Context

We're in Chapter 4 of Lord of the Flies, and after painting his face with white and red clay and a stick of charcoal, Jack looks at his reflection in a coconut shell full of water. He's stoked to see an "awesome stranger" looking back at him. 

He begins to dance, and it seems that the mask is a "thing on its own, behind which Jack hid." When he orders the boys to come with him, they obey "the mask," not Jack. 

Creepy much?

Where you've heard it

Hiding behind a mask isn't unique to Lord of the Flies.

• Oprah.com sees it happening in society.
• Life coaches the world around will call you out on it.
• There are even full-on books about the subject.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Words like "liberated from shame and self-consciousness" aren't quite dinner party material. Save it for therapy.