Fear has the ability to manipulate people into believing there is danger when there is not, causing them to make rash decisions. These decisions can result in a disobedience to one’s cultural beliefs, as seen in Lord of the Flies and Beowulf. Even though the characters from Lord of the Flies and Beowulf come from cultures built around nobility and loyalty, fear tears them apart from the society they had worked hard to achieve.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, is a classic novel about a group of schoolboys stuck on an island where fear and savagery consumes them. From the beginning of the book to the last page fear has a prominent role in the novel. Fear in the book manifests itself with many thoughts including what the littluns refer to as the beast, and the fear of not getting home. Fear leads some of the boys to make regrettable decision and it also leads Jack to a position of power. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding fear dominates the island that the boys are stranded on and this fear leads the boys to positions of power and influences some of the boys to make regrettable decisions.
Every child comes into this world as a selfish, manipulative, cruel and stubborn being. It is the parents and society that teaches children how to function in a civilized world, and societal laws that keeps them under control. William Golding wrote this novel in the early years of the cold war and the atomic age. In William Golding's classic novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses Jack, a young savage who looks to lead a group of stranded kids on an island with no food, no rules, and no adults. The effect freedom has on Jack has turned him into a savage because he does not have to listen to anyone since there are no adults on the island. All Jack can think about is hunting rather than helping Ralph and the others build shelters and make a signal
The island is used as a sort of playing ground to reveal the true underlying qualities of each character, and as mentioned above, the qualities of humanity. When the boys first gather on the island, they are quick to order themselves in a society, more of a tribe in their case, that reflects the social structure they were exposed to at home. This process involves electing a leader, holding meetings or assemblies to vote on matters, and working together for the greater good of everyone on the island. The assemblies become a part of keeping order within their society. To illustrate, when Ralph finds out that Jack neglected the fire he calls an assembly to prioritize. Ralph says, “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make” (80). As an effort to show the boys their dire circumstances, he tries to convict them, including himself, of their ignorance. On the contrary, Jack Merridew counters Ralph’s authority with the proposition of thrill and amusement. Jack proposes that he forms his own tribe.. Within this rebel tribe he suggests that they act only as savages. The temptation to hunt won many of the boys over in favor of orderly society as suggested by Ralph. The two groups of boys reach the culmination of the conflict when logic battles savagery; “ ‘Which is
The Lord Of The Flies is a great book filled with events that have hidden messages. There are many allegorical connections that you can make in these hidden messages or symbols. The literary term allegory means a representative of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms. The most important symbols that make up an allegory in this book are piggy's glasses, the island, the beast, the adults and the conch. All the symbols in this story signify the world and Golding tries to find a way to compare or relate it to the real world.
Throughout the book this is represented as the children constantly do things to benefit Jacks wishes, even if they know it is wrong. Fear will make you do things that love and respect never will. Jack had the capability to make the kids do everything he wished. No one ever stood up to him, but would you stand up to someone you fear? When chasing Ralph towards the end of the book the children all followed Jacks lead. When Ralph was located by the twins nothing was said when they were asked if they found him, for the soul purpose that they knew it was wrong to kill him but the fear embodied them and they were unable to say no. Not only did he embody fear but he glorifies certain situations. "I painted my face—I stole up. Now you eat—all of you—," (Golding,35). Jack is trying to make the boys think that being a hunter and providing for them is the only thing that matters. He thinks that hunting for food gives him automatic power over the boys. “You didn't hunt, you don't get any,”(Golding,59). His mentality was that he had control over every aspect that included the food, and he perceived it as if the boys also became hunters they would have the same
First of all, in Lord of the Flies, William Golding demonstrates selfishness from the theme of power. Power is one of the factors that can make people express their selfishness. In Lord of the Flies of William Golding, boys decide to elect their leader who will earn the power to control the group of boys. At the beginning of the story, Ralph is chosen to be the leader of the boys, while Jack is appointed to be the leader of the hunter. Jack and his hunters think that they are the special group of boys because they have the most significant duty. In chapter 3, While Ralph and Simon work hard on building shelters for others and Ralph requires some help from Jack, but Jack says “Except me and my hunter-” (p. 50). Jack tries to avoid doing the
Fear is intangible yet has perceptible effects. It plays a significant role in human behaviour. Each individual reacts to fear differently, some overcome it, while others give in to it. In William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” the theme of fear is discussed and it becomes clear that fear has the power to take over not only one’s mind but also control one’s actions.
Thesis Statement: In Lord of the Flies William Golding throughout the book is trying to show you that society should recognize man is evil.
Over time man’s attempts for survival have been distracted by his fear. The power of fear is demonstrated in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Golding illustrates the breaking of order that can result from violence and power through the symbol of the beast. Golding utilizes the beast within Jack to portray the control the symbol has over each character among the island. Lastly, Golding presents a warning against people’s natural ways explaining that men must stick to the bigger picture to avoid self destruction.
In the novels “The Lord of the Flies” and “The Chrysalids”characters are pushed to their limits, and they are driven to do things that they wouldn’t normally do, what drives them to do these things, is their fears. In both novels they fear a godly figure, and the unknown. The characters deal with their fear in similar ways. Finally, the Waknukians fear eventually lead them to their downfall, and the same thing goes for the boys in the “Lord of the Flies”.
In the book “The Lord of the Flies” Golding’s words reveal the connection of People using fear to controll others, to Jack and his constant drive for power. Terorists groups like ISIS use fear to manipualte the U.S and other contries to gain power in a number of different ways, such as the attacks on Paris, France. While Jack also uses fear to gain the support from his fellow island members in a quest for power. This is highlighted when Jack tries attempts to overthrow Ralph: “Quiet!” shouted Jack. “You, listen. The beast is sitting up there, whatever it is—” “Perhaps it’s waiting—” “Hunting—” “Yes, hunting.” “Hunting,” said Jack. He remembered his age-old tremors in the forest. “Yes. The beast is a hunter. Only— shut up! The next thing is that we couldn’t kill it.
In Machiavelli’s book The Prince, he says that it is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both (chapter XVII). Fear is an externally based emotion, and focuses on what a person can do to you. Love, on the other hand, is an internally based emotion, and it focuses on how someone feels about a person. The intimidation of a tyrant motivates people to obey him immediately, without question or complaint. However lack of absolute fear can lead to resentment, rebellions, and riots. Love, alternatively, inspires trust and respect for a leader. Those who trust a leader will follow him willingly, and the respect they have for that leader causes them to work sacrificially. In Watership Down, Richard Adams shows two diametrically different leadership types.
Fear is an unpleasant caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.(Mariams Webster). Fear is a thing we all hold inside of us, we are all scared of something or someone it 's just human nature. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses a unique way of showing how fear affects human behavior, he used the boys on the island to show how fear affects the behavior of humans and how the boy 's manner and mentality changed over time. From when the boys first came on the island they are actions were normal then later on as the boys started gaining the fear of the beast they started doing abnormal actions they took certain steps because of the fear in them that had been planted by the beast in this case.
Throughout the book we witness the power struggle between Jack and Ralph, we watch as Jack undermines Ralph's authority and gains control of the boys on the island. Jack's leadership is powerful, he understands how to coerce others into following him and is exceptional at controlling his crowd. Take for example him leading the crowd of hunters, “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” (Golding 56). This shows how humans can easily be swept up into the subversive and hateful mindset of others when the support of an idea of any nature is so loud, it is difficult to think clearly. Evil reigns triumphant because of the weak will of man that allows the evils of others to take root inside of him.