The mask shows the beginning and the end of the boys on the island. At the beginning they were all together, they feared for the beast together, and worked together. The island is first described with large palm trees, and the boys are smiling and playing. In the end half, the island is burned down, boys are dead, and the boys have become savages. One side of the mask shows the boys together with a shelter, and the possible beasts. The other side shows the boys split with the island crying at all the damage, and there is no longer a beast since they are the beast. The land has been destroyed with the boys who died in the sea, and the once standing shelter is now broken. They are no longer civilized and may have now shown their true
In the beginning of the novel, a group of boys are stranded on an island resulting in the creation and decline of a civilization, and an uprising of savagery. Fear is an essential element of the story illustrated through foreshadowing, symbolism and diction. The young boys are terrified by a beast on the island. With fear rippling through the group, sheer chaos, savagery, a break in civilization, and a loss of innocence ensues.
In the beginning of the novel, Jack’s mask represents hiding from himself and to hide from the responsibility of the real world. Jack is standing over the water when he begins to create the mask out of different colors of charcoal. Once he creates his mask, he sees himself in the reflection of the water, “he began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 64). He becomes a different person and hides from his true self. A sense of anonymity arises to help relieve
Not only does the island ruin the boys' life, it wreaks havoc on their clothes, skin and hair. When the choir boys are first introduced, they sport "black cloaks which bore a long silver cross on the left breast," which, with aid from a "hambone frill," hide their bodies "from throat to ankle" (Golding 16). Their elaborate, conservative attire serves as a visual representation of their innocence. Also, the cross means that they idolize God, a symbol of love and peace, which are values that will soon be forgotten. After being immersed in the vicious world of survival, the boys become savage, which the quote, "Each of them wore the remains of a black cap and ages ago they had stood in two demure rows and their voices had been the song of
Freedom was seen through the boys painted faces – as it liberated them from social conventions and allowed them to become savages. The narrator in the book said in chapter four, “The mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness”. The use of personification about the mask gives it a wild, dangerous atmosphere. Jack is seen changing into something more animalistic, too, free from the judgement of adults on the island and Golding conveys this through anthropomorphism. In chapter three the narrator says, “Jack himself shrank at this cry with a hiss of indrawn breath; and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees.”
Symbols in literature are like the Earth, there are multiple layers until you get to the core meaning. In the novel, The Lord of the Flies, William Golding, utilizes symbols in order to get his deeper meaning across. In a novel about boys isolated on an island during the time period of World War II, Golding shows the outcomes of what isolation can have on a group of people. While trying to get these messages across, the author uses symbols as an aid These symbols range from strength, hope, and fear. One of the most important symbols in the book is Jack’s mask. The mask starts out as a way to help Jack hunt and grows from there. Therefore, Jack’s mask begins as protection from Jack’s own identity, evolves to his strength, and
Paragraph 1- When the Beast is first introduced, it symbolizes a growing fear that is present in all the boys, and exhibits the potential for savagery that exists in every individual. In the beginning, the majority of the boys burst into “laughter and cheers” when the Beast is first introduced as “the snake-thing” (35). The fact that the boys were laughing exhibits the civil behavior that initially lies within the group. As the story progresses, the Beast starts to become a growing concern to the boys as Ralph notes that “things are breaking up. I don't understand why. We began well; we were happy. And then—. Then people started getting frightened [of the beast]” (88-89). The boys’ fear of the Beast begins to separate them from civilization and exhibits the original loss of the boys’ civil behavior. Soon after, the boys—as a whole—start to suppose that “maybe there is a beast [living on the island]” (95). Their consideration of the Beast’s existence
In my opinion The mask is a bad influence to the boys. This how they were introduced to the savagery and all the evil. Which also in my opinion they didn't need any help with the bad influence the island , did enough damage. Their parents shouldn’t have let them go to any island that they didn’t know about. Let alone leave them at a island by their self .
