Thursday, February 27, 2014

Discuss the concept of bullying, prejudice or class-based discrimination in chapter one of Lord of the Flies

While we often think of bullying as being physical attacks on a person, this is not the only way to bully a person.  Bullying can take the form of a physical attack, a verbal attack, or intentionally excluding someone from a group.  In chapter one of Lord of the Flies, Jack exhibits bullying behavior towards Piggy. When the boys all assemble on the beach when they hear Ralph blow the conch, they are trying...

While we often think of bullying as being physical attacks on a person, this is not the only way to bully a person.  Bullying can take the form of a physical attack, a verbal attack, or intentionally excluding someone from a group.  In chapter one of Lord of the Flies, Jack exhibits bullying behavior towards Piggy. When the boys all assemble on the beach when they hear Ralph blow the conch, they are trying to establish who is present and who is in charge.  When Piggy tries to get the names of the children who have arrived to the assembly, Jack interrupts, '“You’re talking too much,” said Jack Merridew. “Shut up, Fatty."'  This is when Ralph corrects Jack and tells him that his real name is Piggy. Ralph's motivation can be interpreted to be purely benevolent; an attempt to protect Piggy.  However, his motivation could also be interpreted malevolently as an attempt to impress Jack by also degrading Piggy.  With the latter interpretation, Piggy is a victim of bullying from not just Jack, but Ralph as well.


One defining feature of bullying is that it involves a "real or perceived power imbalance" (stopbulying.gov). This is definitely the case with Piggy.  Due to his lack of physical strength, his appearance, and his self-proclaimed weaknesses of poor vision and asthma, the boys have identified him as the weakest boy in the group and that puts them in a superior position to him.  This power imbalance is what changes the boys' teasing from good-natured to bullying.

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