Bystander Theory In Lord Of The Flies

Enter the world of an undiscovered island full of running children--the remaining survivors from a plane crash who struggle through their days figuring out how to get rescued. As time goes on the importance of being rescued is forgotten and selfish actions arise. The behavior of the survivors have more in common with psychological theories than just plain savagery. Focusing on three theories--the bystander effect, altruism and the social exchange theory, all connect with the novel and current human issues. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many instances demonstrating the bystander effect: a social psychological experience where an individual, usually placed in a group, is less motivated towards a goal to benefit

Whether it’s volunteering at a homeless shelter, picking up trash or donating to a good cause, these are all examples of altruistic deeds accomplished to better improve the quality of an individual’s life without any selfish grants or gains in return. The same respect goes to Simon, who in Lord of the Flies displays the most altruistic characteristics as he stays true from the beginning and end of the book. Simon, instead of spending his hours in nature like he wants to, remains by Ralph to build shelter, and even assisting in feeding the littluns, finding “fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest...passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands… The littluns watched him inscrutably over double handfuls of ripe fruit”(56). In addition, when Jack gets his first kill Simon gives away his food when Piggy is excluded. Given the points here, Simon is a character in Lord of the Flies that plays an important, yet quiet role. Often represented as an angelic individual who serves others as needed, and isn’t biased. The evidence of Simon’s altruistic deeds is meaningful because children are selfish, yet Simon is the opposite: without bias, he serves sincerely anyways. In the same way, teachers in modern society do the most to educate and help strengthen growing generations, yet they’re underappreciated and underpaid. Like Simon, who should’ve been more respected for the things he did and sacrificed, teachers deserve the same respect as people in higher occupations. In the article “There’s No Excuse for Low Teacher Pay” by Lisette Partelow, a survey concerning teachers displayed that even though the pay is low, the most desired change is the working environment, despite the fact that the average teacher salary hasn’t raised for 15 years--allowing for even workers without college degrees, like truckers and flight attendants, to earn more. “Teachers report that