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The lord of the flies essay about themes
The lord of the flies essay about themes
What is symbolism in lord of the flies
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In the rough times of today’s society, fear seems to be an emotion that all humans can relate to. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses the topic of fear to draw the readers in and give them the ability to sympathize with the characters. He also portrays how the fear of the beast leads the way on how the boys are currently living their life on the island, causing them to descend into chaos. While on the island, the amount of fear the boys show about the beast is the reason for a lot of chaos to happen. Having or causing chaos is to complete disorder and confusion (Dictionary.com). The groups’ fear of the beast, the fear they will not get rescued off the island, and lastly the way Jack manipulates the other kids into joining …show more content…
Firstly, as news spreads of the beast, all kids believe in it, but the one character who does not believe in the beast is Simon as said by the pig head. To Jack, however, it is something for him to release his inner savagery for his desire to hunt and kill. “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew didn’t you? I am a part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s a no go?’ Why things are what they are?” (Golding 158). In this situation, as the boys express their fear of the beast, Simon knows that the beast is not real and will not cause harm; however, the rest of the group thinks the exact opposite. This quote, said by the Lord of the flies (also known as the pig head) to Simon to intimidate the kids and also Jack, this proves how Jack uses the pig head to contract people’s fear, which is always used in the past because of his constant desire for hunting. In the previous quote the pig head says this to Simon referring to the third line it says that the beast is a part of every individual soul on the island. If the pig head does not get hunted down then they have a slimmer chance of getting attacked by the beast. …show more content…
First of all, after Jack loses the vote for becoming a leader, it is pretty difficult for him. He starts turning into a savage as day in and day out it is all about killing, he lost power while being on the island for this long made him also loose the confidence with his peers. “The chief led them, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses.” (Golding 186). This quote is said by Jack to the others in the group while he is trying to convince the group on why he should have been the leader all along. As the book progress to this point Jack knows that the glasses mean something to the group such as power, and they are always used to create the signal fire which is what the group needs in order to attract things passing by. After this there is a lead up to the killing of Piggy when Jack rolls a boulder off the cliff, attempting to kill Ralph but then instead lands on Piggy, killing him. The reason being willing to kill Ralph is Jack descends into chaos leading him to kill something in order for him to have a second sacrifice for the beast. The quote symbolizes that Jack abuses power for personal gain and also the glasses; he will have power
In the Lord of the Flies fear takes over the boys and cause things to go downfall. The boys in Lord of the Flies might be afraid of the beast, but that fear turns out to be more dangerous than any beast could possibly be. The Lord of the Flies even says to Simon that “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?
Our first aspect of Fear in the novel comes into play with the Beast. This fictional character becomes the center of the boys problems on the island and brings a long chaos and death. Simon is murdered due to the befuddlement of Simon being mistaken as the beast when in fact he was the jesus like figure and his death was a representation of sacrifice. The beast was not something tangible it was simply the boys because the beast was themselves. Our biggest demons in life rest within oneself, and on the island the beast was just a justification for the boys to blame their wrong doings on. William Golding refers to this using the role of simon by stating: “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are" (158)?
... and the fight on the island. Not only is fear damaging in Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace , but it also affects our society today in many ways. For example, the war on terror/terrorism is an example of both an external conflict and the savage nature of man. It has caused so many catastrophic and fatal events in our history, like the 9/11 attack and any war that followed it. The attack on the twin towers shows just how inhumane humans can be and starts a world-wide conflict. Our “follow-up” attack was done out of fear and equally as savage as theirs and shows what we will do just to protect our country. Again this goes back to the concept of survival of the fittest but in an international scale. Fear is an everyday emotion that the human race must face, and it can bring out the best and worst of us, but its how we choose to deal with it that truly defines us.
When we hear the word “beast,” most of us will immediately think of some enormous hairy creature with razor sharp fangs and massive claws coming to kill and eat us. Although these types of beasts do exist, the boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, show that a different, much more sinister beast is present in all of our everyday lives, and, like the boys in the book, most of us don’t even know about it. Throughout the book, the existence and meaning of the beast go through significant changes. In the beginning, the boys believe the beast to be a substantive being. At first no one believes it, but later they begin to believe its existence. Later though, the beast reveals itself as an internal flaw within everyone on the island, and slowly begins to take over the children’s free will. As the belief in the beast goes up, its manifestation as the “typical beast” that we all think of goes down, which is ironic because they are creating the beast in their minds, while also living it out in their actions.
In Lord of the Flies, Golding proves that fear draws out man’s inner evil and barbarism. Within the novel, Golding uses characterization of the boys and symbolism of the beast to show the gradual change from their initial civility to savagery and inhumanity. Learned civility, order and humanity become ultimately futile in the face of fear. The author teaches that without logic, fear consumes endlessly. He shows that fear clouds the mind, thus making it absolutely imperative to maintain reason and logic throughout life. Fear will always end in a fate worse than death for those who survive it.
Fear in Lord of the Flies In the novel The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, fear. is the cause of all of the problems that take place on the island. At First, the island is thought to be splendid and a paradise, but as the boys' stay on the island increases, so, too, do their fears. The boys soon become afraid of each other and soon after that the boys break up.
