Saturday, January 19, 2013

What are some quotes throughout Lord of the Flies that represent bullying on the island?

There are numerous scenes throughout the novel Lord of the Flies that depict the boys bullying each other. Piggy, the heavy-set character with glasses, is by far the most bullied child on the island. In Chapter 1, Piggy mentions to Jack that he got most of the boys' names, and Jack says, "You're talking too much...Shut up, Fatty." (Golding 21) Throughout the novel, Jack bullies Piggy every chance he gets. In Chapter 2,...

There are numerous scenes throughout the novel Lord of the Flies that depict the boys bullying each other. Piggy, the heavy-set character with glasses, is by far the most bullied child on the island. In Chapter 1, Piggy mentions to Jack that he got most of the boys' names, and Jack says, "You're talking too much...Shut up, Fatty." (Golding 21) Throughout the novel, Jack bullies Piggy every chance he gets. In Chapter 2, Jack rudely snatches Piggy's glasses off his face to start a fire, and when Piggy suggests that the boys be more careful the next time they build one, Jack says, "You're always scared. Yah---Fatty!" (Golding 45) Later on, Jack breaks Piggy's glasses by slapping them off his face. Jack continually interrupts Piggy when he attempts to speak during assemblies, and even steals his glasses to start his own fire towards the end of the novel.


However, Piggy is not the only child subjected to bullying. Simon is called "batty" and laughed at by the boys throughout the novel. In Chapter 4, when the boys are eating the pig Jack killed, Simon gives a piece of meat to Piggy. Jack slices off another piece of meat and throws it at Simon's feet and says, "Eat! Damn you!" (Golding 74)


In Chapter 4, Maurice and Roger bully the littluns who are building sandcastles on the beach. Both the hunters run through and destroy the littluns' sandcastles.



"Roger led the way straight through the castles, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones. Maurice followed, laughing, and added to the destruction." (Golding 60)



Even the littluns throw sand in Percival's eyes throughout the chapter.



"Henry and Johnny were throwing sand at Percival who was crying quietly again..." (Golding 67)



Jack not only disrespects Simon and Piggy but also bullies his hunters. In Chapter 7, the boys begin to mess around and pretend that Robert is a pig. The boys go too far and begin to stab and hurt Robert. This moment depicts all the hunters bullying one child.



"The circle moved in and round. Robert squealed in mock terror, then in real pain. "Ow! Stop it! You're hurting!" (Golding 114)



Golding conveys the boys' gradual descent into savagery by depicting them bullying one another as the novel progresses. Without boundaries and restrictions, the boys have no respect for one another and bullying becomes prevalent on the island.

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