Fear In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

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Would you have ever guessed, that your fear would cause you to act inhuman and barbaric? In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, that is exactly what is happening. A plane full of boys crashes on an unknown island. The boys who are afraid of being stuck here, wonder what to do. They fear of many things because there are no adults, and this also causes there to be a lack of authority. However, the boys vote and make a boy named Ralph their leader; he represents order and civilization. The boys begin to fear what they call the “beast”, which they think is a creature living on the island. What the boys don’t understand is that the beast is actually themselves, and the savage nature inside each one of them. Despite naming Ralph their …show more content…
Their fear of the beast further urges them to do these savage deeds. They do not think straight or make wise decisions. This leads to the death of a boy named Simon. The boys thought Simon was the beast and this is what happened.
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.
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Fear plays a big role in these decisions and causes them to become uncivilized and barbaric. William Golding suggests that fear brings out the beast in everyone. When the boys join Jack’s tribe, it is because of their fear of the beast. Jack influences them to join his tribe because he seems as he could provide protection. The boys make unwise decisions while they are with Jack. Their fear of the beast also causes the boys to attack each other, as they did when they killed Simon who they thought was the beast. Not only the fear of the beast affected their decisions, but also the fear of Jack. Jack did what he wanted because he knew no one would try to stop him. He could also order the boys to do savage deeds, like hunt down Ralph. The novel ends when Jack and his tribe set the whole island on fire in the attempt to find Ralph. A ship sees the smoke and heads to the island, which results in the boys’ rescue. The boys’ experience on the island had turned them into savages. The lack of authority, and fear of the beast and Jack had caused many issues. This is important to look at because the boys were really just afraid of each other and themselves. There was no beast, just the savage nature inside of each one of them, waiting to be released. The truth is that your fear can turn you into a