Fear Causes And Behavior In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

“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.

Fear can be caused by many different things and can be a result of different situations. “Fear is a primary emotion. It is an evolved and adaptive physiological response that occurs automatically in response to particular

Judgement is very important when it comes to making decisions whether they are big or small. One’s judgement not only affects themselves but the other people around them. Fear can alter and impede judgement. In Lord of the Flies written by William Golding the boys are gathered as a tribe and they begin chanting. The boys have been afraid of the beast and they would do anything to protect themselves from it. Simon emerges from the forest and the boys are fearful that the beast is Simon. Despite how close Simon was to the boys, he was still torn and ripped apart by all of them because they were all affected by fear. Together the boys chant, “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’ Now out of the terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, blind” (Golding 152). Judgement is easily impaired by fear and causes people to make rash decisions. The boys knew that it was Simon, however, their fear of the beast overruled their minds and they were affected by their fear. People can gain power in the fictional world and the real world. The terrifying event that occured on September 9, 2001 is also known as 9/11. Around the country, people were unsure and fearful about the events that had just occurred in front of their eyes. These attacks had violently hurt people and made them scared of their own country. People were traumatized and were very affected by these horrible actions. Pandolfo writes,

Power can be used for good or evil. It is a very influential force and can make people do things that they may not be accustomed to do. Power can be abused and can be used to hurt innocent people. In Lord of the Flies, Jack makes the best scarier and more daunting than he actually is and attempts to persuade the boys to go to his side because he will offer protection from the horrid monster. He puts fear in the little boys by saying that the beast will come after them so they need to be ready. While huddling with the boys, Jack exclaims, “‘Quiet!’ shouted Jack. ‘You, listen. The beast is sitting up there, whatever it is...’ ‘Hunting,’ said Jack. He remembered his age-old tremors in the forest. ‘Yes, the beast is a hunter” (Golding 126). The fear that Jack enforces in the boys about the beast allows him to gain more power. The boys look to him for protection despite how they might feel about his power and his ways. They ignore their needs and are immobilized from doing their own thing because fear inhibits them to. Prevalent in Lord of the Flies and in history, fear exemplifies how it can allow people to gain power. In the early 1930’s Germany was suffering from an economic depression and they were in desperate need for a strong figure head and a powerful leader. Hitler guaranteed that he would get Germany out of the hole they were digging and rose to power. He was a powerful leader and an even better public