Fear In Lord Of The Flies

Words: 2307
Pages: 10

Why is one of the most common human fears death, when it is inevitable? To some people, death seems to be a looming and controlling thought, it may even cause one to act irrationally and unnaturally. Death is one of the most prevalent unknowns among humans, causing a large fear of the future. In the novel Lord of the Flies, fear of the unknown is one of the most prominent themes of the book. In the novel, it shows that although fear of the unknown is a natural human trait, it causes people to act in unnatural ways.

The theme “Fear of the Unknown”, in the novel Lord of the Flies, is meant to make people act in unnatural ways. An example that displays how fear pushes one to act unnaturally is when the character Jack turns most boys of the island against the character Ralph: “You’ve got to go because it’s not safe… They are going to hunt you tomorrow.” (Golding 193- 194). Jack and Ralph have always competed for the title of “chief”
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”The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except for luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?”(Golding 81) This is what Jack says to the boys to convince them to keep the fire going so that they can be rescued. Jack knew that the fire wasn't actually used to signal a boat or plane, he knew that the fire was used to keep hope in the hearts of the other boys. The beast was fighting the little hope the boys had, it is a physical representation that the boys will never be able to leave the island. When FDR gave his First Inaugural Address in 1933 he said the famous quote ”The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” (Roosevelt) Even though Roosevelt was speaking on behalf of the cold war, this quote still relates to LOTF. Throughout the whole book Jack and Ralph are trying to convince the boys that there is no beast. The fear of the unknown is what