Psychology In Lord Of The Flies

A Glimpse into the Magistrate of the Musca Domestica Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a book about a group of young school boys who end up stranded on an island alone. Throughout the course of the book, you see the characters turn from the civilized children they once were into violent savages. They become bloodthirsty and harm others simply for the thrill of it. In a couple of instances, they even go as far as to brutally murder two of the boys. How can such an innocent group of youth plummet into such a state of disorder? There are many factors that may have contributed to this dramatic transformation, and the study of social psychology helps us to sort through some of the possibilities. When the boys first arrive on the island, the effects of the civilization they were once a part of still bear a heavy influence upon them and their first movement of progressive action is to elect a chief and hold meetings. However, as soon as these meetings begin to be held there is an obvious social dilemma. A social dilemma, according to Stephen L. Franzoi, “is any situation in which the most rewarding short-term choice for an individual will ultimately cause negative consequences for the group as a whole” (388). In the case of Lord …show more content…
There are many, many more that help shed light on possibilities and contributing factors as to why and how young school boys can travel down to such a dark place as to be able to justify murder. Mainly, the main overall concepts that help us untangle the minds of these once innocent youth are the concepts of group behavior, aggression, and social influence. Each plays a different part in the gradual degeneration of the minds of these boys, all working towards Golding’s ultimate goal of demonstrating how a lack of civilization and other things destroys you