Man is least himself when he talks in his own person.
Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. –Oscar Wilde
Veritas English: Lord of the Flies Mask Activity
Masks offer powerful avenues into the complex undercurrents that shape our sense of
self and identity. Masks are an important symbolic motif in Lord of the Flies.
Jack figures out that his pig-prey keep spotting him: “They see me, I think," he says:
"Something pink, under the trees" (4.2). And so he gets the bright idea to paint his
face, "dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else" (4.24). But the
paint turns out to be more than camouflage. It doesn't just make Jack blend in with
the forest; it actually makes him into something else. It makes him into a savage—and
then the chief. When his face is finished, "the mask was a thing of its own, behind
which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness" (4.34). With the paint
on his face, Jack isn't choir-leader Jack anymore; he's a savage ready to be chief.
PART I. Your task is to create a mask that illustrates ONE of the following:
-a universal theme (e.g. good/evil, greed, courage, honesty, friendship, choices, belonging,
survival, separation & loss, jealousy, innocence/experience, grief, trust, forgiveness, love, etc.)
-OR the inner-workings of your mind and psyche (id/superego/ego)
-OR a representation of themes in Lord of the Flies.
*Your mask should be colorful, and highly symbolic.
*It may be a drawing on a piece of paper, or an actual mask- it’s up to you.
PART II. Three paragraph typed description of:
1. why you chose that theme, or that symbolic representation of yourself,
2. your creation process,
3. your reflection on how we use masks in society
SEE FLIP-SIDE OF HANDOUT FOR PARAGRAPH DESCRIPTIONS
You are moving BEYOND the 5 sentence paragraph, so DON’T ASK HOW MANY
SENTENCES YOUR PARAGRAPHS NEED TO BE. The answer is; they need to
thoroughly explain your 1) choice of mask’s theme 2)mask creation, and 3) reflection
process.
*Your 3-paragraph response needs to be typed in googledocs, and saved as:
Rotation_LOTFMASK_FirstInitialFirstName+LastName
Example (If I were Julia Rivas, and were in the 5B roation): 5B_LOTF_JRivas
Send it to: [email protected] (NOT my wusd address, and NOT googleclassroom)
MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE CLICKED “CAN EDIT” so I can give you comments!
Use the following check list to ensure that you are covering the MINIMUM information:
Paragraph 1
In the first paragraph you should explain how you picked the topic for your mask.
What was it about this topic/subject/theme that stood out to you?
What personal connections or associations do you make with this mask? Why?
Were there alternative ideas you considered? How come you didn’t choose them?
Paragraph 2
Your second paragraph should contain information about the mask’s actual creation.
What features did you choose to accentuate?
What rationale do you have for your color choices?
How did you use symbolism to make your mask dynamic and captivating?
Were there any artistic devices or techniques you utilized to make your mask
dramatic?
Paragraph 3
Your third paragraph should be a reflection about the way we, as humans, use masks
in everyday society.
FYI, persona is defined as “an individual's social façade or ‘front’ that reflects the
role in life the individual is playing; the personality that a person projects in any
given environment.”
Describe some of the different personas you “wear” on a regular basis.
Why do you employ them?
Are they necessary?
Do they help or hinder you?
Your project will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
____/1o overall quality of mask creation;
____/10 use of symbols & colors to make mask dramatic & profound;
____/10 depth-of-thought contained in written response;
____/10 grammar & spelling
____/10 clarity and organization of response (use that check list)!
____/10 MLA formatting