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Social Masks In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

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This was a generous semseter in terms of interesting concepts. There was quite a few that I would have liked to talk about. For the sake of time, however, the following were the three topics I found the most thought provoking. They are, respecitvely; the importance of failure, social masks, and the power of unspoken social behavior. I will begin on the importance of failure. This, to me, is an exceptionally important life lesson to teach to students of this generation. With all of the issues our country faces, particularly with student loans and unemployment, there is so much pressure on our students to do well. This message comes with what I consider to be a harmful consequence; the fear of failure. This mindset hinders students from excelling …show more content…

In fact, I found the concept fascinating when taken out of the context in the novel. I found the thought of casual everyday masks that are used every single day. My theater teacher used to say that acting is used everyday of our lives; every little white lie, everytime we try to fit in, every time we act proper in front of the queen. Let's start with the definition of a mask: something that serves to conceal or mask. So, what sorts of mask do poeple hide behind today do free themselves: mentally and physically? Alcohol that is used to inhibit ones self to have a good time, clothing to blend into the crowd to feel accepted, a bullies group of 'friends', the fame of celbrities, even the behavior of lying about how you liked a certain movie all your friends liked but you hated; these are all sorts of masks that people will hide behind in order to feel safe, socially accepted, or powerful. Most of the time people have to take what they are given at face value, but one has to keep their eyes open. There are plenty of terrifying people who would love to hurt you if you gave them the chance that put on masks of their …show more content…

I found this highly impactful for me as a young adult mostly in how I saw the two ways that this was portrayed in the novels. The Joy Luck Club uses this idea that behaviors and character are passed down from generation through generation even with cultural gaps. Parents teach their children social behaviors and norms through everyday unspoken behavior; making The Joy Luck Club's message a positive and if perhaps cautionary. Whereas Lord of the Flies demonstrates the danger of social pressures and how it can lead to a destructions of morality and justice and reason. This is why I thought this topic was discussion worthy. There is so much of my social life that I had never realized encompassed a collective social mind

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