The Influence Of Fear In The Lord Of The Flies

Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion that is caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous. The boys in Lord of the Flies, are thrown on an island with nothing to help them survive. These children run to fear, rather than their peers, to help support each other when dangerous situations arise. Fear is an emotion that humans experience on a daily basis, and it is vital for our survival. It protects people from the danger that confines them, which then leads to how they act or behave in certain situations. Decision making, perception, and the way people are viewed, are all major factors that are heavily dependent on the amount of fear being influenced. Although most decisions are not a matter of life or death, a decision will

When being faced with fear, certain scenarios are viewed differently. The human mind prepares our bodies with the fight or flight response, followed by an adrenaline rush. This then causes us to respond to certain situations in a way we wouldn't if we are in a non-fearful state. At this point in the Lord of the Flies, the beast is a being introduced by the littluns, but Jack explains, ¨[...] fear can't hurt you any more than a dream. There aren't any beasts to be afraid of on this island¨ (Golding 82-83). The boys don´t understand where the littluns are coming from in terms of their fear. They believe it was only a nightmare. It's possible the littluns may not have truly seen the beast, but were rather fooled by their imagination guided by fear. As the boys are chanting, ¨kill the beast, cut its throat, spill the blood, do him in,¨ (Golding 152) they become deeply engaged in this violent chant. Simon approaches, ¨crying out [...] something about a body on the hill,¨ (Golding 152) however, being caught up in all of the excitement, the savage boys don't detect Simon´s voice, and end up killing him. The boys´ abilities to distinguish the difference between Simon and the beast are overridden by the effects fear has on their

In Kenya, fear of the autocratic government system limits the way people can express their political opinions. The dictatorship from 1978-2002 was lead by Daniel arap Moi who ¨ruled the country with an iron fist, and anyone who dared [to] question his authority was arrested, tortured, jailed, or killed¨ (Mwangi). This didn't stop a Kenyan photographer, Boniface Mwangi from risking his life to speak his mind. Fear was dispersed across the country to the point where, ¨being a coward wasn't considered an insult. It was a compliment¨ (Mwangi). The Kenyan citizens were forced to adjust their lifestyles and keep their beliefs confined within them, due to the fear of the government. Moi´s use of physical violence and imprisonment towards the citizens were responses to any negative criticism he received. Likewise, Moi exploitatively used his power out of fear of being viewed in an unpleasant manner by the Kenyan community. Stereotypes of certain people can lead to views that are accepted in the community, although they are not always accurate. Our society occasionally views disabled people as ¨objects of inspiration¨ (Young). Despite the fact that these generalizations are not true, we tend to widely accept these assumptions. Disabled individuals ¨ [...] aren't doing anything out of the ordinary. They are just using their bodies to the best of their capacity¨