Examples Of Fear In Lord Of The Flies

Fear in Lord of The Flies

In the novel Lord of the Flies, a group of English schoolboys are left stranded on an island after their plane is shot down during World War II. Without rules and structures of society and civilization, the boys on the island succumb to savagery and hysteria. Fear becomes the driving force that determines the ability of the boys in Lord of The Flies by William Golding have to control impulses and instincts. In other words, fear is what motivates many events to occur in the novel, including decivilization. While some argue that evil in mankind is inevitable and hereditary, an analysis of the symbolism in the post World War II novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding proves that fear reveals the evil of mankind due

The analysis of human evil is mostly based on Golding’s experience with World War II that featured non fictional violence and brutality. Golding quickly shows that when the boys are free from rules, they quickly turn to savagery. Some work for peace and order in order to achieve prosperity, whereas the others rebel and seek the leadership of corrupt and violent leaders. In World War II in a time of economic crisis, Germany turns to extreme dictatorship under Adolf Hitler’s reign. Due to the desperate times, Nazi’s joined in the effort to commit evil crimes to blame Jews and other groups for the condition of the economy. “Coming from Golding's Jack, these words effectively shatter Ballantyne's easy optimism. Conditioned no less by the theology of man's fall than by Nazi atrocities, Lord of the Flies traces the spreading stain of man's depravity from its first intimations in Jack to its near-total corruption of the boys and their social order.” (Friedman) It is with harsh times that enables people to surrender and follow under the evil leadership in order to achieve relief. Likewise, in Lord of the Flies the boys turn to Jack, whom they believe can help them to hunt for food. However, Jack begins to succumb to hysteria, causing him to murder Simon, along with other sacrificial killings. Throughout the novel, some boys in the group decide to join Jack’s tribe to avoid going hungry. “He’s not a hunter. He’d never had got us meat. He isn't a prefect and we don't know anything about him. He just gives orders and expects people to obey for nothing” (126) Thus, this example can be compared to Nazi’s following under Hitler’s dictatorship in an effort to remedy the economic downfall from World War I. In addition, Jack is able to manipulate the group into thinking that Ralph is not as valuable of a leader as