Fear In Lord Of The Flies Essay

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are many symbols that represent important ideas such as fear and hope. In the novel, a group of boys crash land on an abandoned island. On that island, there is an elusive beast that terrorizes the boys. A few doubt its existence, some of whom are Ralph, Piggy, and Simon. Even so, they all fear it. The Beast in Lord of the Flies is an important symbol that has a significant influence on the characters and demonstrates that fear resides in all of us. The beast is a key symbol because it was the predominant source of savageness on the island. A major idea of the novel is how society can quickly give in to evil, and the beast was the start of it all. When Ralph calls an assembly, he brings up the

Fear is a huge motivator, and the beast is fear itself. After Ralph and Jack went up the mountain and saw the beast, some of the boys discuss what they are going to do about the fire. “‘What’s the good of climbing up to this here beast when Ralph and the other two couldn’t do nothing…’ ‘No go, Piggy. We’ve got no fire. That thing sits up there--we’ll have to stay here’” (Golding 128-129). They are so afraid of the beast that even climbing the mountain is out of the question. Not only does the beast keep them from starting the fire, but it also causes all of the boys to live in belligerence. When Simon came stumbling out of the woods, the rest of the group jumped on him out of fear, thinking he was the beast. In addition to the beast being significant to the characters, it is also significant to a major concept of the

In the novel, the beast doesn’t exist and was in the boys themselves all along. During an epileptic episode, Simon has a vision of the beast speaking to him. “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill…’ ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?’” (Golding 143). The beast was the embodiment of the fear that resided in the boys. They used the beast as a way of coping. The boys transferred their fear from something that they had no control over, which was their dire situation, to something that they could comprehend, such as a beast. Simon was the first to realize this, but before he could enlighten the others he was killed. This conveys the fact that fear resides in everyone, in one form or