Invisible Fear In Lord Of The Flies

Invisible Fear

Franklin Delanor Roosevelt once said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. He implies fear as something dangerous. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding proposes fear comes from within, but human inclination is to run and hide because they are afraid of the unknown. The author suggests that although fear feels paralyzing, the situation is rarely as threatening as one first assumes. Golding uses children’s fear on a remote island to prove that often the thing that is dreaded most comes from one’s mind.

Unfortunately, dreams often make fear come alive. The boys first discover this fact after the first declaration of a beast. It starts with the “littluns”, “[who] dream…as if the beastie is real”(52), but

He uses Ralph as maturity in this aspect, giving the younger boys a choice to “be frightened if you like”(82), but warning them that their fears may be more surreal than they feel. Ralph tries to use pure will and intelligent thinking to avoid getting overly anxious about the mere possibility of a beast. Even after seeing the “beast” himself, he still wants to focus more on how to be rescued than hunting it, whereas Jack focuses on accepting fear and pushing through it: “of course we’re frightened sometimes, but we put up with being frightened” (81). The readers can clearly see through their different reactions to threat that fear comes from within because each person subconsciously decides what they are going to let scare

Ralph is one of the rare few who can do this daunting task. After climbing up the mountain to find the “beast’s” cave, “he bound himself together with his will, fused his fear and loathing to hatred”(123), and went inside. Even walking through the forest alone, Ralph “realized with surprise that he did not really expect to meet any beast”(105) thus he was not afraid to walk alone in a potentially scary place. Ralph is able to push past his mental fear, proving although fears originate within, they do not have to be master of one’s existence. In order to overcome the challenges of life, each person must face the fears that are indeed a part of them. The book illustrates that there are several ways to face one’s “beast”, and although each path is varied, they all will eventually come to the same realization that no fear can be conquered until it is faced. Although the fears that come from within are the most terrifying, but one reigns victorious if he or she can achieve all goals despite