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The intention of the writer useof the beast in lord of the flies
Essay about the beast in lord of the flies
Lord of the flies the beast symbolism literary criticism
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An imaginary“Beast”, haunting and terrifying. What does this “Beast” from Lord of the Flies? Lord of the Flies is a novel written by William Golding. The novel takes place on an unnamed island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. On that island, a group of school had crashed after having their plane shot down during World War Two when evacuating their school.
In the novel Lord of the Flies, the boys have different views on the beast. In Simon’s opinion, he thinks the beast is themselves. He chokes, " But..." The storm broke down. " ’Sit down!’
When considering the beastie in the Lord of the Flies, Piggy and Simon's comments reveal that the boys' fear of the beastie could just be their own fears. Or, in other words, the beast on the island is them. Piggy first builds on this idea, saying that "I know there is no fear... Unless we get frightened of people" (Golding 84). Simon addresses this topic in a similar fashion to Piggy.
“He says the beastie came in the dark… stumbling among all those creepers…” In the story of the Lord of the Flies, a small group of boys are stranded on an island, and are being hunted by a strange “beast.” What, however, does this beast symbolize? As time progresses, numerous interpretations of the beast have arised.
Do him in!’ The sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and screamed. The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face” ( Golding 152). This gruesome event is when the beast gains physical presence in the boys through their immoral actions. The beast turns into a symbol of fear and irrational thoughts that completely takes control of the boys, speeding their transformation into savages all as a consequence of the desertion of their morals.
When Golding writes, “The dispersed figures had come together on the sand and were a dense black mass that revolved” (pg. 92), he is displaying a symbolic representation of the boys being what is known as the “beastie” on the island. In the previous pages of the book Golding writes, “Ralph turned involuntarily, a black, humped figure against the lagoon” (pg. 88). Golding compares the delinquent boys to this mysterious animal, which represents the destruction that the boys are going to cost the island, which will impact their survival. Piggy mentioned that “What I mean is… maybe it is only us” (pg. 89). In this quote Golding uses Piggy’s thoughts to provide for another possibility of what the “beastie” really is.
The “beast” is given a physical form, a dead parachutist. The body falls onto the island by, “a battle fought at ten miles’ height,” and is first seen by Samneric (Doc D). In the dead of night the boys can’t see clearly and run to Ralph saying, “We saw- the beast,” (Doc D). At this point in the story, fear and tension amongst the boys rise due to the alleged sighting of the “beast”. However, the war which produced the body, is the real “beast” and sets the boys’ mini war in motion.
The beast is first introduced to the boys early on in their time on the island when the crash acts as a scar to the boys and there is still a state of innocence in everyone. Piggy illustrates the boy with the mulberry-colored birthmark fears to the others (as he is too shy to speak on his own) his discovery of something else existing on the island to the entire assembly, “Tell us about the snake-thing... Now he says it was a beastie... Beastie?... A snake-thing.
Simon was the first to realize there was no actual beast on the island, and that it was only a dead man with a parachute. He believed there was no such thing as a beast on the island, and he helped the littluns believe it too by saying: "What I mean is... Maybe it 's only us." (89). Simon was trying to suggest the idea that the beast was only an illusion to the boys’, as it had been created only within their imaginations.
The Beast in Every Human Thesis Statement: The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding portrays the theme that regardless of each person’s different background and characteristics, every individual has the ability to commit brutal acts. While this book depicts Ralph and Piggy as the most civilized characters, and Jack and his hunters as young English choir boys, their actions reveal that they all have the capability to act violently. While Jack and his hunters started out as just choirboys, they become obsessed with violence and are driven to kill. At the beginning of the book, Jack hesitates and misses his chance to kill a trapped pig. Later on, as Jack and his newly formed tribe hunt in the forest, they discover a sow.
In the Lord of the Flies symbolism is used countless of times, but the main symbol is the “beast” The beast is like a “walking and talking” terror that could mean several different things depending on how you interpret it. Some say that the beast represents fear, while others believe it is a symbol of war, another one is the idea that the beast portrays the savagery of human nature. One way to interpret the beast is having it represent fear. Fear for everyone can portray different phobias weather it be the dark, heights, or simply being alone. The children on the island, younger and gradually the older ones, saw the terrors of their dreams in the darkness of the night and externalize the fear into what they began to call the “beast.”
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, there are many symbolic concepts within the novel such as the beast, and the pigs head. Golding uses these concepts to portray to the reader his idea that when humans are left without rules or organisation they will break from a civilised manner and become savages allowing evil to over take them. One of the most important symbols used to help the reader understand Golding's idea is the beast. Many of the boys believe their is a beast on the island and become fearful.
The imaginary beast that frightens all the boys stands for the savagery that exists with all people. The boys are afraid of the beast. However only Simon realizes that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. As civilization exists the island life and savagery replaces it, their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the book, the boys are leaving it sacrifices such as the pig head.
In the highly disturbing and honestly quite terrifying subplot of chapter eight with Simon and the “Lord of the Flies” character, the Lord of the Flies says this: “Get back to the others and we’ll forget the whole thing… This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there-so don’t try to escape” (143). What it means by “you’ll only meet me down there” is that this entity, the Lord of the Flies, is the representation of evil and darkness on the island, and so you’ll never escape its presence there. “The Lord of the Flies” also calls itself “the beast” (143), which makes perfect sense, since the beast doesn’t actually exist and so it’s only another title for the evil, violence, and fury of the island, which again is the same entity that the “Lord of the Flies” is.
During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”
