Fear is an unpleasant human emotion that is triggered when a perceived threat, likely to cause pain or distress, presents itself. It is a basic survival mechanism that signals when danger is present. It is an essential part of keeping safe from harm and threats. In Golding’s Lord of the Flies, fear is a persistent theme that occurs in each chapter of the infamous novel. The fear in the group of boys was displayed when they constantly cowered away from each other or a violent beast that they believed existed with them on the uncharted island. Throughout Lord of the Flies, Golding addresses the ramifications of fear in his novel in the boys, individually and amongst the entire group as well. The boys continuously lost all sense of control when …show more content…
“‘There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast’” (Golding 143). Despite being one of the few boys who did not believe in the beast, the stress and fear still got to Simon as he began to see decapitated sow’s head as the Lord of the Flies. According to the University of Minnesota, his brain must have perceived all of the fear in the group of boys as negative and remembered it when he was tired, causing him to imagine the Lord of the Flies character. This quote is an example of Simon’s brain reacting to the signals from the amygdala, instead of rational processing. “They became motionless, gripped in each other’s arms, four unwinking eyes aimed and two mouths open” (Golding 98). Their unwavering fear of the beast magnified their experience from merely seeing the movement of the dead paratrooper to seeing a threat and consequently caused them to experience the sight before them more terrifying. Moreover, their fear has caused them to become incapacitated, according to the University of Minnesota, as they did not run away immediately after seeing the paratrooper that they perceived as the beast. The effects of fear had affected the boys individually by showing how fear can easily distort reality. While the group of boys’ fear of the beast was perceived, it impacted their mental and physical …show more content…
“There was a shout from beyond the thicket and then Ralph was running with the swiftness of fear through the undergrowth” (Golding 195). Like previously said before, fear is a basic survival mechanism that signals when danger is present. In this case, fear had saved Ralph’s life as it was the reason he was able to use his fight or flight response. When the danger of the situation Ralph was in escalated, the adrenaline of fearing for his life caused him to escape the threats that were after him. “There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding 153). In this quote, it speaks about how the group of Jack’s hunters managed to kill Simon, who was sadly seen as the beast that they all feared. Fear allows the body to release hormones that sharpen functions that might help the survival rate increase. The group of hunters’ fear of the beast allowed them to have the adrenaline and strength to face and defeat a threat that they deemed was most dangerous in their minds. When established that life indeed is in danger, fear becomes useful in different
Fear is a Battle with the Beast Within When fear is present, human beings have indescribable thoughts and actions. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, british school boys have to deal with the wrath of true fear. When the boys are faced with fear they push civilization aside and become unrecognizable to others. Fear changes a person by changing their thoughts and actions. William Golding explains throughout the novel that fear is always lurking, and fear will change our minds based on the thoughts of the unknown that controls the way we act and the emotions we feel.
Fear is all Controlling “Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Danger is very real. But Fear is a choice.”-Will Smith.
Throughout history and literature, symbols have been used to represent the bigger picture or main ideas. This allows the reader to illustrate the symbol in their head and have a much better overall understanding of the book. A number of times during Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he uses symbols to illustrate the boys’ destruction and fall from order into savagery. The regression of the boys’ civilization is evident through Golding’s symbolic use of the conch shell, the signal fire and the beastie. All are critical for expressing Golding’s overall message.
The boys are scared of the beast, and Jack does a better job of easing their fear because Ralph doesn't care about easing the fear of the beast among the boys, and focuses on rescue, but Jack focuses on the beast, and eliminating it. The boys’ main fear is the beast, and since Jack hunts, he makes the boys feel comfortable with him leading them to defend them from the beast. Jack has found out what motivates the boys by understanding what they want most. The boys feel less scared in Jack’s tribe is when the boys are scared to go to the mountain because of the beast, but Jack gives them a sense of safety that they can kill anything, and be stronger than anything or anyone. To illustrate, Jack says “And about the beast.
