Panopticon in Lord of the Flies Drexel Feeling 10th Grade

The Panopticon theory. Imagine there is a prison with no bars, no chains, no guards patrolling around, but there is a watchtower which can see into every cell. It has one-way glass so no one can see in, and only zigzag pathways to walk through. The prisoners can be watched at any time and don’t know whether they are or not. The theory is that in this prison, there will be no violence, rowdiness, or other such behavior. Instead, the prisoners police themselves in fear of being watched. This is seen in daily life when someone uses foul language around friends but as soon as they drive up to their house, the swearing stops. In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, a group of English boys survive a plane crash onto a deserted island with no adults surviving. While they were members of society, these kids were good citizens. After being on the island for a while, the boys become savages. When the boys first arrived at the island they were innocent and didn’t intend to hurt anyone. However, living with no real rules and no one to enforce them, the boys realized they could do whatever they wanted and not have any consequences. The boys had no fear of being watched so they lost their ability to police their actions. In William Golding...