What exactly is the “beast”? Is it a demon? A human? In “Lord of the Flies”, a group of boys crash-landed on an uninhabited island with no adults. They were evacuating during the time shortly after World War II. Some of the younger boys claimed to see a “beastie” or a “snake-thing” at night. Many people are perplexed when it comes to the query: “What is the beast and what does it symbolize?” There are numerous definitions about what the ‘thing’ haunting the children signify and it evolves throughout the book. In the beginning, the beast represents the children’s fear. “The Terrors of the Unknown” says that the children “began to people the darkness of night and forest with spirits and demons”(Doc A). The boys started to imagine the things that frightened them as reality. They turned their fears into a creature that exposes himself at night. In “Now he says it’s a Beastie”, a young boy who …show more content…
As stated in “Maybe it’s only us”, one of the boys says “maybe there is a beast… what I mean is… maybe it’s only us… Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s illness.”(Doc F). Simon eventually found out that a human could be capable of behaving like a terrifying creature. In “the Beast is Human”, Simon, the same boy who understood how cruel humans could be, “sets off, weak and staggering, to tell the other boys that the beast is human.”(Doc E). The boy found the body of the man terrorizing the children on the island and realized how being cruel mankind could be. People are capable of something so harsh and tormenting that they could be considered monsters. Quite a few readers of the “Lord of the Flies” share controversy over the question “what does the beast represent?” Although it changes throughout the plot, the “beast” has three basic meanings. The creature symbolizes the fears of the boys on the island, the war that caused them to be stranded, and the savageness of the humans causing the
Evidence in Doc. A, states that “They eternalize these fears into the figure of a ‘beast.’” Meaning, the boy’s are imagining their worst fears since they have no one there to comfort them. Another example of these fears coming to life is in Doc. B, “"Tell us about the snake thing.
Initially, the beast manifests into the form of fear. In the document, “The terrors of the unknown”, it states that, “They externalize these fears into the figure of a ‘beast’.” (Doc.A). This shows that the young children stranded on the island let their imaginations rule their lives, manifesting the beast in their fear. With no mothers to comfort them, these boys have become to reliable on their imaginations, which have, in return, caused them to believe that the beast is what they fear.
Who is the real beast? This is one of the questions that readers ask themselves after finishing Lord of the Flies. It is a question that is open to interpretation, and not one unanimous answer exists for everyone. In my personal opinion, I believe that Simon is the real beast. In this paper, I will explain this theory of Simon being the beast.
Although the Beast, has not taken on any physical literal form in this situation, the boys use its presence to explain what they cannot understand and do not want to acknowledge, that being the rotting corpse of the pilot still attached to his escape parachute. The boys are only willing to finally acknowledge the reality of the Beast, that they have been aware of from the start, if it allows them to ignore other frightening realities around them in the forest and if they can make it into something that they can either kill or appease. Now, the Beast takes on the form of a monster that lives on the mountain that is to be killed and hunted and, according to the children, can
Manipulation to create power One powerful tool to gain power over an induvidual is minipulation. In goldings novel lord of the flies many characters are minipulated and power changes hand through many characters. The key character that creates power through manipulation is jack. The three ways he uses this manipulation is by violance , food and fear. One of the most powerful forms of manipulation that jack uses in the novel is fear.
In document A, it is stated that “ they externalize these fears into a ‘beast.” This shows that the fear of the boys in itself creates the beastie. In document B, it is stated that “He was dreaming... He must have had a nightmare.” Since there were no mothers, there was no one to tell the boys that it would be okay and that nightmares did not actually happen
The teachings of the book are delivered in an outmoded fashion and are historically irrelevant in today’s changing world. The first half of the book focuses on a “dark thing, a beast, some sort of animal” that terrorizes the boys at night (83). While this beast provides an interesting plot to the story about a mysterious being, the true terrors of modern society have nothing
Savagery, uncivilized, and hypocritical children have clouded their judgment when trying to figure out if there is a real beastie. A monstrous figure frightens the juvenile boys that landed on this forsaken island. In the Lord of the Flies, these English boys are all alone to defend for themselves, thats when it all unravels. This mythical monster sooner called the “beast” is symbolized a fear of a mistaken beast, as the darkness of war, and the evilness of humanity waiting to be unleashed.
“A snake-thing. Ever so big. He saw it” (Golding 35). Most of the boys believed the beast was real, they got far enough to say they saw it and believed it. The beast was a story everyone chose to believe, no one knew if it was truly there or not.
This information is confirmation of Simon’s belief of the beast acting from within the boys (from chapter 5). The Lord of the Flies finds it funny how the boys thought that the beast was a physical creature. As he continues to talk to Simon, he reveals that the so-called beast is a “part of you” (Golding
However the beast truly is only within them, Golding uses the beast to symbolise and show the reader the evil within everyone including a pack of young boys, the concept the boys have of the beast begins to break down the order on the island.
As the boys grow anxious about the beast, which is presumably murdering boys on the island, Simon offers, “Maybe there is a beast... maybe it's only us,"(103-104). Simon is able to see their behavior, and call it out as beastly acts. Simon’s ability to recognize their faults is imperative in changing their behavior, but instead, they dismiss him. The group's inability to condemn themselves only further their fall into evil, and force them to act worse towards one another.
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.
Also represents in some way democracy, because was with the possession of it when Ralph was voted as chief. 3) What does the beast symbolize? The imaginary beast only symbolizes the act of the boys, the internal feelings of all human beings, the beast that is inside of everyone. Simon was the only one capable to realize that it was not real, and that the worst the boys behave, the more they will believe in the beast.
‘He says the beastie came in the dark.’” (Golding 73-80). The older kids on the island are laughing at the younger kids because they are believing in a make-believe monster or so they