Societal Fear In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

“Vote for me or else.” When you hear these words, you know something is wrong. William Golding provided strong thoughts that contributed to his message of the novel. All authors include a deeper meaning to their writings, and they all give the audience something to relate to. William Golding introduced a theme that a community, society, and even a nation can understand. This work of fiction contained an essence that is relevant in the real world today. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding introduced the themes of societal fear and power that relate to the present day situation of government officials attempting to put fear into their voters.

There are many scenarios in the novel that reflect the theme of societal fear. In the

In this instant, fear is introduced into the novel, establishing that there is, indeed, something evil on the island. As soon as this is said, everybody decides that having a leader to protect them would be a good idea. This quote supports the theme of fear because it is the entity of what the group dreads. “The beastie,” Golding explains, “comes from the dark” (Golding 35). He uses the dark as a primary setting in the novel. The author does this because nighttime and darkness set a scary and gloomy tone. Jack, more than Ralph, knows he can use the fear of the littluns against them in order to gain their trust. For example; after Simon, Ralph, and Jack went up to the mountain to observe the beast, Jack came back and used Ralph’s fear of the beast against him. In the novel, Golding says that “He's a coward himself, on top when Roger and me went up he stayed” (Golding 126). Fear is considered a weakness. If you are afraid, you are also weak and powerless. When Jack used Ralph’s

This is just a novel, and nobody would think that a fiction novel could hold so much truth. Golding provides real world actions and themes throughout his writing. The themes of societal fear and power hold true in the present day. For example, our government elections carry out the message of fear and power. Donald Trump is an example of this. He uses the fear of immigrants to persuade people to vote for him. Trump also uses the fear of ISIS to gain votes. He is thinking of violent ways to show he is superior to ISIS. CBS News, Rebecca Kaplan, writes about Trump's plans, “I'd blow up the pipes, I'd blow up the refineries. Every single inch -- there would be nothing left. I will just bomb those suckers.” This quote demonstrates how he manipulates the minds of the Americans in order to receive votes. Donald Trump does not show weakness; therefore, people who are considered weak lean on him to protect them, and that is what he wants the people to do. The presidential candidates are similar to Jack because they degrade each other in order to gain power. The debates that are held on television thrive off of insults. People might not see it, but if you elect the wrong person into authority, it can lead to disaster. The boys on the island didn't see it until it was already too late. In the world today, power is corrupting our nation, and fear is making the citizens vulnerable and weak. People like Jack and Donald Trump use this to their