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Berger and Luckmann emphasise the role of society in shaping individuals. This
includes the way we know, how we behave and how we establish and identify roles in
society. The social conditioning which Roger had been subject to had left an indelible
impression and continued to influence his decision making despite the absence of the
societal structures to reinforce them. Roger’s significant others, his parents and his
schooling, the policeman and his awareness of the law all influenced his behaviour
within that moment. But, the rule of law, as such, did not exist on the desert island.
Roger’s significant others were not actually present to tell him not to throw the stones,
or to punish him. The influences were not external to Roger. They were internal. The
sum of Roger’s life experience including the people, social structures, rules, laws and
norms constrained his behaviour within his decision making process that ultimately
constrained his desire to throw the stones at the other boy.
In Golding’s story, social convention proved as powerful at inhibiting Roger’s desire to
throw the stones at Henry as any laws or rules. A social convention is a “general
agreement on, or acceptance of certain practices or attitudes”
(dictionary.reference.com). There was no rule or law which said that he must not throw
stones at younger boys. But there was the taboo of the old life “invisible yet strong”
which protected the child via the strong, inhibiting influence it still had on Roger. It
becomes impossible to disentangle the conventions embedded in us during our
socialisation processes from our values. Whilst social conventions exist externally to
us, we internalise them. They provide the source for and form some of our individual
preferences that guide and inform our subjective reasoning. The conventions
entrenched in Roger during his socialisation had, in part, formed his value system that
informed and guided the subjective component of his reasoning. These values
informed his decision not to throw the stone at Henry, by acting within his process of
logic. As such, Roger’s values were as effective as a physical restraint at prohibiting
him from following his desires.
Emotion and feelings
Whilst socialisation clearly has an important role in the influence of laws, rules and
conventions, alone it does not fully explain how they function in our reasoning
processes to constrain our individual desires.
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