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The Lord Of The Flies Dbq Analysis

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In “The Lord of the Flies”, English schoolboys in the midst of an atomic war crash land on an island in the Pacific. On this island, they find the “beast”; a horrid creature of the night that strikes fear into them. At first glance, we see that it isn’t real. Moreover, it is a manifestation of their fear. It’s true meaning, nonetheless, is a rabbit hole that goes much, much deeper. When the “beast” is first introduced, it is nothing more than the children's fear manifested. In chapter 2 of “The Lord of the Flies” (Doc. A) a boy “About six years old, and (with) one side of his face blotted out by a mulberry-colored birthmark” imagines a “beast” in the form of a snake-like figure. Their elected leader, Ralph, desperately tries to dissuade this…show more content…
In “The Nightmare Beast, War and the Children in William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies” by J. Dangar (Doc. C), there is a quote from Golding himself where he says “The war produced a noticeable effect on me. It scared me stiff… I began to see what people were capable of doing.” War played a large part in Golding’s life, and the violence was an inspiration for “The Lord of the Flies”. In chapter 6 (Doc. D), there was a “sign… from the world of grown ups… A parachute, a figure that hung with dangling limbs… When the breeze blew… the figure seemed to peer across the brow of the mountain.” The boys see this figure, consequently believing it to be the mythical “beast”. The corpse serves as a clever representation of the war, and how their fear stems from the terror held for it in both the boys and Golding…show more content…
Samuel Hynes writes in “William Golding” (Doc. E) about “Simon’s lonely, voluntary quest” for the meaning of the “beast”. “He finds the airman… Then he sets off.” Simon finds that it is literally human, and a direct result of man’s brutality. In chapter 5 of “Lord of the Flies” (Doc. F) He makes a brief comment on the “beast”. “Maybe there is a beast… What I mean is… Maybe it’s only us.” He then becomes “inarticulate to express mankind’s essential illness.” These statements are a much more direct remark on the savagery of man that is the beast. Much later in chapter 9 (Doc. F), the hunters form a tribe under Jack and perform a ritual dance. They find what they think to be the “beast”, and attack it. “At once the crowd surged after it… leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.” As the crowd dissipates, they “could see how small a beast it was.” It was in actuality Simon, who ironically died to what he came to tell them of. This savage nature that humanity was capable of was frequently alluded to by the book, and commented on by Golding himself, ultimately showing us the true meaning of the “beast”. Throughout “The Lord of the Flies”, the “beast” is ever present and ever changing. It manifests their fears, the war, then their savagery. Each time we see the “beast” we delve further into the root of their fear until we find its true
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