Mob Mentality In Lord Of The Flies

The Power of Mob Mentality
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "When a hundred men stand together, each of them loses his mind and gets another one." In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the group of boys gradually succumb to mob mentality as their rationality and individuality fades away, starting an uncontrollable first fire and involving themselves in the brutal killing of Simon and hunt for Ralph until it paves the way for the disastrous consequences of their actions.
The success of the group's first fire on the island proves to be a critical turning point in the boy’s behavior on the island as it marks the start of their gradual decline into mob mentality and reckless behavior. After Ralph declares their plans for rescue, the boys eagerly

Isolated from the rest of the boys, Ralph recognizes the boys’ new behavior as he states, “they were savages, it was true, but they were human” (185). This reveals how the boys have regressed to their primal instincts, which is shown by the use of the word ‘savages”, while the phrase “they were human” also indicates how they have lost their sense of humanity in the process. Their willingness to commit violence against Ralph, who was once their friend and leader, further exemplifies their behavior under the influence of mob mentality. In Ralph’s desperate attempts to escape from the boys who have turned into a bloodthirsty mob, he realizes that he is no longer facing a group of rational individuals but rather a mindless and violent entity that has abandoned all sense of morality. After bursting through his now given-away hiding spot, Ralph runs through the swinging savages and onto the beach. As he staggers to his feet, he looks around and comes to his senses: “the island was scorched up like dead wood-Simon was dead-and Jack had… The tears began to flow...Ralph wept for the end of innocence and the darkness of man’s heart” (202). In their pursuit of Ralph, the boys abandon their sense of morality and individual responsibility, instead becoming part of a mob that only desires to kill one of their own. Their loss and

Together, the boys share the success of their first fire, which becomes the catalyst for their decline into mob mentality, leading to increasingly reckless and violent behavior that ultimately culminates in the brutal killing of Simon and the hunt for Ralph. Through their experiences and descent into savagery, we can see how easily our own sense of morality and humanity can be lost when faced with the temptation to surrender to the mob. It serves as a warning about the dangers of groupthink by illustrating the importance of maintaining one’s own moral compass and individuality in the face of group pressure as surrendering to the mob can only lead to devastating