Stanley Milgram Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

A perfect society can never exist in our world today. Although may seem like one at the start, most societies that try to create a utopia, end up becoming a dystopia. The Stanley Milgram Experiment examines the barbaric nature of humans by testing whether or not ordinary people will listen to those who say they have more “authority” than them and by using small steps of evil to achieve the end goal. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of boy’s land on an island with no parents or rules and end up creating a society. Golding takes these same ideas brought from the Stanley Milgram experiment and reciprocates them in his novel. He takes them to the next level by creating the character Jack, whose ability to take control

For example, when the boys said “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash it in” (Golding 75). This quote basically shows the creepiness of this chant that the hunters are doing as well as the first small step the children of the island take towards evil. This is a major event because there is a lot of foreshadowing in this event because it allows us to predict what might happen to some of the other characters in the novel. But, basically this is just the first small step of evil or the “15 volts” scenario on the Milgram shock board. Another such example, occurs when all the children were wondering “What would a beast eat?...Pig…We eat pig…Piggy!” (Golding 83). Foreshadowing is key to understanding what this quote truly means. This is basically going from the first small step and takes a huge leap to maybe about 300 Volts on the Milgram shock board. Although many small evil acts occur within this time that this major act occurs this still shows small steps. This is because this quote portrays to us the boys are still afraid of this so called beat that roams the island. But basically what makes this quote so special is that the beast eats pig which is very symbolic. This is because the beat represents the children on the island and the pig represents piggy who will later be killed in the novel. But before he is killed a small step that is taken is planning this event of

One example of blind obedience exists in the novel in Chapter 4 when Jack leads a group of boys into the Jungle to go and hunt a pig. These boys get carried away with what the hunt and start chanting “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash it in” (Golding 82). This particular moment in the novel shows that obedience can take over your body Blind obedience is basically doing things unconsciously by just following an authority figure because you feel he/she is doing something morally/legally correct. An example that can be found in the novel is when “Piggy moved among the crowd, asking names and frowning to remember them. The children gave him the same simple obedience they had given to the man with the megaphones” (Golding 18). In chapter 1, of the novel we might question is it natural for children to want to obey rules. Are they just obeying them because it has been beaten into these children as they grow up and mature? Many are still confused why people blindly obey some rules without even consulting their conscience. This blind obedience is what tends to lead to problems for many communities, in this case the island, in the long run. Another example, is when Ralph asserts his power and says “you voted me for chief. Now you do what I say. They quieted slowly, and at last were seated again” (Golding 81). The quote helps us understand another example of blind obedience to a leader who