How Does Fear Contribute To The Decisions In Lord Of The Flies

Does fear contribute to the decisions one makes? The captivating novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding demonstrates that fear can cause individuals to lose their sense of morality and embrace savagery and evil. Fear leads to the breakdown of the boys' societal norms and values. The boys on the island turn on each other due to anxiety, leading to violence and cruelty. Fear clouds their judgment and leads them to make irrational decisions.
In the beginning, the boys' strong feelings of fear and worry about the unknown cause the decline of their societal rules, and cause them to behave savagely. At first, the boys’ fear of the unknown leads them to cling to familiar structures of their society. Ralph is the first to take responsibility and

The fear the boys' experience creates a need to identify and eliminate perceived threats. Jack proves his dictatorship skills and “he was a chief now in truth, and he made stabbing motions with his spear” (Golding). Jack asserting his control over the boys illustrates how human civilization reacts to apprehension and the negative situations that are created. The boys’ growing fear of the beast further illustrates how fear can cause individuals to turn on each other. Jack disregards everything else and solely focuses on killing the beast. Jack explains how killing the beast is more important than the rules and if there is a beast they will hunt it down “and beat and beat and beat” it (Golding)! Jack’s declaration that they will abandon the rules and hunt the beast reinforces the idea that fear can cause individuals to embrace violence and cruelty in the pursuit of power and control. The boys’ violence towards each other ultimately results in the loss of innocent lives. Ralph is devastated about Piggy’s death and weeps “for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding). Ralph’s realization of the darkness of man’s heart and the loss of innocence further emphasizes the destructive power of fear in dire

Due to this new change, they begin to make ludicrous judgments and horrible decisions. When Ralph reminds Jack of the rules they set in place to keep things civilized Jack disregards him and asks “who cares” (Golding)? This blatant disregard for civility shows how the boys have succumbed to the irrationality of fear. The boys' belief in a beast on the island illustrates the unease the boys are having internally. The boys, especially the younger ones, are terrified of the beast because, after many illogical claims, the creature became understood as “harmless and horrible” (Golding). The boys' irrational claims due to fear and anxiety lead them to believe in a physical beast on the island, even when there is no such thing. As the tension grows stronger amongst the boys, the lines between right and wrong start to blur. As Jack puts himself in his dictator-like position and starts making threats Ralph realizes that the “understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding). With little hope of rescue, the boys' great fear causes foolish thinking and unreasonable leadership. When faced with a scary situation, the boys found it difficult to define morally correct actions and morally incorrect