Destructive Obedience In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Have you ever questioned someone’s behavior and wonder what makes them behave the way they do? “Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding introduces a group of boys stranded on an island with no adult supervision which means no rules or authority. The group of boys face many conflicts and complications due to the situation they are in. Their behavior is to blame due to the environment and the situation they are in, however many believe that their behavior comes from internal “genetics” not external the “environment”. A person’s behavior can be influenced by their inner self which comes from our heredity, but in most cases I believe that behavior is influenced by the situation and the environment that is faced.

When the boys are first stranded

Stanley Milgram did a series of experiments to prove that we obey to a higher authority’s command. Lauren Slater states, “He purportedly believed the answer to destructive obedience lay less in the power of the personality and more in the power of the situation” (31). Destructive obedience comes not from our personality, but due to the situation we face. If we are under pressure and an authority is commanded to do something and we see that everyone else is doing it we end up doing it as well. This proves that behavior is not just influenced by the situation, but by obedience to an authority a “chief.” Golding discusses, “The chief led them trotting steadily, exulting in achievement. He was chief now in truth, and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (168). This is an example of obedience, they attack Piggy and the other boys to still Piggy’s glasses but the savage boys were commanded by Jack their higher authority. They were desperate to obtain Piggy’s glasses to start a fire but instead of asking to borrow them they attacked them because they enjoy being violent and disgusting thief’s as Ralph says. The boys are out of control due to the situation they are in there are no rules but Jack’s malicious commands. Slater states, “In the eyes of social psychology, personality—who you are—matters less than place—where you are—and Milgram said he was demonstrating this, how any normal person can become a killer if he finds himself in a place where killing is called for” (45). Milgram states that anyone can become a killer due to the place or situation they are in. The boys have become savages and murders due to the obsession of killing the beast and fear. However, Jack makes them get out of control by commanding them to kill Simon which they do believing he is the beast. Jack becomes a heartless murder after he gets a taste of what killing