Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

melcher
melcher
Student
High School - 10th Grade

Explain the quote "'Jack' A taboo was evolving around that word, too."

It's from Chapter 8.

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Posted by melcher on Wednesday October 22, 2008 at 6:56 PM and tagged with chapter 8, lord of the flies, quotations.

Answers:

  1. sampiper22
    sampiper22 Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The short answer is that the boys did not like using the name 'Jack' and are unconsciously referring to Jack as "him". 

    To extend your response, there are two key words in the question which need to be discussed: taboo and evolved.

    Taboo--the strong social prohibition over certain actions, objects or words--is an extremely strong word. More than a law or rule, to break a taboo strikes at the heart of both society's order and psychological stability. An extended discussion may include reference to Totem and Taboo by Freud. To hold something in taboo suggests both fear and reverence. Taboos are often most strongly associated with primitive cultures and basic instincts

    The word evolved is also extremely important: it is something grown organically, naturally. Evolution is also a survival mechanism: you evolve physically and emotionally in order to adapt to a changing dangerous environment around you (e.g., Darwinism). This may suggest that the taboo around saying Jack's name is a survival mechanism to cope with the way that Jack is changing the world around him (it reminds me of the prohibition on Voldemort's name in the Harry Potter books)

    You need to contextualise the quotation too: it comes as a response to Ralph's question "What makes things break up as they do?" and at the mention of his name, he appears naked save for paint and a belt--like a demon summoned by its name.

    Sources:
    http://staff.bcc.edu/faculty_websites/jalexand/Golding--L...
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/summary

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    Posted by sampiper22 on Thursday October 23, 2008 at 6:06 AM