Beast Lord Of The Flies Essay

1424 Words6 Pages

Anxiety, panic, terror, and paranoia are what someone can feel when lost in the middle of nowhere with no help. "Lord of the Flies" is a novel that tells the story of a group of young boys who face this situation following a plane crash. Stranded there, they establish rules and an organizational system to be effective. As they experience these emotions, they become more aware of their surroundings, and we can see that their concerns and terror become increasingly apparent as the book progresses. Each of the boys exhibits "agoraphobia," a term that refers to a fear of places or situations that may cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment, which manifests itself in different ways throughout different characters. In this novel, "Lord of the …show more content…

Golding never confirmed the presence of the beast, which is an important aspect for him since it allows the reader to feel a part of the adventure of the beast; the only time they were "close to the beast" is when they mistake it for the pilot. The rest of the story is based on the boys' imaginations and anxieties. The beast is an important symbol that represents the boys' primal instincts, their fears, as well as the savagery and evil that everyone has in them. Therefore, the beast is considered a metaphor for their savage and violent behavior, since there is no one to educate them and tell them what is right or wrong. We can consider the beast as a means of exploring the root of evil in the novel. Their fear of the beast caused them to turn on one another and shift the blame away from themselves, such as the disappearance of the littlun with the birthmark, killing Simon as they mistake him for the beast, and the attack that Jack and his tribe put toward Ralph. Golding believed that everyone has a tendency for violence and destruction that could be triggered when the rules of a society are removed. For example, when one of the young boys, Percival Wemys Madison, forgets his name and home address. “Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had faded celan away.” (Chapter 12 page 201) Golding illustrates the boys' loss of identity due to their focus on survival rather …show more content…

At the start of the book, the boys are well-behaved and working together, but as the fear of the beast grows stronger, they become more violent and cruel. To illustrate this, we will use the example of the relationship between Jack and Ralph: The beast is what leads to a breakdown between Jack and Ralph, as the boys are terrified of it. Two groups are formed, one for Ralph, who will provide shelter and fire to get saved, and one for Jack, who will provide food and protection. At the start of the group, the two boys were friends and worked together to put everyone in order and assign roles to everyone, but as soon as Ralph became leader instead of Jack, he started feeling jealous, which led to tension between the two. Jack uses the fear of the beast as an excuse to manipulate some members of the group with food and safety in order to name himself the leader. With the fear of the beast growing, Jack starts to become more obsessed with hunting and more animalistic, trying to dominate and have power over everyone else. “I ought to be chief...because I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp.” (Chapter 1, page 22); in this quotation, Jack affirms that he is meant to be a leader. These following quotations show how Jack starts to act more and more like an animal: “sniffs the air”; “Then dog-like, uncomfortable on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort” (page 48); “He was down like a