There are many striking resemblances between the deaths in “Lord of The Flies” and the tragic killing of 14 year old Reena Virk. Virk, a young canadian with indian background, was savagely beaten by a group of fellow classmates at a lonely spot near a river. Likewise, Simon’s death in “Lord of The Flies” took place on the outskirts of a secluded island, by a group of boys overcome with their own ritualistic chants and dances of death. Both Simon’s and Reena’s killers were driven by their self induced mob mentality, and took place within a false environment of lawlessness and lack of authority.

Both Reena Virk’s and Simon from Lord of the Flies’ tragic killings took place while the group was under the influence of their self-generated mob mentality, which eventually led to their deaths. People get a false sense of power when in numbers, and this occured in both situations. The groups of killers bring themselves into a pre-meditated state of violent behavior which, when mixed with a considerable lack of authority will most definently lead to a violent outcome. The “savage beating [Reena] took”(Shankar) was very much commited in the same manner as that of Simon’s – fueled by thier group’s own mob mentality. In both incidents, the killers attempt to formulate reasoning for what they had done by “believing their own lies”(Colebourn) and posing the question to each other, “‘Didn’t you see what we-what they did?’”(p.173). As a result of their actions, both Reena and Simon suffered a grisly death by the hands of so-called friends, pre-occupied with a mentally unfit mindset. Ultimately, the group’s self induced mob mentality, along with a lethal mix of insufficient authority, played a major role in Reena’s and Simon’s tragic deaths.

Another contributer to murders among young people is the sense of lawlessness which overwhelms them. Especially in groups, people feel above the law, and that they are within an environment which lacks authority. A possible source for this could quite possibly be the fact that there are no parents around to influence them and their decisions, or just that they “come from a dysfunctional family”(Colebourn). In “Lord of the Flies” there are no adults around, nor are there any rules by which they must abide; likewise, in Reena Virk’s case, the parents of everyone involved were not close enough with thier children to have an impact on their perception of laws and authority. Arguably, this could be due to foster homes and emergency shelters, but not neccessarily. However, parents are our caregivers and life-long tutors, and it is understandable that without them,  one’s knowledge and respect for the law may become blurred, or simpy, forgotten. In addition, when there is “no parent to let fall a heavy hand”(p.63), it is easy to find yourself immersed in an imaginative world where laws do not apply. Consequently, this false sense of lawlessness plays a key role in discovering what causes children to comit murder.

Ultimately, the killers of Reena and Simon committed thier crimes while under the control of their self induced mob mentality, and by having a false sense of lawlessness. These two factors play a major part in helping to determine exactly what propels kids to commit murder, and what prevents them from following the laws created by society. Both Simon’s and Reena’s horrid murders were committed without reason, by young offenders who have let lawlessness and a mob mentality consume them, take over their conscience, and affect the way the see the world and operate within it.