How Does Golding Use Fear In Lord Of The Flies

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William Golding uses the boys savage response to the beast to show how fear can cause people to make irrational decisions. In Lord of the Flies, over time, because of the boys’ fear, they became more irrational and hysterical to the point of murder. Ralph and the boys were discussing the possibility of there being a beast on the Island but were not convinced until Percival muttered something. When Ralph asked what it was, Jack responded,“He says the beast comes out of the sea” (Golding 88). The boys were so afraid of the beast that at night their imaginations would take over causing them to think irrationally and become confused. The boys imagined the beast as a coping strategy to deal with the stress of being marooned on an island with very little hope of being rescued. The author uses the beast to show how fear can affect the mind and make level headed people think irrationally when feeling threatened, afraid or vulnerable.…show more content…
When the dead pilot parachuted down Sam and Eric mistook him for the beast because of their fear. In terror, they ran to Ralph, waking him up and explaining what they saw. When Jack heard of this he was sick of being in constant fear of the beast; he wanted it dead. “‘This will be a real hunt! Who will come?’” (Golding 100). At the beginning of the book Jack was fearful to kill a pig but as time went on and the fear of the beast became more real he started to become desperate in an attempt to rid himself of the fear. The effect fear had on the boys, over time, began to turn them into savage creatures willing to kill to be relieved of the constant fear caused by the beast. The author is showing how their imaginations are starting to take over and they are slowly becoming more savage. By using the beast the author shows how fear can cause people to do irrational

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