Lord of the Flies: Bullying
Similarities of Bullying How long has bullying been around? Bullying has lasted for decades now. It takes no effort to see that in the timeless novel Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, bullying is expressed throughout the book in many different ways. The three forms of bullying readers witness throughout the book consist of verbal bullying, physical bullying, and relational bullying. Although Lord of the Flies takes place nearly sixty years ago, from Golding shows readers that bullying hasn’t changed much in these past decades. One form of bullying that Golding expresses throughout the Lord of the Flies is physical bullying, and Golding expresses this form much like how it is used today. Golding shows readers that the characters, Jack and the Bigun’s are created to represent “bullies” throughout the novel, who pick on the Piggy and the Littlun’s physically. When Jack lets the signal fire burn out, gets into an argument with Ralph, and Piggy jumps in and adds his input to the situation, “‘ You didn’t ought to have let that fire out. You said you’d keep the smoke going--’ This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters, drove Jack to violence…He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach. [Jack’s] voice was vicious with humiliation…Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks,” (Golding, 71). This shows readers that Jack bullies Piggy physically by punching him and he does this because Jack feels humiliation and maybe a decrease of the power he holds. This is significant because in the article Why Do Kids Bully?, by Byrne, the author lists factors that may contribute to possibility of why children bully in modern days. One of these factors that relates to the reason why Jack abuses Piggy can relate to , “Some aggressive children who take on high status roles may use bullying as a way to enhance their social power and protect their prestige with peers,” (Byrnes). This
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