Due to the fact that the Capitol and Jack are the main antagonists of the works, they can be paralleled. While Jack unites the boys to administer his authority, the Capitol attempts to create division between the people to impose their dominion. “The Career Tributes tend to gather rowdily around one table, as if to prove their superiority, that they have no fear of one another and consider the rest of us beneath notice. Most of the other tributes sit alone like lost sheep” Page 97. This passage illustrates how the authorities create division between the districts in order to establish their reign.
Fear is an unpleasant caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.(Mariams Webster). Fear is a thing we all hold inside of us, we are all scared of something or someone it 's just human nature. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a unique way of showing how fear affects human behavior, he used the boys on the island to show how fear affects the behavior of humans and how the boy 's manner and mentality changed over time. From when the boys first came on the island they are actions were normal then later on as the boys started gaining the fear of the beast they started doing abnormal actions they took certain steps because of the fear in them that had been planted by the beast in this case. One of the main reasons fear is spread through the boys is the beast, though we find out the beast is nothing but their imagination.
In the book “The Lord of the Flies” Golding’s words reveal the connection of People using fear to controll others, to Jack and his constant drive for power. Terorists groups like ISIS use fear to manipualte the U.S and other contries to gain power in a number of different ways, such as the attacks on Paris, France. While Jack also uses fear to gain the support from his fellow island members in a quest for power. This is highlighted when Jack tries attempts to overthrow Ralph: “Quiet!” shouted Jack.
Fear has the ability to manipulate people into believing there is danger when there is not, causing them to make rash decisions. These decisions can result in a disobedience to one’s cultural beliefs, as seen in Lord of the Flies and Beowulf. Even though the characters from Lord of the Flies and Beowulf come from cultures built around nobility and loyalty, fear tears them apart from the society they had worked hard to achieve. Although the boys from Lord of the Flies tried to keep their culture’s morals, the fear of the unknown caused the children to betray their Culture.
Emily Leaver Mr. Beam Fresh. Lit/ Block D 25 August 2015 True Possession The qualities a leader possesses can ultimately decide how a society survives, as well controlling the level of peace within the civilization.
Evil and savagery lives within and it can be brought out when you are forced to fight for something. We all have a dark side that may not show until faced with a challenging task. Lord of the Flies is about a group of young boys stuck on an island after their plane crashes. There are no adults and they are left to survive by themselves. They have to decide between right and wrong.
Which is stronger, hope or fear? Fear keeps you alive it tells you when to run. If you go for a walk and there is a man chasing you, would you run or keep walking and just hope that he leaves you alone? With hope you will always find times when you are overcome by fear. It is the hope of change that allows you to conquer the fear.
Everyone will face evil at some point in their lives, but the way the evil is embraced or deflected will differ among every man. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbolism is used to communicate the theme of Understanding the Inhumanity/Inherent Evil of Man as represented through the double ended spear, the fire, and the Lord of the Flies. The spear represents the evil inside of humankind and the perception that killing and hurting each other out of anger is acceptable. Fire symbolizes the evil act of stealing to achieve a human wants. Lastly, the Lord of the Flies symbolizes the Inherent Evil of Man through demonstrating that a boy understood that the evil is within them instead of around them, and is not something that could be killed
In the novels “The Lord of the Flies” and “The Chrysalids”characters are pushed to their limits, and they are driven to do things that they wouldn’t normally do, what drives them to do these things, is their fears. In both novels they fear a godly figure, and the unknown. The characters deal with their fear in similar ways. Finally, the Waknukians fear eventually lead them to their downfall, and the same thing goes for the boys in the “Lord of the Flies”.
The collective fear of the unknown leads to the untimely and accidental death of Simon. The distress present in the boys causes their impulsive action, of Simon’s horrific murder. Fear of “the beast” an imaginary creature causes the boys to act irrational, and provokes survival instincts as a result of life threatening terror. The fear of the boys in this moment is epitomized when they chant, “Kill the beast!, Cut his throat, Spill his blood!” (168).
During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”