Microcosm In Lord Of The Flies

A microcosm is a representation of the world on a much smaller scale. Sometimes, this can be represented as an island, where nothing can escape, much like earth itself. In Golding's novel, “Lord of the Flies”,a small group of boys crash land on a desert island. They have no idea what to do at first, but eventually start to build a society. The main characters, Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and Simon often fight, and during their fights, the other children take sides. Each of the groups, instead of acting as separate people, act as one. People have called this mob mentality. Mob mentality brings out the evil in man, as shown when Jack and the choir boys left to make their society, when they killed “the beast” who turned out to be Simon, and when all the

He spies on Jack and the rest of the boys, and gathers information. He finds that he is going to be hunted. Ralph is forced to hide underneath the boulder that crushed Piggy, Jack tries to find where Ralph is hiding by torturing Samneric, but in the end, sets the forest on fire, forcing Ralph to leave his hiding spot. He runs through the forest, past Simon’s clearing, and onto the beach, finding a bush to hide under, trying his best to stay hidden as he sees feet walk past him. He is spotted and runs across the beach for his life. He runs into someone. Not one of the the boys, but a naval officer. (Golding, 183-200). Ralph, alone and afraid. Is a victim of Mob mentality. The other boys, in fear of the beast, have all sided with Jack, ganging up against Ralph to kill him. Mob mentality is everywhere in Lord of the Flies, and some of the most memorable moments are the most obvious examples of Mob Mentality.

Mob mentality is portrayed many time throughout Lord of the Flies, for example, when Ralph is hunted, Simon is killed, or the choir follows Jack when he leaves the group. Reading these sections, the reader can easily understand Golding’s message about mob mentality. It is used for evil, but can be re-made into a force used for