A piece of evidence to support this would be” At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed struck bit and tore”(153). The boys after a little while knew that the “monster” that they were killing was Simon, and they were having fun doing it. This shows that the boys have really become animals and savage enough to kill another kid when they just get a little scared from a beast that doesn’t really
(52). When the boys chant these words, they are unified and extremely dangerous. The boys begin this chant once again and become so absorbed in their fear of the “beast” that they end up killing Simon. Simon is a “Christlike” figure who is trying to tell the boys that the “beast” does not exist, rather it is an internal evil within them. “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the “beast,” screamed, struck, bit, tore.
maybe it's only us.’ " {Golding, 107} In this scene they are debating whether the beast is real or not and Simon says that it's not. Simon believes that there is no monster, but the fear that these boys are feeling is real. The beast continues to grow within their mind, but now they are taking action on what they believe to be the beast. In the text it states, “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.”
(Golding 118). Their use of force and incessant jeering about murdering the beast is important in exhibiting how the boys have, for the time being, forgotten their fear and have focussed solely on fulfilling the urge to kill that has risen up inside of them. The chant is very critical in understanding how the boys have changed since they have
Fear of death made the boys willing to do anything to survive. As evidence, when the kids thought they killed the beast (Golding 211), in reality, the boys were actually killing Simon which proves that the boys were ready to do whatever it took to survive (Golding 212). The children felt as though they were at death's door and had no choice but to be willing to do anything to survive. Also fear was the driving force that pushed them to survival and without it, some basic needs potentially would not have been met. For instance, if the boys were not worried about survival, they wouldn't be compelled to kill the pig (Golding 96) or built shelter (Golding 62).
When they attack Simon, they chant as a show of their savagery. They chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152).
The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (152) demonstrates that the fear of the beast controlled the boys, and influenced them to kill Simon.
The boys barbarically beat down Simon who appears to be a beast to them. The fear blinds the children and they do not even question what it is. They lose their sense of right and wrong as they forget the rules of society and commit a murder. Even though, Simon was screaming out to them and trying to send his message, the boys ignored it and continued to beat him down. This shows that the boys are so desperate that to get rid of the beast, they lose all sense of their humanity and kill their own friend.
The character, Simon was like a stronghold for the boys, he was the one who discovers that the beast, rather than a physical object, was themselves, “maybe it’s only us” (…). However, this was not what the boys wanted to hear. Like Jesus, Simon who wanted to save the boys and tried on multiple occasions, was killed for trying to save mankind, or in this case all the boys on the island. Upon his death, Golding depicts Simon death as,
It did not matter if most of the boys were strangers to him, Simon knew it was a good thing to do. As a result of his death, Simon’s effort to contribute to this group went unnoticed. When Simon arrives to warn the boys, Simon “was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill ….At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast screamed, struck, bit, tore” (Golding, Lord 152-153). From the way Simon’s murder is described, he died distinctly with pain.
This shows that the boys are only afraid of themselves, because they are their own worst enemy. He is the first to figure out that the beast is not an actual beast, and how it is only the boys becoming savage, and starting to be afraid of one another. As Simon began to explain this to the doubtful boys, he was the only one who died knowing the
Man is Inherently Evil In Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, there are several themes expressed through the boys from the beginning to the end. The main theme conveys that man is inherently evil. This can be understood from most aspects of the book. Golding conveys that man is inherently evil through the boys need to undermine each other and the loss of morality in their decent to chaos.
The collective fear of the unknown leads to the untimely and accidental death of Simon. The distress present in the boys causes their impulsive action, of Simon’s horrific murder. Fear of “the beast” an imaginary creature causes the boys to act irrational, and provokes survival instincts as a result of life threatening terror. The fear of the boys in this moment is epitomized when they chant, “Kill the beast!, Cut his throat, Spill his blood!” (168).
Throughout the novel of Lord of the Flies, William Golding provides a profound insight into human nature. Golding builds on a message that all human beings have natural evil inside them. To emphasize, the innate evil is revealed when there’s lack of civilization. The boys are constantly faced with numerous fears and eventually break up into two different groups. Although the boys believe the beast lives in the jungle, Golding makes it clear that it lurks in their hearts.
As a young girl, Lynch was obsessed with the Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling. The now famous actress credits her obsession to being cast in the films, but this obsession started long before that would come to pass. When Lynch was only 11 years old she was in and out of rehabilitation clinic’s due to her struggles with Anorexia Nervosa, a life changing eating disorder, this lasted for two years, from 2002 to 2004. During this time, Lynch found a connection in Harry Potter character Luna Lovegood, inspired by the fictional girls embracing of her own oddities.
