Masculinity In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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Almost every man has probably toxic masculinity in say way shape or form. This can be saying “you won’t” or “Man up” to get someone to do something. I have experienced this with my friends when we want each other to do something stupid. Although masculinity in moderate amounts can be good for a community. It can promote the growth of a civilization, it also may help a leader come out and take charge. Toxic masculinity is a whole other ball game. Toxic masculinity does not help a community in any way because it creates conflicts among men, that can stall progression. Many times this can cause a community or civilization to fail. This was demonstrated in the book Lord of the Flies. It especially shows through in times of great stress, or when …show more content…

This was demonstrated in the book Lord of the Flies when Jack and his tribe went to take Piggy’s glasses from Ralph and the others. “Then there was a vicious snarling in the mouth of the shelter and the plunge and thump of living things”(Golding 167) a fight pursued piggy glasses or the “power” on the island. The fact that Jack decided to fight to try and be dominant. It was like Jack felt like he was forced to fight, and be masculine, to get some respect and power. Jack thought that to get what he wanted he would have to fight to get it. When they did this it made Piggy mad, and further aggravated to dislike between Piggy and Jack. Piggy wanted to take them back by force which would eventually lead to more violence. When they went back to get Piggy's glasses that just lead to more violence, “Ralphs temper blazed. ‘I say! You voted me for chief. Don't you hear the conch? You played a dirty trick- we’d have given you fire if you’d asked for it…’ Jack made a rush and stabbed at Ralph’s chest with his spear”(Golding 179). After being accused Jack probably felt offended and instead of talking about it he wanted to fight. This is the type of thing that comes with toxic masculinity. It makes people want to fight instead of just talking. He wanted to show that he wouldn’t take disrespect from people. It was this encounter that probably stopped the two clans from being peaceful with each other. The fact that they were all …show more content…

His accent betrays him… a self-styled true American vigilante shoots Raisuddin in revenge for 9/11”(Giridharadas). With this, there was no chance of both sides coming back together. This stalled the reunion of Americans after the attack. It made everyone dislike the others more. If the 9/11 hadn’t torn the country apart enough then this would do it. Now everyone had a reason to hate each other. Instead of talking about it and trying to understand other people the man just decided to go out and should others. They may have been able to make friends, but instead, people got shot. Toxic masculinity can also stall progression within yourself. Just as Rebecca Walker, a writer, and activist, found out with her son. It affected him, because “My son could compete and score, perform and win, or be an outcast, or worse, invisible his unique gifts for unnoticed and unharvested”. This conflict was fueled by the social perception that created some toxic masculinity. The way for boys to get ahead is to go play sports and be really good. This can stall creative progression in a civilization. It would make everything physical and we wouldn’t have art or any other creative works. It would make a society much less intellectual. Creativity does not have very much social worth in the realm of

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