How Does Golding Use Fear In Lord Of The Flies
Fear in Lord Of The Flies
Sometimes fear of the unknown, can lead to one’s insanity. In “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the boys on the island fear a beast, which darkens many of the boys and their thoughts. The constant fear on the island causes the boys to act out, resulting in the destruction of rules and civilization, however those who are able to overcome fear leads the reader to believe that there is some hope for goodness. In the novel, Jack is controlled by fear, Roger is energized by fear, and Ralph rises above it.
Fear has taken control over Jack, leading him to complete awful things. In chapter five, Ralph calls a meeting to talk about what is happening on the island. During the meeting, the boys bring up fear and the beast. …show more content…
Jack decides to tell the boys “the thing is fear can’t hurt you more than a dream.” (pg 88) He is telling the boys that there is nothing to be afraid of and to toughen up. Jack is implying that the beast doesn’t exist, fear is nothing more than a nightmare, they are just being a bunch of wimps and they need to help out more around the island. Jack is using fear amongst the boys to gain power and rise to the top. In chapter eight, Jack broke away from the group with his hunters. While Jack was hunting he and his hunters came across a sow. They hunt her until they eventually kill her and cut her head off. Jack tells his hunters “this head is for the beast. It’s a gift.” (pg 151) Jack is sacrificing the sow’s head to the beast. He is trying to show his hunters that the beast now does exist and they will stop at nothing to kill it. He is no longer frightened. He worships the fear. The beast has taken over Jack.
Fear has changed Roger greatly, not only is he acting out but he gets energized by fear. Right before Piggy’s death Roger is above the group of boys controlling the path a large boulder will go. He is not aware of his actions and he has participated in the murdering of two people; “high overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever,” (pg 200) Golding is trying to imply that fear has completely taken over Roger and he no longer pays attention to his actions, he just does what he thinks he should do, this continues throughout the novel. He kills Piggy and does not even care that he has done it. He is not aware that he has killed an innocent person. After Piggy’s death, Ralph has left. Roger is walks by Jack and almost pushes him; for if he does actually push Jack, he kills him and takes over. Golding writes “Roger edged past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder.” (pg 202) At this point it is clear that Roger hates Jack and will try anything to get rid of him. Roger thinks that he is better than Jack and can do anything. This level of excitement in Roger leads him to act out. He has killed two people and one of which was all his fault. The fear of the beast leads to Roger’s craziness. Fear helps Roger gain power over the boys.
Ralph leads the boys to believe that there is hope for goodness on the island because he rises above fear and shows no weakness.
At one of the meetings Ralph is talking to one of the littluns about the beastie he saw the previous night. Ralph denies the beastie twice by saying “but there is no beastie.” (pg 35) Right now Ralph is being stubborn. Although the beast is not real, he feels that he needs to repeat this certain fact multiple times, just to prove that he is right. When Ralph is running away from the painted savages, he comes across the “beast” who nearly kills Simon. He stands up to it, and knocks it down. “The skull regarded Ralph like one who brows all the answers and won’t tell. A sick fear and rage swept him. Fiercely he hit out at the filthy thing in front of him that, bobbed like a toy and came back still grinning into his face, so that he lashed and cried out in loathing. Then he was licking his bruised knuckles and looking at the bare stick, while the skull lay in two pieces, it’s grin now six feet across.” Ralph has successfully beaten the beast. He showed the boys that the beast should not control you. He also shows the beast that he is not afraid of him and will never be. He stands up to the the beast that everyone on the island was scared of. By this point in the novel Ralph has matured and fought off his fear. Ralph shows good leadership qualities because he showed no fear or
weakness.
The fear on the island causes many of the boys to act out, yet some of the boys, very little to none though, rise above fear. Fear mainly causes Jack and Roger to act out, destroying rules and order. Ralph shows the reader that fear does not affect him as he rises above all. Although fear can lead to one’s madness it can also leads to one’s wellness.
Sometimes fear of the unknown, can lead to one’s insanity. In “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding, the boys on the island fear a beast, which darkens many of the boys and their thoughts. The constant fear on the island causes the boys to act out, resulting in the destruction of rules and civilization, however those who are able to overcome fear leads the reader to believe that there is some hope for goodness. In the novel, Jack is controlled by fear, Roger is energized by fear, and Ralph rises above it.
Fear has taken control over Jack, leading him to complete awful things. In chapter five, Ralph calls a meeting to talk about what is happening on the island. During the meeting, the boys bring up fear and the beast. …show more content…
Jack decides to tell the boys “the thing is fear can’t hurt you more than a dream.” (pg 88) He is telling the boys that there is nothing to be afraid of and to toughen up. Jack is implying that the beast doesn’t exist, fear is nothing more than a nightmare, they are just being a bunch of wimps and they need to help out more around the island. Jack is using fear amongst the boys to gain power and rise to the top. In chapter eight, Jack broke away from the group with his hunters. While Jack was hunting he and his hunters came across a sow. They hunt her until they eventually kill her and cut her head off. Jack tells his hunters “this head is for the beast. It’s a gift.” (pg 151) Jack is sacrificing the sow’s head to the beast. He is trying to show his hunters that the beast now does exist and they will stop at nothing to kill it. He is no longer frightened. He worships the fear. The beast has taken over Jack.
Fear has changed Roger greatly, not only is he acting out but he gets energized by fear. Right before Piggy’s death Roger is above the group of boys controlling the path a large boulder will go. He is not aware of his actions and he has participated in the murdering of two people; “high overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever,” (pg 200) Golding is trying to imply that fear has completely taken over Roger and he no longer pays attention to his actions, he just does what he thinks he should do, this continues throughout the novel. He kills Piggy and does not even care that he has done it. He is not aware that he has killed an innocent person. After Piggy’s death, Ralph has left. Roger is walks by Jack and almost pushes him; for if he does actually push Jack, he kills him and takes over. Golding writes “Roger edged past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder.” (pg 202) At this point it is clear that Roger hates Jack and will try anything to get rid of him. Roger thinks that he is better than Jack and can do anything. This level of excitement in Roger leads him to act out. He has killed two people and one of which was all his fault. The fear of the beast leads to Roger’s craziness. Fear helps Roger gain power over the boys.
Ralph leads the boys to believe that there is hope for goodness on the island because he rises above fear and shows no weakness.
At one of the meetings Ralph is talking to one of the littluns about the beastie he saw the previous night. Ralph denies the beastie twice by saying “but there is no beastie.” (pg 35) Right now Ralph is being stubborn. Although the beast is not real, he feels that he needs to repeat this certain fact multiple times, just to prove that he is right. When Ralph is running away from the painted savages, he comes across the “beast” who nearly kills Simon. He stands up to it, and knocks it down. “The skull regarded Ralph like one who brows all the answers and won’t tell. A sick fear and rage swept him. Fiercely he hit out at the filthy thing in front of him that, bobbed like a toy and came back still grinning into his face, so that he lashed and cried out in loathing. Then he was licking his bruised knuckles and looking at the bare stick, while the skull lay in two pieces, it’s grin now six feet across.” Ralph has successfully beaten the beast. He showed the boys that the beast should not control you. He also shows the beast that he is not afraid of him and will never be. He stands up to the the beast that everyone on the island was scared of. By this point in the novel Ralph has matured and fought off his fear. Ralph shows good leadership qualities because he showed no fear or
weakness.
The fear on the island causes many of the boys to act out, yet some of the boys, very little to none though, rise above fear. Fear mainly causes Jack and Roger to act out, destroying rules and order. Ralph shows the reader that fear does not affect him as he rises above all. Although fear can lead to one’s madness it can also leads to one’s wellness.