Hierarchy of needs in Lord Of The Flies

Dakota Chapman

Mrs, Faher

Honors English 10

29 may 2019
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Abraham Maslow once proposed a theory stating human actions are based upon a simple

hierarchy of needs. In the novel “Lord Of The Flies” by William Golding. A large group of

young boys, ages 6-12, crash-landed soon to find that they were all alone and stuck on an island

somewhere deep in the pacific. The hierarchy of needs is often used to reason people's mental

and physical motivations based on their basic needs.

In a time of crisis, it is common for a person to think unclearly especially if they are

placed in a new environment. States of confusion are usually set in by new environments.

Whether putting a fish in a fish tank for the first time or a person moving into a new house. The

effects of the new environment will set in no matter the circumstances but will eventually

subside. If someone is dealing with a crisis at the same time as being somewhere new it makes

the brain scramble for answers or for a sense of normalcy and the person can't think clearly. In

the book ¨Lord of the flies¨ (William Golding) the boys crash-landed on the island and had no

idea where they were. At first, they didn't seem to startled, and they were just curious of where

they were.

Eventually, later on they realized that they had no easy access to food or shelter. On page

39 Golding wrote ¨below them, boys were still laboring, though some of the small ones had lost
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interest and were still searching this new forest for fruit. In this statement they are working on

finding food and trying to resolve where they are. The boys are starting to get impatient for food,

and they soon decide to go out and hunt for food but due to their lack of experience they are

unsuccessful at first but adapt. To show, on page 75 Golding states ¨the first blow paralyzed its

hind quarters, so then the circle could close in and beat and beat¨ at this point they successfully

killed a pig. Yet they weren't thinking about getting off of the island as much as they are trying

to get luxuries like meat. While it may seem they don't have their priorities straight, they are also

motivated by the effects of hunger and energy deprivation.

The effects of hunger are categorized as a physiological need in maslow's theory, which

means it is one of the most basic and important need of them all. When someone or something is

hungry it will do everything in its power to get food because it means life or death to them. In the

story it makes them think like savages. In the book they say ​¨Kill the pig cut her throat bash her

in¨ (​ Golding 75). The boys have been waiting for food and were willing to violently kill a pig for

it. Due to the hunger and stress the boys also start to hallucinate. (152 Golding) the other boys

hallucinate that Simon is the beast then attack and kill him brutally. Later to find out what they

have done they regret what they did. all of the physical and mental struggles the boys are going

through all trickle down into their emotions which is where most poor decisions are made.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is used in every story and in every factor of life. The

hierarchy of needs is used to reason people's mental and physical motivations based on their
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basic needs. The boys on the island in lord of the flies unknowingly followed these needs to stay

alive as it is a part of human nature. As the boys were placed on the island in a new environment,

and they learned to live by adapting and climbing up the pyramid of maslow's hierarchy of

needs. They started to hallucinate and act out due to being deprived of their basic needs.
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Works Cited

“BlogEntry.” ​SimCrest,​ Carsten Howitz, 27 Sept. 2011,

<​www.simcrest.com/blog/BlogEntry/87​>.

"Self-actualization." ​Britannica School​, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Jul. 2016.

<​school.eb.com/levels/high/article/self-actualization/627525​>. Accessed 30 May. 2019.

"Child Development Theorists: Freud to Erikson to Spock ... and Beyond." ​Booklist,​ 1
May 2009, p. 92+. ​Educators Reference Complete​,
<​https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A199800614/GPS?u=vbcps&sid=GPS&xid=8236a
70b​>​. Accessed 30 May 2019.