What Does The Beast Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

No matter what, if people are placed in the right circumstances their inner self will come out. In the book, Lord of the Flies, the concept follows a group of British boys who are stranded on a deserted island. The plot of the book is how the boys survive on this deserted island. The author, Golding, uses the inner beast as the main symbol that at some point overcomes all of the boys as they live on the island. He even uses war paint through the novel as something that covers their inner beast that represents the act of covering up the beast or in the least trying to hide it. The symbol of the beast is used to represent inner savagery, a quality that all people have inside of them. It is not unusual for people to hide, (war paint) their real feelings in a confrontational situations. They are afraid someone might not like their
For example; while the boys are killing Simon, it elaborates on the explanation of the beast. Jack forms a circle and starts to chant as the other boys follow suit. They form a giant circle in which they lose their rational selves to the group mentality. The group follows the lead and chats, “Kill the beast! Spill his blood! There was a throb and stamp of a single organism kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Now out of terror rose another desire, thick, urgent, and blind.” (152) unquestionably, this is a major moment. This is precisely what inner savagery is, the sheer impulse of man in its true primal state. The boys did not think about what they were doing, they just acted to an outside force in which they could not comprehend. Yet again, Golding uses the beast when the boys have a reenactment of killing a pig. Robert explained how he threw a spear at the rest of the boys when Jack orders them to make a circle around Robert. “Ralph entered the play and everybody