Fear is a tool that has been effectively used by many past dictators. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the beast is universally feared by the boys. Jack uses the idea of the beast to skillfully manipulate the other boys in order to establish order. Jack convinces the others to follow him because they believe that Jack and his hunters will defeat the beast and protect the rest of the group. Jack eventually usurps Ralph as chief because he convinces the boys’ that Ralph is a coward and that he wouldn’t protect them from the beast. The beast created a need for the hunters and Jack, representing a common enemy the group faces. It is a shadowy enemy, one that Ralph and Jack dismiss as a simple nightmare, but it evolves into a tool for Jack to gain power within the group. In the early chapters of the book, the beast is a merely a malevolent presence. A young boy with a birthmark informs the gathered boys about a “beastie” that …show more content…
The beast is used as propaganda, with Jack capitalizing on their fear in order to control them better and discredit Ralph. His scare tactics are very similar to the propaganda and strategies used in today’s politics. In chapter eight, Jack calls a meeting to tell them about what occurred on the mountain, when they discovered the dead man. “Ralph thinks you’re cowards, running away from the boar and the beast” (Golding 181), Jack declares, undermining and discrediting Ralph in the eyes of the hunters, as well as the other boys. While his attempt to elect himself chief is foiled, he is ultimately triumphant after the hunters kill a sow and share the meat with the rest of the boys. After they eat, he stands up and promises them that the hunters will protect them from the beast if the other boys join him. Jack uses the beast to great effect, taking advantage of their fear to gain power and maintain control by promising to keep them safe from the dreadful