The Mask In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Golding utilizes symbolism of the mask to depict Jack’s growing savagery attitude toward the population and denial of civilization. “The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” According to the text, it is fair to say that the mask is a representation of evil and Jack’s denial of morality and civilization. “I cut the pig’s throat…There was lashing of blood”. As someone who was hesitant in even stabbing a pig, now vividly describes the gruesome steps he took to slaughter a pig after putting on the mask. In normal contexts, masks would be used for camouflaging purposes. However, in this context, the mask uncovers the savagery within Jack. This is proven in the book because only after he

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 novel Lord of the Flies by William Goulding, body paint is used by the boys to not just appear as something else, but to completely transform into something else. “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered towards Bill and the mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack his, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” With Jacks face paint on, he leaves civilization and becomes savage. The mask hides his insecurities and gives him self-confidence and power. Without the mask, Jack would most likely not participate in these behaviors since he tends to be blushing underneath it, but since nobody sees how he reacts when the mask is on, he continues to act like this. The three colours that he used

Literary devices are techniques often used by authors to portray in-depth analyses of major characters, storylines, and central themes, which take place in a story. These analyses help readers understand a message the author is trying to convey. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses different literary devices in order to demonstrate the boys’ struggle against the lack of society and law on the island, as well as the consequences that have transpired due to this loss. This conflict is evident through the different instances of irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism that occurs throughout the novel.

Symbols in a story allow readers to understand the main message and idea that the author attempts to convey within literature. Often, masks are used to perform, be disguises, and even act as protection. William Golding includes the use of masks in his book, Lord of the Flies. The mask is worn by the ferocious leader Jack Merridew. Jack creates the mask with materials that he found scattered around the island. On his face, he uses black, red, and white charcoal which creates a covering of his face. He uses the mask to become a different being which changes his attitude and changes his conscious. As the novel progresses, the mask terrorizes kids and eventually begins to terrorize the animals and nature that surround the boys. The symbol of the mask in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies begins as anonymity, becomes a protection from guilt, and concludes as savagery.

Similar to William Golding’s idea of mankind, William James, who was an American philosopher, had the idea that, “We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.” This idea transfers nicely to William Goldings’ book, Lord of the Flies, which follows British boys who have been stranded on a deserted island, and now must survive, using their surroundings, as well as their wit. However, it isn’t all smooth sailing for the boys, and eventually almost all of them become savage-like, and disconnected from the outside world. The conch, and the mask are both important symbols in the book, that demonstrate how the boys turn from innocent school-boys to unforgiving beasts, capable of evil.

During the process of making the mask, Piggy’s face shaped more and more into his soul. The mask went from being his physical appearance to being information about his family, what he likes and dislikes, and his fears. Adding to that, some background information about before he arrived on the island. As one can see, of these items portray a happy or sad memory/moment in piggy’s lifespan. Some of the items that I put on the mask represent how others treat Piggy.

Golding used personification to make Piggy’s death an important part of the novel. An example of this device is “the sea breathed again, in a long slow sigh” this quote makes the reader imagine how the sea is moving and gives an inanimate object emotions. The way the sea is describes reminds me of when a mother watches her child be naughty and she breaths a long sigh like she is tired of the child’s behaviour. The personification of the sea makes the sea sound like it is an adult who has watched the boy’s behaviour since they got stranded on the island.

Masks are a covering for parts of the face that are worn for a disguise, pleasure, or to scare people. Greek theatre utilizes masks innumerable times for evident characters in their plays. The actors/actresses who position their masks on, become divergent people. The denotation the boys’ have behind the mask is unique from when they have the mask off. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the mask is used as a disguise from their normal society and civilization. Jack, Ralph and Roger prove that this statement is true throughout the novel. Golding once said that civilization is “the mask which enables the individual to hide his primitive nature.” This illustrates how one will disguise himself as someone or something that triggers their primal nature. William Golding’s purpose in writing this novel is to present to the readers when an individual loses connections with society they can regenerate one's true self to become someone they are not. The masks are utilized by these three characters to shield their nefarious doings. Jack, Ralph and Roger all have measures that delineate the diabolic and shadow within all humanity.