One of many prominent themes in William Golding's novel, the Lord of the Flies, is Fear. From the very first chapter, until the last, fear plays an important role in this text. It is the only thing, which stops the boys from acting rationally at times, from questioning curious circumstances and it physically hindered so many of the boys, so many times. The active role of fear in Lord of the Flies, was intentionally used by Golding, because he knew what images it would create. Fear is described by Mirriam- Webster's English dictionary, as To be uneasy or apprehensive'. This feeling is mutually experienced by all of the boys on the island in many different ways. Initially the boys have an obvious fear of being alone, which then brings upon the fear of what we know as the beast, or as the littluns refer to is, as the beastie'. While this fear continues for the whole of the novel, we are also exposed to three other incidents of fear. The first of these is the civilised fear of consequences, displayed only when the children are seen as young civilised boys, in the earliest chapters. The final two are of a different nature, with those fears being the loss of power, the fear of rejection and the fear of being in the minority. All of these different fears, then relate back to the character, and as was expertly planned out by William Golding, influences the characters attitudes and behaviours.
The power of fear consumes people and is one of the strongest weapons there is. Fear takes the form of an imaginary beast, a regular school boy, and a rotting pigs’ head. As simple as they may seem, they symbolize the fears and faults of humans. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies twists the limits on humanity, and proves the evil in the ways of human nature.
In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, and Kendra Cherry’s article, “The Milgram Obedience Experiment”, the comparable fear factor, and naive mindset of individuals put under dire circumstances leads to the corruption of society and rise of evil in humans. Fear factors are an influential resource, and useful tactic leaders use to instil dominant power in their citizens, if this power is abused, evil and chaos occurs. For example, in Lord of the Flies, when Samneric get captured by Jack, Jack terrorizes them, snapping, “What d’you mean coming here with spears? What d’you mean by not joining my tribe?” the twins try to escape but fear takes over their morals and they, “...lay looking up in quiet terror” (Golding 182). As Jack threatens
While they agree that the beast is not a traditional monster, it is Simon’s philosophical understanding that allows him to fully realize the meaning of the beast. At the assembly, Ralph plans to discuss the beast, hoping to bring the fear to an end. Simon suggests that the boys themselves are the beast. Later, when Simon encounters the “Lord of the Flies” in a hallucination, the reader learns the extent of his understanding. The Lord of the Flies mocks Simon by saying, “Fancy you thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill...You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?”(128). Simon realizes that there is something within humans that can cause them to act savagely. However, at the assembly, in an effort to understand what Simon meant about the beast, the boys suggest that the beast could be a ghost. Piggy firmly rejects this idea because he approaches the beast in the same way he handles most situations: logically and scientifically. As Piggy states, “Life… is scientific, that’s what it is…. I know there isn’t no beast- not with claws and all that, I mean- but I know there isn’t no fear either… unless we get afraid of people” (72). Piggy understands fear can have detrimental effects, but he does not yet understand that fear is within every person, and this is the “beast” that can cause people to act without
Human's fears should not be taken lightly. Fear could do anything to one's minds, though without fear, man can be as savage as animals. In the book Lord of the Flies, William Golding presented fear of the unknown to be a powerful force in a man's mind. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force, which can turn to either insight or hysteria. The kids feared of not being rescued off of the island, so they made signal fires on top of the mountain. Then, there and gone, Roger's fear of the old rules he abided to. Also, there were the fears of the beast which confused and isolated the kids from the top of the mountain.
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” (Roosevelt). “Fear is a chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals that cause a racing heart, fast breathing and energized muscles, among other things, also known as the fight-or-flight response” (Layton). Fear affects the brain and can help people or make them in a worse situation than they were in the first place. Fear most motivates/influences people during times of crisis by clouding judgement and becoming a weapon of power.
The theme of the novel is the collapse of the society. The friendships among the boys are destructive because they do not realize the beast inside of them. They show their ego to each other. The beast is something evil within themselves and it is not a savage animal that is caved ‘Lord of the Flies’.
The most destructive force on the island is not a physical being, but rather a fear that lives within the boys. The three fears that were stated above, Jack’s fear of not being chief, Ralph’s fear of not surviving and the boys’ fear of the beast, has made the most impact in the book Lord of the Flies. Throughout the book, the boys have the power and the strength to overcome their fears and work together as a group but in the end, they choose not to by letting themselves accept their inner savageness. Fear is a very strong motivator, but it is up to the humans to use that for the benefit of others and themselves. Conclusively, it is either the fear controls the person or the person controls the fear.
A distressing emotion aroused by impending evil and pain, whether the threat is real or imagined is described as fear. Fear is what William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies encompasses. By taking three major examples from the novel, fear will be considered on different levels: Simon’s having no instance of fear, Ralph’s fear of isolation on the island, and Jack’s fear of being powerless. Fear can make people behave in ways that are foreign to them, whether their fear is real or imagined. In response to fear, people may act defensively by attacking, fear can either stop one from doing something, or it can make one behave in an irrational erratic manner.