However, in The Mask You Live In by Jennifer Siebel Newsom we get a glimpse of the complicated ideas around masculinity through the narratives and scholarly analysis. The documentary helped shed light on a conversation that has never been talked about before. Particular characteristics considered masculine are normalized in American culture and how this documentary tries to break down the notion that these ideas about masculinity are natural, rather they are socially created, repeated, and enforced. The film provides a first look into the rarely discussed but highly prominent presumption that, in American culture, there is an “ideal” way to be a man. For instance, men hear the phrases, “Be a man,” “grow some balls,” “man up,” “don’t be a pussy,”
The “ beastie” represents the effect of fear on the island because the longer they stay on it, the more frightened they become as they can't discover the reason for their fear. This makes more and more of the boys in the group believe that there actually is a “beastie”. The fear builds and builds on the boys until they are super scared of an animal that isn't even real, but they can't solve the problem they're in (getting off the island) so they blame their fear and problems on a situation they can solve. This solution is killing the beast, because it's what they think their main problem is. In chapter seven they go on a large group hunt for the “beastie”, to either kill it or prove that there isn't actually a “beastie”, this shows how much they have been affected by their fears. Another way the “beastie” is a representation of fear on the island is, because it is driven by the lack of confidence. The roots of fear come from the lack of confidence and belief, once you start doubting what you
Gender roles often have disastrous consequences for people who struggle to fill their assigned stereotype. Last Wednesday, Carnegie Mellon had a special showing of a new film, The Mask You Live In, that focuses on how society’s narrow definition of masculinity can cause more harm than good.
What would happen if a group of British school boys were dropped on a deserted island where they have to choose ultimately faced choosingbetween good and evil? In Lord of the Flies, which was written by William Golding, the that exact situation happened. However, the good and evil would be the choice of being civil or savage. All the boys had a sense of civility when they came from England, but with the help of the character Jack, their civilities get forgotten. In the Lord of the Flies, the thirst for power is shown through Jack who corrupts the boys to savagery. The result of the boys’ cruel actions lead to the deaths of Simon and Piggy and the destruction
The main power of a mask is to change someone’s identity and to transform them into a new person. When Ralph sees Bill, he says that “this is not Bill (183).” The boy behind the mask is Bill, but the mask disguised him and created a new person, a new savage. The mask turns Bill from a normal British boy into a savage. The mask is what Bill uses to become a new person and to disguise himself. The mask gains power because it is removing the boy’s old personality and replacing it with a new, more savage one. When Ralph goes to visit the savages, he sees “Jack, painted and garlanded, sitting there like an idol (149).” Before painting himself, Jack was not chief, but after he masked himself, he is treated like royalty and idolized by all of the other boys. The paint that Jack uses to mask his identity does not change him, but rather creates a new person out of him. He is no longer Jack, but the leader of the group of savages. This is the goal of the mask, to remove civilization entirely. Without
The mask gives the other boys and hope and curiosity in the mask and hoping it can lead them to victory and
The 2015 documentary The Mask You Live In which is written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Lynn Newson, sheds a light on the state of masculinity in our American society. The film which is not yet rated, stars different people, from various racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. These individuals are called upon to share their stories and experiences with what it means to be a man. In company with these real stories, the film also features various interviews with experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media as a way to provide empirical evidence of the film’s point of view on the state of masculinity in the United States. Newsom stated in an interview with Variety Magazine that she drew inspiration to make this documentary after she became pregnant with her son. The film aims to educate parents about how to raise their boys, and targets young men who feel like their feelings are invalidated by society.
When scenes from William Golding’s novel, The Lord of the Flies, have been deleted, the story becomes packed with nonstop fascination. Because The Lord of the Flies is way too long, cuts need to be made. William Golding incorporates many scenes into the book that are unnecessary; therefore, several scenes are to be deleted from the book to bring out the overall importance of the story. However, there are certain scenes that are to be left alone to preserve the meaning of the book about how society falls apart without adults.