Vinay Rao

Mrs. Fischer-Ballew

English 10LC 2

28th February 2019

Synthesis Writing #2

How do fear and desire for personal acceptance influence human behavior?

Fear and a desire for personal acceptance have a huge impact on how human beings

behave within a society. In Lord of the Flies, the group of young boys has started to get used to

life on the island. They settle into their roles as hunters, messengers, lookouts, and fire-watchers.

As Jack, the lead hunter, begins to prepare to finally bring the boys back a kill. He plays with

clay and dirt to create a sort of mask to put on his face. Golding writes, “The mask was a thing

on it’s own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” Jack puts on

the mask and instantly the fear and pressure of society begins to fall away. Behind the mask, he

behaves more savage-like, energetic, enthusiastic and wild, which one could argue is the true

nature of his character. Jack’s mask demonstrates how society makes us behave a certain way,

and if we’re provided the opportunity to hide ourselves from the embarrassment and judgement,

then our behavior evolves into something that’s possibly more true to ourselves. The pressure of

popularity also has an influence on human behavior. A Psychology Today article states that,

“Popularity brings pressure -- to belong you have to conform, being like, behaving like,

believing like other members of your group.” Popularity can be defined as the state of being

liked, admired, or supported by many people. The desire for popularity, or social acceptance,

causes us to do things like behave more like those around us. This could include things that could
be seen as wrong, like making fun of others, bullying, stealing, the list goes on. A desire for

popularity can also be demeaning, as you may end up taking orders or being put down by

someone more popular than you or someone of higher authority. Essentially, fear and a desire for

popularity can greatly influence the way a human being behaves. It can make us do good or bad

things to others or make us endure things being done to us. Human behavior is molded by the

actions and circumstances of the people and things in our environment.

Works Cited

Golding, William. ​Lord of the Flies.​ The Berkley Publishing Group, 1954.

Pickhardt, Carl E. “Adolescence and the Pursuit of Popularity.” ​Psychology Today,​ Sussex

Publishers, 11 May 2010. Web. 28 February 2010