This is just a short post about another earlier symbol in The Lord of the Flies. Primarily on page 63-64, we see how Jack "planned a new face". At first, he starts to add to his own face, who he already is, by drawing markings. But somehow, this isn't what he wants. He wants to be another person, someone he can be for a short time, and then switch back to his true self. It sounds like a great escape, but how long can that last? The moment Jack puts on the mask, he is "astonished", "looking no longer at himself, but at an awesome stranger". Yet, Jack is transforming behind that mask. The others are "appalled" and Jack's "laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling", showing just how quickly this transformation occurred. If it happens so fast, what's to say he even is transforming? Maybe this is who he's been all along. Another line shows us this isn't necessarily who he truly is. Jack is making a conscious choice to be "liberated from shame and self-consciousness" by wearing the mask. He could just as easily take off his pre-existing mask to show who he really is. Perhaps Jack wears the mask for power. Without it, he is recognized as authoritative, but his faults are clear. When he hides, there is no chance of failure. The boys will follow him because "the mask compelled them".
The scary thing about Jack's mask has to do with eyes. In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the guards wore dark glasses to hide the humanity in their eyes. When Jack wears the mask, his eyes can be seen exactly the same as they have always been. He is becoming the mask he wears. The longer you wear a mask, the more it becomes who you are. It molds to your face because you let it.
I'd like to recommend a book called An Ember in the Ashes by Saaba Tahir. Although the primary themes don't relate exactly to The Lord of the Flies, the topic of masks is a huge element of the story. I found myself making connections between characters and the masks we hide behind in both stories.
Julia,
ReplyDeleteThis is a fantastic post! I really love this connection that you made. I actually made a speech about hiding behind masks at my Bat Mitzvah.
I can also add a connection to this. There is a movie called "The Mask" starring Jim Carrey, and in this movie every time he wears the mask he becomes someone else and he actually blames it all on the Mask.
Fantastic connection.
Sara,
DeleteThat's a great connection for a connection to Julia's post! The movie 'The Mask' is quite an accurate add-on to her idea. In the movie, the dog also wears the mask. Something I realised when reading your comment is that the dog also does really bad things to the baby when he's wearing it. This relates to the worldview question; are we fundamentally good or evil? When were hiding behind these masks, we can do whatever we want as no one knows who we are. The question is whether we decide to do good or bad things with that power of them not knowing which shows our fundamental state. This connects to an even bigger industry in TV and movies which is the superhero category. We often see these superheroes wearing masks and costumes that hide their true identity. Interesting.
I think that is a really good blog post! It shows a great connection how Jack tries to mask who he really is by painting something over his face. I think this isn't just a symbol for the book but also in real life.
ReplyDeleteMany people for example try to hide who they are by covering their face or altering who they are to be someone they desire.
This is a great post. I liked the part where you talked about how the longer you wear a mask, the more it becomes who you are. One question could be if the mask is a part they are playing that they become, or something that always was inside them, but is now becoming more prominent. Sweet connection!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this connection because of how relevant it is in real life as well! It's so easy to hide behind a mask and the longer you wear it, the more it becomes a part of who you are. This reminds be of a quote from a TV show called Skins where one girl says "You can pull any face behind a mask, but be careful because someone else might be pretending".
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this connection because of how relevant it is in real life as well! It's so easy to hide behind a mask and the longer you wear it, the more it becomes a part of who you are. This reminds be of a quote from a TV show called Skins where one girl says "You can pull any face behind a mask, but be careful because someone else might be pretending".
ReplyDeleteJulia,
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by your thoughts of how it might of been who Jack was all along, and that he wants the mask for power. I always assumed it was because he wanted to hide himself, not so he could let his true evil nature, according to WIlliam Golding, come out. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that an iconic symbol of plays is a mask. Are performances not to change the actor or actress into someone, but to let his or her personality be released?
Phoebe