island and each team represents hunters and those who wants to go home. The people on the island has to pick a team of who they want to be and what best suits their personality. In the beginning of the story, most went to Ralph’s side, who wanted to find a way home, but there is fear present were all the children changed sides to Jack, the hunters. They were not forced physically but mentally threaten where the children thought Jack was the better team. Two boys named Sam and Eric traded sides but still showed affection towards their former leader. “Memory of their new and shameful loyalty came to them. Eric was silent but Sam tried to do his duty. You got to go, Ralph. You go away now” (187). What this shows is how people will go against their side to help those that are not on their team. They understand that it’s not right to help the wanted opponent, but they knew that helping was better than killing them. Darkness can be a dangerous place but will have a better outcome for at least on side of the party.

Looking out into the real world, people have conducted experiments that were similar to the plot line in the Lord of the Flies, where they have two teams. Philip Zimbardo created an experiment called the Stanford Prison Experiment, having two teams; prisoners and officers. The experiment was created to show how fast people would react to living their new lifestyles. Explorable.com explained, “Social and ideological factor also determined how both groups behaved, with individuals acting in a way that they thought was required rather than using their own judgment.” The purpose of this was how people expect to look one way, but doesn’t turn out being the same due the the change in enrollment. The moral values start to be forgotten, but there are a few people who made it out with the same personality just with a different mind set. Being in the a new environment, it can cause people come to desperate times. Although they didn’t make the correct decisions, it helped them in that point in time.  

As the darkness is rising to the surface of the skin, there are ways to bring it down and only shine like the sun. In the middle of the novel, Simon went out of his way to find the thing that everyone feared. People hid from the bad and let the fear roam. Some could say it’s okay to run from fear but better to stand up. Simon came into this new environment scared, yet he was the only one to find the power to go find their unknown fear. “‘You shut up, young Simon! Why couldn’t you say there wasn’t a beast?’..’I been in bed so much i done some thinking… He can’t hurt you; but if you stand out of the way he’s hurt the next thing,” (93). Simon used to be a very shy boy, but the fear has changed him, not becoming into a careless person but to someone could help. The upsetting part is the group disagreeing to go alone with his plan. People around them can affect the final outcome of the choice as a whole group. Their choice of not following Simon’s idea lead them to killing one of their best men.

Killing your own men can lead to vulnerability. Risking a life instead of staying together with more power creates more possibilities of things going wrong. Amy Novotney from American Psychological Association wrote an article about avoiding malpractice and vulnerable. Method #4 is about covering up the vulnerability that is there. She states, “There are many things that can go wrong very quickly with these patients, leaving psychologists who work with them more vulnerable to board complaints and malpractice claims.” The thought of a doctor saying this can be difficult because of several reasons, knowing that things can go wrong at any giving time. Nothing can ever be for sure. These type of experiences can change people. One day, a person could enjoy him or herself. The next, that same person could completely hate being themselves.

Things change, nothing stays the same for as long as it lives or exists. The same is true for humans. People change as they experience new things or learn new things. People reaction when they realize that they might be wrong and need to change their ways. Personality is affected by this new experience and information. Humans, then, do not have a set personality and can change their ways based on events and people.

Works Cited:

Golding, William. Lord Of The Flies. New York: Penguin, 2006.

Martyn Shuttleworth. “Stanford Prison Experiment.” Roles Define Your Behavior. Jun 22, 2008.

<https://explorable.com/stanford-prison-experiment>