Identity In Lord Of The Flies Essay
Painted Faces and Long Hair
Civilization separates humans from animals and allow them to develop intelligence, however when civilization disintegrates, one's identity degrades and consequently, one resorts to a primitive nature. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, degeneration of society results in the loss of identify because of the dispossession of names, deterioration of physical appearance and the deviation of personality.
First of all, degradation of civilization propagates the loss of identity because of the dispossession of names. The majority of the boys in the island have names or titles to identify with, although after the events that took place in the novel, some are left without the identity that they entered the island with. …show more content…
When the boys are introduced to the island, they are all still in clothing of civilians, come the end of the book the boys are transformed to mere shadows of what they once were. At the outset of the narrative the boys are described as “dressed in school uniforms; grey, blue, fawn jacketed or jerseyed. There were badges, mottoes even, stripes of colour in stockings and pullovers” (Golding 19). The author describes the boys in uniforms to convey the collective naïveté of the boys and that they still have their identity. In time as the boys fracture into two factions, Jack’s tribe embraces the degeneration of civilization evident in Jack looking at his painted face and realizing that “He looked…. no longer at himself but an awesome stranger” (Golding 69). The masks “liberated [Jack and his tribe] from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 69). The facepaint, essentially, is an instrument use to strip Jack’s loyal followers of their identities willingly for Jack’s primitive despotism. Dissimilarly, Ralph's conch group attempts to maintain one of the only connections they have to civilization, their physical appearance. Ralph suggests they “ought to come [their] hair” and wash (Golding 190). Although they soon take notice that they cannot because they have come to a realization that the grime is part of
Civilization separates humans from animals and allow them to develop intelligence, however when civilization disintegrates, one's identity degrades and consequently, one resorts to a primitive nature. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, degeneration of society results in the loss of identify because of the dispossession of names, deterioration of physical appearance and the deviation of personality.
First of all, degradation of civilization propagates the loss of identity because of the dispossession of names. The majority of the boys in the island have names or titles to identify with, although after the events that took place in the novel, some are left without the identity that they entered the island with. …show more content…
When the boys are introduced to the island, they are all still in clothing of civilians, come the end of the book the boys are transformed to mere shadows of what they once were. At the outset of the narrative the boys are described as “dressed in school uniforms; grey, blue, fawn jacketed or jerseyed. There were badges, mottoes even, stripes of colour in stockings and pullovers” (Golding 19). The author describes the boys in uniforms to convey the collective naïveté of the boys and that they still have their identity. In time as the boys fracture into two factions, Jack’s tribe embraces the degeneration of civilization evident in Jack looking at his painted face and realizing that “He looked…. no longer at himself but an awesome stranger” (Golding 69). The masks “liberated [Jack and his tribe] from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 69). The facepaint, essentially, is an instrument use to strip Jack’s loyal followers of their identities willingly for Jack’s primitive despotism. Dissimilarly, Ralph's conch group attempts to maintain one of the only connections they have to civilization, their physical appearance. Ralph suggests they “ought to come [their] hair” and wash (Golding 190). Although they soon take notice that they cannot because they have come to a realization that the grime is part of