Similar to most literary classics, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies contains allusions to the Christian Bible and character archetypes that convey universal ideas. Golding’s story focuses on a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an island and ultimately succumb to their innate savage tendencies. Literary analysts often compare components of Lord of the Flies to various aspects in the Christian Bible. For instance, the setting in Lord of the Flies is often linked to the Garden of Eden, and some characters are thought to have religious-inspired names. Critics believe Simon’s name originates from Jesus Christ’s disciple, Peter, whose name was originally Simon. Biblical allusions exist throughout the novel associated with

Nearing the end of the book, the imagery of death and human nature becomes very apparent as the mask’s symbolism shifts into savagery. While on the run right after Piggy was brutally murdered by the boys of Castle Rock, Ralph sees a boy who looks like it is Bill, hunting for him. Ralph thinks that this boy looks like Bill, but painted in red and black the boy did not look like a boy,

I chose the topic of this mask, based off the boys improper and confused relationship with Piggy. The theme of this mask, is discrimination. It stood out to me how unfair the boys treat Piggy, they view Piggy as powerless and having no sense of command. It also felt like the boys are confused with Piggy, because of his superego personality. He was raised by adults, and acts like one. This makes Piggy hard to relate with the boys and often leaves them frustated and confused. I feel like everyone once had a time in their life where they felt mistreated, and not having a opportunity to express their point of view. Therefore, we feel meaningless along with neglected, and are overpowered by a group of people which we simply can not overcome.

“Is there worse evil than that which goes in the mask of good?” (Alexander) Evil and cruelty often conceal themselves behind the mask of polite civilization. When the mask is removed, the true savagery is revealed. In William Golding 's dark novel, Lord of the Flies, humanity’s true savage nature is covered by a mask of civility. The group of boys crash onto a deserted island. And in order to survive, the boys attempt to recreate civilization and designate the conch as a symbol of authority. However, when the natural instinct to survive seizes the boys, resulting in the removal of their civilized masks, the savagery inside the boys emerges. Throughout the boys’ adventure on the island, Jack loses his mask of innocence and civility,

Life is a costume party in which some are tricked and others are treated. Imagine a world where one’s true self was hidden behind a series of masks, each mask hiding an individual's specific character flaw, personality trait or even a desire to do harm. Against the backdrop of World War II, uniformed soldiers presented themselves to an enemy as a single mass of camouflaged danger. Each similarly dressed and trained to kill or capture an enemy without feeling any remorse. William Golding’s own involvement during World War II allowed him to experience wearing his own mask while tremendous violence was occurring as he was aboard a Royal Navy boat in 1940. Further, his involvement in the battle of Normandy(France) and the epic struggle on its beaches is reflected in his writing in the lives of young boys who similarly try to maintain order on their own island. Therefore in the same way that a soldier's uniform provides anonymity, the characters in William Golding's Novel The Lord of the Flies wore masks to conceal their true identity, shown when Jack who is civilized put on a mask to become a savage, and when Roger took off his civilist mask to reveal his inherently present inner savage.

Everyone uses masks to free them to do, say or act in a manner that they normally wouldn’t. People use them all the time, whether it is just changing to treat someone a certain way or just needing to be a different way to make a situation better, but can also be used in harmful ways that can be used to compel violence. Masks manipulate us to hide from our true selves, they will make the one who wears one inferior to all others. In the story, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the world is in the middle of the biggest war ever, the power of masks and anonymity throughout this time period establish the terror. They put on these masks to give them the freedom to commit terrorizing acts and have no shame, alike with how William Golding allowed his characters have their power over the others. Golding had his characters apply paint to their faces which then altered the boy's mindset to act in a detrimental way. The mindset these boys obtain leads to many cruel parts in the story, including the killing of other boys on the island. This demonstrates the effect and power of being anonymous that is provided to these blood-thirsty boys. Before Jack and the boys used their masks to release their inner-savage, they were civilized, but having anonymity enables them to kill, not only pigs but other boys.