Fear Taking Over Lord Of The Flies Essay

Fear taking over

Safe to assume that not many have been stranded on an island alone, but it’s a fun thing to think about, and the action or consequence, well Lord of the Flies is an example of that scenario in action. In the book Lord of the Flies, there are a group of boys that ended up stranded on an island with only themselves for company. Things start out great until internal conflict starts appearing and the group crumble down with fear of those around them and themselves. Although some may think that fear is a measly emotion that can be easily overcome, fear is much more than that, it’s a fearful thing that control people to do insane things because of the mass panic and irrational behavior that it causes, all shown in Lord of the Flies

Fear of a dangerous creature on an island leads the boys to do unexpected things, from turning against each other to killing one another. Jack, a prideful boy, even took advantage of this to control others and guide them into making decisions to his benefit. The group of boys live in relative harmony, taking orders from Ralph, an elected leader, but when this new sighted beast shows up, Ralph witnesses the group falling apart with mass panic, “In a moment the platform was full of arguing, gesticulating shadows. To Ralph, seated, this seemed the breaking up of sanity. Fear, beasts, no general agreement that the fire was all-important: and when one tried to get the thing straight the argument sheered off, bringing up fresh, unpleasant matter” (Golding 88). This speculation fills them with fear, leading to mass panic. They started turning against each other and creating

When Ralph encounters old friends while hiding from Jack, they warn him of their plan, “’I dunno. And Ralph, Jack, the chief, says it’ll be dangerous-’ ‘- and we’ve got to be careful and throw our spears like at a pig.’” (Golding 188). The spear that was created to hunt pigs for food to survive, to protect their group for safety, is now used to hunt down their friends without remorse because of the fear that Jack instilled in them. Ralph wasn’t an exception to this contagious fear for it also changes him, “While he was eating, he heard fresh noises- cries of pain from Samneric, cries of panic, angry voices. What did it mean? Someone besides himself was in trouble, for at least one of the twins was catching it” (Golding 191). The usual caring Ralph, who’s main objective was to keep everyone in the group safe, now ignores the pain of his friends. He heard the two little boys who offered him their help cry out in pain, knowing that they could be hurt or threatened, yet he stayed quiet, for his fear of getting caught and killed override his usual sense of