Fear In Lord Of The Flies

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Pages: 4

Fear: The Premise of Motivation

The literature of English 421 shows that fear is the basis of motivation for characters to make risky decisions that are not always seen as wise actions, and ultimately bring out their true personality. The works of Lord of the Flies, Water for Elephants, and Alive convey a wide range of emotions and themes, but the one that stood out to me the most was fear.

Fear in Lord of the Flies is a recurring conflict. When the boys were first united on the island, many of them decided that this was the perfect getaway from adults and responsibilities. Except, what Ralph feared was of never getting off the island. He called for a meeting and implied they should build fires and shelters to sustain themselves in order to stay alive long enough to get rescued. “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we
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Jacob was near graduation of veterinary school with the aim to join his father in the business once he received his degree. Unfortunately, his father and mother died, and he was left with nothing. This sparked a breakdown in Jacob’s life. While he was taking his final exam, he walked out without having written anything on the paper. He wandered around town after, lost in his own world, when suddenly a train was rushing alongside him. “There are people on that train. It matters not a whit where it’s going, because wherever it is, it’s away from coyotes and toward civilization, food, possible employment- maybe even a ticket back to Ithaca, although I haven’t a cent to my name and no reason to think they’d take me back.” (Gruen 24). This represents Jacob’s fear of facing the consequences of what he did. He uses that fear to motivate him to grab onto a moving train and join the circus at the age of twenty-three. This introduced his inner depth and innocence, as he still cared about his future while looking for a way