Rendering II

Rendering II

While reading the articles Rethinking 'moral panic' for multi-mediated social worlds by Angela McRobbie and Sara L. Thornton and What's the problem? Precarious Youth: Marginalization, Criminalisation and Racialisation by John Clarke, I couldn't help but think of the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I read this book, I think for an English class in high school, and still remember the story well. If you haven't read it or wish to refresh your memory, refer to the plot summary here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies

The story revolves around the society formed by male children, all under the age of 13, who survived a plane crash and ended up on an isolated island. There are many dynamics to this story, so I will try to remain brief.

The boys faced many challenges as they reflect what John Clark considers a 'youth problem' in that they were "unstable and potentially dangerous, especially when unsupervised" (Clarke, 2008, p. 307). The boys initially formed a fairly stable democratic society where everyone had specific roles, such as Ralph, the initial leader of the group; his nemesis and natural leader, Jack; and Piggy, an intellectual advisor who relied on political power to support the group and was constantly bullied. The characters formed or developed their unique identities throughout the story.

Various characters were marginalized, such as Piggy, who was eventually murdered by the clan that Jack formed due to conflicts within the original society led by Ralph. I would argue that Jack's clan represents the criminal youth due to their desire to marginalize others, steal, torture, and murder.

The story concluded when a naval officer from a passing ship appeared on the island in the middle of a violent fight between the children. Upon noticing the officer, the children abruptly stopped fighting. The officer reflected that he would have expected better from British children. The warship the officer arrived upon is a symbol of the war being fought amongst adults and created an interesting contrast to the problem amongst the youth.

A crucial part to this story was a direct source of the savagery among the children - the Beast. Originally referred to by one of the younger children, rumors of the Beast spread throughout the society. The idea of the Beast created a moral panic, which formed the main theme of the story. The Beast didn't really exist as a physical being, as it was a product of the children's fear. The Beast became the 'folk devil' as it directly threatened the social order on the island. For example, Simon was mistaken for the Beast as he entered a clearing where many of the other boys were feasting and dancing. The boys murdered Simon out of the fear and savagry created by their fear of the Beast

I enjoyed reading The Lord of the Flies and I feel Golding did a great job of representing many of the problems faced among youth as they try to create or discover their identities. Each of the characters in the story directly reflects the youth in our society. For example, Piggy can be compared to the one who is consistently bullied in class, Jack's clan could represent a gang and the naval officer can relate to a parent or teacher. The representations may seem extreme, but so are gang murders and suicides that youth face today, for example. The Beast was a perfect representation of a moral panic, which exists in all societies that can be used as a tool to heavily influences are youth.

References

Clarke, J. (2008). Whats the problem? Precarious Youth: Marginalisation, Criminalisation and Racialisation. Social Work and Society, 6(2): p. 306-313               

McRobbie, A. & Thornton, S. (1995). Rethinking Moral Panic for Multi-Mediated Social Worlds. British Journal of Sociology, 46(4): p. 559-564.

Wikipedia. (2012). Lord of the Flies. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Flies