Fear In Lord Of The Flies

Fear is a driving force in The Lord of the Flies. How does fear in all of its forms influence the boy's attitudes and behaviours?

One of many prominent themes in William Golding's novel, the Lord of the Flies, is Fear. From the very first chapter, until the last, fear plays an important role in this text. It is the only thing, which stops the boys from acting rationally at times, from questioning curious circumstances and it physically hindered so many of the boys, so many times. The active role of fear in Lord of the Flies, was intentionally used by Golding, because he knew what images it would create. Fear is described by Mirriam- Webster's English dictionary, as 'To be uneasy or apprehensive'. This feeling is mutually experienced by all of the boys on the island in many different ways. Initially the boys have an obvious fear of being alone, which then brings upon the fear of what we know as the beast, or as the littluns refer to is, as the 'beastie'. While this fear continues for the whole of the novel, we are also exposed to three other incidents of fear. The first of these is the civilised fear of consequences, displayed only when the children are seen as young civilised boys, in the earliest chapters. The final two are of a different nature, with those fears being the loss of power, the fear of rejection and the fear of being in the minority. All of these different fears, then relate back to the character, and as was expertly planned out by William Golding, influences the characters attitudes and behaviours.

One of the greatest emotions that controls the way any person thinks in certain situations, especially in Lord of the Flies, is fear. The fact that except Jack, all of the boys are younger than thirteen, greatly affects the amount of fear that controlled them, and from there it is easy to ascertain how the fear of being alone, in an unknown area was the first to take affect on the boys. For the Littleuns, the fear of being alone, influences the behaviour and attitudes. The 'cry for home', for the "old life" - for their predicament. This is personified by their fear of the beast.

The fear of the beast, was an essential one to the story of The Lord of the Flies, as it manifests into different characters. The fear is initially brought upon by the boy's fear of being alone. At nights as they are scared and alone in a new environment, they conjure up an image of a beast, which little do they know is simply representation of the inherent evil, borne inside each and everyone of them, unleashed under certain circumstances. It is quite understandable that the first mention of a "snake-thing" or "beastie", be dismissed by the elder boys, as a nightmare. Even the names echo a childish ring. However, the other little boys, do not dismiss it. Already, by the second chapter, fear has worked its way into their society.

"He say's the beastie came in the dark" (about a littilun)

"But I tell you there isn't a beast!" (Ralph)

From this moment on, the smallest of the boys begin to have bad dreams and are scared to go near the jungle. In this sense, the jungle represents the darkness, because it is an unknown place, with little light, where there is the possibility of infinite horrors, including death. Around the jungle, is the fear. If the boys were to walk on the beach, they might somehow forget about the beastie, but the moment they come to the jungle entrance, the fear attacks them. It nibbles at their mind, and increases their imagination of what is beyond the darkness. Several examples are in the book, for instance, none of the little boys want to go near the jungle to gather dry wood, so they settle for wet, rotting wood instead. The fear acts as a barrier, which inevitably brings forth their downfall, with the two most intelligent characters on the Island, being Piggy, a representation of science and intellect in the society , and Simon, the spiritual and understanding sector, both dying as a result, of fear in the beast. This fear breaks down any form of society, and hence, brings disaster to a paradoxical Coral Island.

Another fear expertly described by William Golding in