One form of bullying that Gilding expresses throughout the Lord of the Flies Is physical bullying, and Gilding expresses this form much like how It Is used today. Gilding shows readers that the characters, Jack and the Bison’s are created to represent “bullies” throughout the novel, who pick on the Piggy and the Litmus’s physically. When Jack lets the signal fire burn out, gets into an argument with Ralph, and Piggy Jumps in and adds his input to the situation, “You didn’t ought to have let that flare out.
You said you’d keep the smoke gold–‘ This from Piggy, and the walls of agreement from some of the hunters, drove Jack to violence… He took a step, and able at last to hit someone, stuck his fist into Piggy’s stomach. Jack’s] voice was vicious with humiliation… Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks,” (Gilding, 71). This shows readers that Jack bullies Piggy physically by punching him and he does this because Jack feels humiliation and maybe a decrease of the power he holds. This is significant because In the article Why Do Kids Bully? By Byrne, the author lists factors that may contribute to possibility of why children bully n modern days. One of these factors that relates to the reason why Jack abuses Piggy can relate to , “Some aggressive children who take on high status roles may use bullying as a way to enhance their social power and protect their prestige with peers,” (Byrne). This shows that Jack is truly abusing Piggy, after he has been embarrassed in front of everyone, in order to keep a firm grasp of his power he has over the other children on the Island.
Another example of physical bullying being enforced In the novel takes place when Roger and Maurice harass the Litmus’s. On he way back to the beach after their duty for keeping an eye on the signal fire, “Roger led the way straight through the [sand] castles, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones. Maurice followed … Percival began to whimper with an eyeful of sand… Len his other life, Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand. Now, though there was no parent… Maurice still felt the unease of wrongdoing,” (Gilding, 60).
This shows significance because Maurice feels that he Is able to basically do whatever he Likes because he can’t receive any enmeshment from adults. This is also a factor that contributes to the reason children bully, according to Why Do Kids Bully? , by Byrne. The fact that these examples can relate to these factors, they provide evidence that Gildings illustration of bullying has not altered. Another form of bullying that Gilding illustrates in the Lord of the Flies can be referred to as verbal bullying. In this case, Piggy Is again, another victim of Jack.
Readers see that Piggy receives the name “Fatty” and gets Interrupted while scared. Yah-?Fatty! ” (Gilding, 45), muff would, would you? Fatty! ” (71). Gilding uses his example to show readers that teasing and getting picked on is awfully severe within the life of Piggy, simply because of his weight. According to National Crime Prevention Council, in the article Bullying: Information and Resources to Help Prevent the Serious Problem of Bullying, victims of bullies, “Often singled out because of a perceiver difference between them and others, whether because of appearance (Size, weight, clothes)… (NCSC, 1). This quote explains that someone who stands out from the normal crowd because of the way he or she looks, in the eyes of a bully, makes it fair enough reason to tease and pick on that person. Gilding creates Piggy as an outcast who has asthma and who weighs more than the other boys, thus making him an easier target for bullies such as Jack to verbally abuse him such as calling him “Piggy’ or “Fatty’. Besides the personal appearance of a person, the amount of knowledge they have may also be a factor to the likelihood of someone bullying another.
Gilding doesn’t Just create Piggy as an overweight boy, but also provides his character with knowledge greater than any of the other boys. This creates issues regarding name calling and mockery towards Piggy. In the sass, a similar incident regarding name calling and verbal abuse occurred, and it is written in the article At Last, Facing Down Bullies (and Their Enablers) by Peers Class. Class explains how a young boy wins a prize at the science fair and wants to continue on his path of science by participating in a multi-school science fair.
Class explains that the issue regarding teasing, Jostling, and occasionally beating, occurs within the student simply for winning a prize from the science fair. Even though the year that this incident took place isn’t as modern compared to articles of 2012, it still points out that Gildings ay of expressing verbal bullying can be comparable to dates closer to our present day and the concept hasn’t changed one bit. Both Piggy and the boy who wins the science fair receive harassment from peers for the amount of knowledge they have and plainly because they stand out more from a regular academic crowd.
This proves that the way Gilding expresses this type of bullying is very much the same as bullying is expressed in modern times. Last but not least, the final form of bullying Gilding expresses in the book is relational bullying. We see this form expressed through Piggy. Towards the beginning of the book right after the first meeting on the island was held, a group of hunters form that consist of Ralph, Jack and Simon. When Piggy wants to go along with the “hunters” too, he is denied. No good on a Job like this. ‘ ‘All the same-?. We don’t want you,’ said Jack, flatly. ‘Three’s enough,” (Gilding, 24). Clearly, Gilding is foreshadowing and letting the reader know that throughout the novel, Piggy will be somewhat left out from that specific group. The “hunters” leave out Piggy on purpose, almost certainly because of his appearance and knowledge. Another model of relational bullying being expressed throughout the novel arises between Ralph and Jack. When Ralph and Jack first get to know each other, their relationship appears to be strong and they believe they can run the island by themselves.
However, as the story progresses, readers see that Jack craves for more power over the people on the island, thus causing conflict between him and Ralph, who everyone on the island refers to as the ‘head chief. When Jack finally has enough of Ralph being chief, he and also makes Ralph look bad by say negative things about him. This shows that Jack betrays Ralph and states false things about him to embarrass him in public. It patently conveys relational bullying within the two characters, Ralph as the victim, and Jack as the bully.
In today’s society, this example can be looked at as a clique and how one may act. In a case such as this one, a member turns on another member because a challenge to either the values or the leadership of the group exists, as stated by Dry. Harebell-Walker in Click of Clique: Positive and Negative Tee Social Groups. This proves that Gildings use of bullying throughout Lord of the Flies appears to be very similar to bullying that exists in the present day. To sum everything up, Lord of the Flies, by William Gilding involves three main types of bullying.
