Lord Of The Flies Sociological Analysis

After looking at the prompt for this assignment, I had no idea what to expect for I have not read the book. Many of my friends explained that they read the classic book for their curriculum, however I did not have that chance. I chose to watch the 1963 version since this date was closer to the book release, meaning it would most likely be closer to the book (verses the 1990 version). It was clear after watching the film that there are many sociological principles that can be seen within this iconic storyline. The biggest concept that stuck out to me was the creation and total breakdown of social structure. Very quickly into the film, the boys realize the severity of their situation and decide it would be best to elect a leader. Via a vote, Ralph is chosen to be the leader while Jack somewhat decides that the will be the leader of the hunters. With this mock election, the boys created a social structure, which dictates behavior based on …show more content…
Each boy on the island arrived with his own status sets, or a grouping of all the positions that individual holds. They all contained the ascribed status of a young boy, English school child, son, etc. However, it truly was the achieved statuses that set them apart. Ralph earned his achieved status of leader when he was elected. He did not let this achieved status alter who he was as a person. On the other hand, Jack someone declared his achieved status of leader of the hunters. He let this title completely alter who he was, leading to the breakdown of social structure and deviance. In a way, it seemed like social statuses dictated the boys’ roles on the island and how others treated them. For example, due to Piggy’s appearance and lack of social status or standing, he was often treated as the punching bag (getting his glasses stolen, targeted for murder, etc.). It was interesting to see how these statuses impacted behavior on the