Fear In Lord Of The Flies Quote Analysis

Immediately after sardonically taunting Piggy, the boys all broke into laughter behind Jack. This instance of harassing in Lord of the Flies is an example of insolence that granted power to Jack. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows that aggression can be rewarded with power. There are many cases in Lord of the Flies where someone abuses someone else to gain someone’s respect or fear. These cases are usually resolved with the bully succeeding, and obtaining the power they sought out for with their derision. In today’s world, a large mass of individuals still induce fear to their subject to gain authority over others, especially in school systems like the boys-only school mentioned in Lord of the Flies. Although the leaders with the most power on the island may not deserve their standing on the social ladder of the group, their actions and decisions kept (most of) them alive.

Ralph exploits the fat boy to his convenience and takes the spotlight to reveal his nickname, gaining the respect of the boys as they laugh at Piggy. “He’s not Fatty,” said Ralph, “his real name's Piggy!” As attention was turned to Ralph, credit was given to him for picking on the boy everyone taunts, giving him power within the group. This is an occurrence of supercilious taunting that granted Ralph power for making fun of Piggy. This instance is not the only example of bitterness caused by an opportunity to gain