This thread has a bad smell about it. I am out of here. It just stinks too much for my nose... Bye suckers...
Does that mean you <b>disagree</b> with Golding's message that most humans are inherently savages who will rip off their choir boy uniforms and revert to their natural barbaric state under the right circumstances? If you <i>do</i> agree with this theory, your post makes no sense. (And if you <i>don't</i> agree with Golding's theory, you're beyond naive.)
in the novel, that's what happened but, is that what happens in reality, in white communities? ->no if communities are not a reflection of the nature of the people, then what force is intervening? what about blacks, however? (look at africa and south chicago)
I think when you refer to 'white communities' you're probably thinking of middle class white communities in which the cultural taboos against primitive behavior are sufficient to maintain stability in the population. Primitive cultural attitudes are maintained by chronic desperation, hopelessness and a lack of faith in any potential community standards. Many blacks live in the midst of degenerate cultural environments that discourage the development of mature human beings and that encourage an animalistic understanding of survival. You may argue that the culture reflects the inherent nature of the people in it but this is an oversimplification. An individual may be born with a genius IQ but by way of lack of intellectual stimulation may suffer a genetic shutdown that results in an irreversible diminution of intellectual capabilities. The environment into which you are born has an enormous impact on the extent to which you will realize your genetic potential. The reasons lower-class black communities tend to be degenerate are probably ultimately historical.
Yeah, there's little or no insight into human behavior in 'Lord of the Flies'. That's pretty much agreed upon. I think it would probably be more accurate to say that you don't look for insight into human behavior in books. Isn't that correct?
Judging by the quality of the responses here (epitomized by version77) I think your comments are wasted. We are not dealing with people in whom critical thinking has been nurtured. What do you want to bet that version77 has some black blood in the bloodline and is really, really uncomfortable with it? Extremely virulent racism is often engendered by this circumstance.
Probably the more complex a group's social infrastructure the more fragile it is and the more likely it is to collapse into anarchy and a sub-savage state when a devastating disaster strikes. In the Lord of the Flies case the boys were merely marooned so they were able to pull themselves together pretty quickly and develop a viable primitive social order. The reversion to primitive mysticism was facilitated by their being only boys, not fully conscious of the meaning of their situation. It's good that we are savages at the base level; it improves our chances of surviving disasters. Savage societies are generally governed by straightforward rules of social conduct and a shared interest in survival. The real problems begin when we're pounded down below the savage level - down to level of psychosis or reptilian survivalism by bizarre circumstances such as those that occur in mechanized war.
excuse me. we are talking bout a white person's racist comment here, right? you really think it is a stretch if in such a discussion nazism comes up? are you kidding or just trying to appear smart by quoting something?