Tribalism Assignment

• Lord of the Flies Question:  Find evidence from the novel that highlights consequences of the growing tribalism on the island. Find at least three quotes and explain the impact of tribalism.

In the Lord of the flies there are some quotes that highlight consequences of the growing tribalism on the island:

1. A “tribe” that is visible from the beginning, even before the crash, is Jack and his choir. Jack become the leader of the choir during the election of the leader. The name of the choir changed into hunters, because their main goal is hunting to get food: “Look! We’ve killed a pig, we stole up on them, we got in a circle, we crept up, the pig squealed” (72-73). The hunters help providing food to survive on the island but they are more worried about food than being rescued:  “Ralph spoke” “You let the fire out” (73). “Jack checked, vaguely irritated by this irrelevance but too happy to let it worry him” (73).

2. The Littluns represent another “tribe” because they are all young and not as much mature as the older boys. They only think about playing and having fun and also enjoy the meetings that Ralph organize. They listen to Ralph because he is attractive and because he is a link to the adults world, so he is an important figure to follow. They don’t help much and they seems to be free of any responsibility: “Apart from food and sleep, they found time for play, aimless and trivial, among the white sand by the bright water. They cried for their mothers much less often that might have been expected; they were very brown, and filthily dirty. (61)  The littluns’ group isn’t very helpful in terms of survival on the island.

3. In chapter 4 there is a growing tribalism between the older boys and the littluns, cause destruction and chaos, dividing the two groups: “Just now he was being obedient because he was interested; and the three children, kneeling in the sand, were at peace. Roger and Maurice came out of the forest. They were relieved from duty at the fire and had come down for a swim. Roger led the way straight through the castles, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones.” (62).  This could be devastating for the boys if the groups do not get along because things will not get accomplished. There could be disagreements between the two ‘tribes’, on things which will impact their lives on the island, causing them to be inefficient. People could even die if they do not work together to accomplish things like building shelters and getting food.

 

• Read the excerpts from Amy Chua’s article in Foreign Affairs Magazine posted below and answer the questions after her article.

Article Questions:

1. Do you agree with Ms. Chua that we are all, “tribal animals” as she writes in the first paragraph of the article? Explain your reasoning.

I agree with Ms Chua that we are all “tribal animals” because a sense of belonging is a human need, just like the need for food and shelter. This sense of belonging to a group or  to a greater community improves our motivation, health, and happiness.

2. What did the T-shirt experiment explained in the Basic Instinct section find? 

The T-shirt experiment explained that  the children’s perception of other kids was “pervasively distorted by mere membership in a social group.” Seeing group members prosper seems to activate our brains’ “reward centres” even if we receive no benefit for ourselves. The children tend to remember the positive actions of in-group members and the negative actions of out-group members.

3. What does Ms. Chua explain as the, “dark side of tribal instinct”?

As the “dark side of tribal instinct” is that under certain circumstances, our reward centres can also be activated when we see members of an out-group failing or suffering: “there’s a long history of rivalry and not liking each other.”

4. What is the demographic transformation that she describes in an effort to explain the emergence of the Trump Tribe?

The demographic transformation in the United States starts from a white majority that has been dominated the country economically, politically and culturally. But in recent years, something has changed. White Americans are now more intensely split along class lines than they have been in generations. As a result, the United States may be seeing the emergence of its own version of a market-dominant minority.

5. Define: Social Mobility

Social Mobility is defined as the movement of individuals, families or groups from one social class or level to another.

7. How could these concepts effect tribalism?

Economic inequality and social mobility effect tribalism because these groups are mentally comparing to each other’s work, socially and economically.

8. Under what conditions does Chua state that tribalism thrives?

Tribalism thrives under lack of opportunity and under conditions of economic insecurity.

9. Tribalism has led to violent acts around the world in the recent years. Post 2 videos on your site and explain how they are examples of tribalism.

Black Lives Matter Movement – People of the african-american decent have been fighting for their lives since before the time of Martin Luther King. In recent years, more specifically around 2012, there have been random shootings by police and police brutality towards ‘black people’. This video is an example of tribalism because groups of african-americans are gathering together in protests and riots to stand up for black lives because they matter.

Vancouver Canucks Riot – This video is an example of tribalism because groups of people started riots which stemmed from a strong loyalty towards the Canucks team. This video shows violent acts committed by this group for their love and support of their team.

 

Paragraph Answer Question

Examine the tribalism in our culture.  What sport /social / religious / cultural groups are prominent in and out of school? They do not have be organized groups. What are the positive and negative attributes of these groups?  Do you see any extremely negative attributes of tribalism that are present in The Lord of the Flies or the current political climate of America?

Tribalism can be found in all aspects of our culture. The various religions can be seen as tribes. The types of sports we watch or play can be seen as tribes. Any team can be seen as a tribe. Different groups of friends can also be seen as tribes. In the case of a sports team having a ‘tribe’ this can be positive and beneficial for them because they may be able to better perform as a team. On the other side, ‘tribes’ can be dangerous because this causes people develop extreme feelings of love for their ‘tribe’ and hate for others. Outside and inside of school when there is a tribe this can cause people to not cooperate well or at all to accomplish tasks or even just be friendly and respectful. Tribalism in Lord of the Flies has much of the same effect on the boys as it does in our society and culture. Hate and close mindedness can be seen developing between Jack and Piggy, for example, as they are very different with different ideals causing them to not cooperate and soon they may begin to hate each other. The effects of this are very negative on their civilization, as it causes to not cooperate with each other and not complete which could eventually  result in the ruin of their civilization. Hate is prominent among ‘tribes’ in society and specifically American politics. Hate among these tribes is threatening because it causes people to be close minded and dislike people who are not like them or part of their ‘tribe’. An unfortunate result of this is racism.