Importance of Fear in The Lord of the Flies Essay

Importance of Fear in The Lord of the Flies The boys in the book, The Lord of the Flies, are controlled by their fear of the beast. This fear is not of the beast itself, but of the unknown. It comes from not knowing whether or not a beast exists. The children start as one united group. They are a community in their own. Slowly, rules started to get broken, individuals began to leave, and the group broke apart. The one thing that causes this break-up is the beast. The beast means different things to everyone, but each boy is afraid of it. All of this fear starts at one of the very first assemblies when a littlun says that he saw a beastie in the forest. Now he says it was a beastie†¦show more content†¦Remember? The two older boys flinched when they heard the shameful syllable (52). This reminds Jack and Ralph that there is a chance that the beast is real and there may be reason for all the fear. It also reveals that Simons character is very much in touch with reality. He is not trying to push the fact that a beast could be on the island away from him. He is trying to deal with his fear and show the others that they can and should deal with theirs. Ralphs concern for the littluns leads him to call an assembly to decide on fear (82). This assembly on fear is an essential part of the story. Ralph wants to discuss the fear of the beastie, and whether there is reason to be afraid of a beast that may not exist. He then proceeds to make this speech: Weve got to talk about this fear and decide theres nothing in it. Im frightened myself, sometimes; only thats nonsense! Like bogies. Then, when weve decided, we can start again and be careful about things like the fire (82). The purpose of this speech is to comfort the other boys and eliminate the fear. He wants them to turn their focus away from fear towards the fire and rescue. After Ralph puts the conch down Jack snatches it up and starts blaming the littluns for all the fear, saying that they brought it upon themselves by believing in the beast. Jack is angry about theShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Fear In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding751 Words   |  4 PagesPeriod 2 17 September 2017 The Importance of Fear In Lord of the Flies, William Golding applies literary devices like characterization and symbolism to develop the theme: the power of fear. From the beginning to the end of the story, Golding suggests to the reader that the most destructive emotion humans have is fear. In the novel, the boys find out that the only fear that is inevitable is fear itself. 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