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William Golding was an English writer and novelist born on September 19th, 1911. In his early life, he was always interested in literature and English; he attended Brasenose College at Oxford University and became a teacher shortly thereafter. It was said that his experiences teaching unruly boys at Wordsworth's School in Salisbury later inspired Lord of the Flies. His teaching career was put on hiatus when he joined the Royal Navy in 1940. His years at war allowed him to see the evil that humans were capable of, and much of this influenced his writing of Lord of the Flies. He spent his final years writing in Cornwall, England, before passing away on June 19th, 1993.

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Lord of the Flies was centered around a young group of boys stranded on an island in the pacific ocean after World War 2, in the 1950s, specifically after the alleged explosion of an atomic bomb. Being young boys, they don't know all of the details of the situation, but they do know the general premise of war. Throughout the book, numerous power struggles and significant violence occur, with the majority of boys conforming to the leaders of one of two groups. The leaders of these groups, Jack and Ralph, are older, stronger, and more intimidating; they are authority figures. The younger children look up to them, and are willing to do whatever Jack and Ralph please, and conform to their beliefs.

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The non-fiction event that I connected to this project was World War 2, specifically those conforming to power in Nazi Germany. World War 2 led to the deaths of 40 - 50 million worldwide, with the Holocaust contributing to more than 11 million of those deaths. World War 2 and the Holocaust had many wondering how people could commit such atrocities against other humans. The German officers and citizens were who made the Holocaust possible, forcing Jewish citizens into the "ghetto," which acted as a holding pen until the "Final Solution to the Jewish Problem" was decided. The "Final Solution" was the systemic murder of the Jewish population in concentration camps, which were powered by military officials and citizens alike. In the Nuremberg Trials, in which Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann and other officers were tried, their main defense was that they were "Just following orders." While there was no doubt that these officials and those facilitating the Holocaust deserved to be punished for their actions, the question was whether their morals were the driving force, or if the need for conformity overcame their morals. This supports the idea that the presence of authority figures greatly influences humans.

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Workers on their way home - Edvard Munch

This piece stuck out to me when I was researching. I think what resonates with me specifically concerning conformity is the social pressure one feels from their peers. It symbolizes how going against conformity can feel like an upstream battle, which can be seen, as the person whose point of view this piece is painted from is traveling in the opposite direction of everyone else. Something else to note is the concerned and confused looks that the viewer receives, which could lead to self-doubt and less confidence in one's nonconformity.  I think this piece can capture the hopelessness and how one might feel like an outsider when refusing to conform and can help us understand how difficult it is to carve your own path. This can provide a taste of the societal pressure that can lead to humans feeling the need to conform and do things that they normally would not do.

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Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, designed and carried out an experiment in response to the Nuremberg Trials including Adolf Eichmann and his accomplices. The premise of the experiment was simple; he would have an authority figure (in this case, a doctor with a professional-looking lab coat), a "test subject," who would be pretending to feel pain, and the subject that was being observed who administered the fake "shocks." Milgram was observing how far the subject would go, even when they could see the excruciating pain that they were inflicting on another human being. The results were astounding, 65% of subjects administered shocks at the highest voltage, 450, and every single participant administered shocks at 300 volts.

This experiment can help us understand why humans feel the need to conform. In this case, it was the authority figure, very similar to the Holocaust, and the brutal and gruesome things done by those facilitating it.

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Stanley Milgram Shock Experiment: Summary, Results, & Ethics

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Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University, carried out one of the most famous studies of obedience in psychology. He conducted an experiment focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. Milgram

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This poem exemplifies the dilemma that humans are faced with every day. While each person wants to be unique, and doesn't want to conform, there is always a worry in the back of their mind that they will "Die alone, unwanted and unloved." The author comes to the conclusion that they will be themself, no matter if they are accepted or not. This can provide some insight as to why humans many humans conform, as the societal pressure is constant.

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To be or not to be
That is the Shakespearean question
Still being asked today

Should I conform to the wishes of society?
Or shall I be myself,
And stand up to the world

If I were to be me,
Would you accept me,
Or turn me away?

If I conform,
Will I lose myself,
And become a clone of culture?

If I were to open myself up
Let you go where no one has gone before,
Would you leave?

If I were to be what you wish,
Would you be happy?
Would I die inside?

My greatest fear
Is to die alone
Unwanted and unloved

But I would rather that come true
Than be loved for what I am not
For becoming what you want

The only thing left for me to do
Is to be me,
Open up the box I have hidden away

Now it is time
For a choice to be made
One only you can make

Can you accept me as I am
The real me most don't know,
Or will you reject me?

Decide my dearest,
I will not wait forever
For I have made my choice!

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Be Yourself, Or Conform - Be Yourself, Or Conform Poem by Virginia Cairns

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To be or not to be That is the Shakespearean question Still being asked today Should I conform to the wishes of society? Or shall I be myself, And stand up to the world If I were to be me, Would you accept me, Or turn me away?

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Solomon Asch, a psychologist, experimented with how social pressure could affect conformity. The experiment placed the subject in a room with numerous others, who were actors, and in on the experiment. The participants were asked to match the target line, with one of the other lines. For the first round, the subject matched the line correctly, with all of the actors choosing the incorrect line, but all the actors agreeing on the incorrect line. The subject eventually gave in, and conformed with all the others, even knowing that they were incorrect, but as to not be seen as the outlier.

This experiment can provide evidence as to why humans feel the need to conform. Social pressure and peer pressure are incredibly difficult to resist and in many scenarios, it may seem easier to give in and just agree.