Fear Instilled

One has nothing to fear but fear itself. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, fear coexists with the boys throughout the entire novel. The feeling of fear occurs immediately as the group of boys land on the deserted island. They experience fears of whether or not they will be able to survive on the island, the fear of losing power, as well as the ‘beastie’. Altogether, the fears pile up for the group, causing a struggle to subsist long enough for the chance to be rescued. Therefore, it is essential that fear is conquered in order to survive.

In this situation, fear manifests itself when the question of survival arises. Piggy brings up the fact that the chances of being rescued are very slim: “Nobody knows where we are,’ … Perhaps they knew where we was going to; and perhaps not. But they don’t know where we are ‘cos we never got there.” (Golding 32). Not knowing of how to survive, the boys find a way to recreate what they deem to be society. Likewise to humanity, they have a leader (being Ralph), and many rules to follow by. The rules include: obeying the conch, maintaining a signal fire in the hopes to be rescued, a curfew for the littluns, and many more. However, these rules are now meaningless as the savagery from Jack’s new tribe takes over the population, which leads back to their fears for survival. This is their view of what is no longer a human society, but a barbaric, uncivilized nature in which the boys have adapted to surviving in from their cruelty.

Next, the struggle for power becomes a fear as one loses possession of leadership. The topic of power comes up in almost every conversation between Jack and Ralph

It is clear that the power is shifting when Ralph asks, “‘who is going to join my tribe?’… Some of the boy...

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...at no matter what you do to destroy a beast, evil will always remain. With no doubt, the beast keeps the boys together because hunting ensures they are in control of their fears. However, it is controversial that the beast is what they are most afraid of, themselves.

In conclusion, it is essential that fear is conquered in order to survive. Fear manifests when the boy’s lives are on the line, and fear of the beast confirms the nature of evil. Fear is an unpleasant emotion with the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. It is important to realize that society as it is can manifest many fears, but to survive one must conquer them. Our fears can range and vary at many different levels: from fear of the dark, and to fear for your life. To become better people, we must not let our fears consume us and instead, overcome them.