What Is The Evil In Lord Of The Flies

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a classic tale about the essence of fear and how fear can be a motivating element in life. In the novel, William Golding writes, “Life…is scientific… I know there isn’t no beast… but I know there isn’t no fear, either… unless we get frightened by people.” Golding suggests that there may be a function for fear in life. One could argue it is a concentrated choice. Fear is the body’s natural reaction to an alien experience, more so if that foreign element or situation causes grave discomfort or threatens one’s wellbeing. Golding knows beasts are not real, but people’s responses are. Fear is the untapped, primeval beast within each human that emerges like an emotional sword when needed. The entire novel explores the evil that emerges within humans when fighting for survival. The flight over fight overtakes the characters as situations become more difficult and the battle for survival more critical in the face of escalating violence. Fear is an ingredient. When mixed with a particular trait within an individual, it can evoke a completely different reaction depending on what that trait is. In Jack, his natural arrogance and aversion to rules resulted in fear transforming him into an amoral person, shedding any last remains of civilization in favor of personal power. In the novel, there are multiple …show more content…
It is a necessary fuel that spurs a will to survive, to fight back, to not give in to a greater force that can threaten to strip a person of all reason, morals, and humanity. At some points, Jack knows what he is doing is wrong, but he is already so far gone that he prefers being a beast, because he becomes convinced it is better to evoke fear in others than be consumed by it. Ralph by contrast tries to channel his fear and the horrors he witnesses, ie. the murders of Simon and Piggy, Golding is attempting, in this quote, to inform others that mostly all fear is derived from fear

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