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Fear: Natures Way of Causing Chaos Fear is classified as the most dangerous instinct known to man, due to the way it causes people to act without thinking. William Golding ventures deep into personality and human traits, scrutinizing leadership, civilization, savagery as well a group of young boys will to survive. Golding uses moral allegories to explain the devolution from civilization to savagery witnessed in Lord of the Flies. They start off as content, young children looking to work together to survive and they set up various rules to achieve their goal of survival. For the first few days on the island, they have authority, communication, and rules. As they progress through their adventure, they begin to lose their innocence, becoming …show more content…
wary of a beast waiting to pounce on them. The group becomes scared, terrified of the beast’s presence causing a devolution from civilization to savagery. The boys start life on the island with a strong sense of authority.
As time moves on, the group ignoring the rules and begin to lack authority. For the first few days on the island, Ralph is the agreed upon chief, and proposes rules that all the boys agree upon. When Ralph is getting the survival plan ready, “[the boys give] him the simple obedience they give men with megaphones” (Golding 14). By showing Ralph this obedience, it demonstrates the trust the boys have for Ralph because it acts as a sign of respect. They are able to connect with each other due to the common goal shared among them, to survive. Ralph voices this connection, stating that they must work together while others agreed, stating that “[they] want to go home” (Golding 18). This represents a civilized society where co-workers divvy the roles to accomplish a task in the most efficient way possible, where in the boy’s case that task is to survive and get home. Ralph demonstrates this leadership, showing that he is suited for the role as chief and will do his best to ensure the boys survival by being able to voice his opinions. Ralph voicing his opinions as leader is significant because during the boys’ life on the island, communication is very simple and lacks depth. Ralph continues to prove a suitable leader, by instructing the boys in an organized fashion. But nevertheless, as time moves on fear is struck into the hearts of the boys; causing them to walk through the night blind. An argument later take place, where the conch “explodes into a thousand white fragments and [ceases] to exist” (Golding 200). This act represents the end of Ralphs authority, and civilization on the island. The end of authority marks the boy’s descent into chaos. Fear is the main driving force behind this loss of authority. The fear causes a loss of authority by sparking the inner savage that all people have. This is significant because it shows how heavily fear impacted the group, and the possible outcomes that the fear
creates. The boys start of life on the island as a civilized group of young men abiding by their leader’s rules, but progress into savages, because they are blinded their fear of the beast. For the first few days on the island, the boys have a very developed communication system, and speak with astounding order and organization. They incorporate the conch shell into their everyday life as it helps them helps them maintain the very structured behaviors of their school routines. Similar to how some teachers or students raise their hands as though it holds power, “Ralph smile[s] and [holds] up the conch for silence. Everybody listen[s]” (Golding 20). This demonstrates the sophisticated communication system as the boys pass the conch around, using it as a microphone; whoever holds the conch gets to talk. In contrast, when the boys become aware of the beast, it sparks fear within their hearts, causing their communication systems to devolve. They are scared of the beast, and this causes them to begin to act or talk before they think. The children begin interrupting each other, and resort to body language. There is yet another meeting where the boys are discussing where and how the beast attacks its victims. While they are arguing and shouting over each other, they fight about whether “the beast comes out of the sea [or] out of the dark [or out of the] trees!” (Golding 138). The mess of shouting demonstrates a system of communication that is lacking in all ways, and, lacks the depth that really allows for information to be conveyed properly. This also clearly depicts how the children do not listen to what the others have to say, and only care about themselves. Furthermore, when the conch breaks, it causes the boys to panic. With them not knowing what to do, their communication naturally suffers. The boys devolve from sophisticated English to unorganized shouting. They are under pressure; internal stress that is churning their insides. The boys continue running in fear of the beast, even though it is inside them. As the boys’ time on the island commenced, the conch shell aided their communication by acting as a symbol of authority. The boys started life on the island with an organized communication system but as the fear of the beast took over their hearts the communication systems devolved. In the beginning, the boys have democratic governing system, with each person being allotted to talk when holding the conch shell. Each boy had to agree to the rules, leading to a fair system, keeping their heads held high. The rules are later pushed over as they scramble to keep their minds intact as the fear of the beast begins to control them. They came to the conclusion that “[Ralph] will give the conch to the next person to speak. [They] can hold it when [they are] speaking” (Golding 31). These rules were elected by all, also helping the boys develop a democratic type system of government that helped the boys set up a smooth path to survival. This democratic system of government the boys employed helped keep them focused as well as reducing the amount the intensity of the meetings that are held. As they continue to work towards their goal, they begin to become wary of the beast. This frightens them, causing a devolution in their rules and democratic system. The boys devolve from a democracy, with Ralph as elected leader allowing people to speak, to a dictatorship with Jack who fought his way to the top. The boys were about to go to sleep as they heard a “vicious snarling in the mouth of the shelter. That was jack and his hunters” (Golding 184-185). This attack on ralph and the boys clearly defines the crazed intentions Jack has as leader. When Jack attacks Ralph and the littluns it is a signal that Jack has gone completely savage and his fear made him a crazed ruler. Because of the position that Jack is put in, the hunters are being ruled by a savage. The boys fear devolved them, impairing their sense of democracy in turn causing them to go from a civilized system of voting to a demonic dictatorship. The group of children begin their quest for survival as healthy and happy preteens but descend into chaos and darkness due to their fear of the best. They set up a plan including rules and authority, which puts them on route to survival, but fear of a beast on the island causes mayhem to fall upon them. Because of this fear, the boys begin to live life without reason, thinking that the beast will one day get them. They lose authority when the conch shell breaks, causing mayhem to ensue. Communication is lost when the hunters diverge from the main group causing confusion. The democracy they created was also abandoned once the hunters were fully controlled by the beast, causing them to completely ignore the rules. Fear is the most dangerous instinct known to man. It causes people to act illogically and devolve. That is what the group of boys in Lord of the Flies represent, the fear and savage side in all humans.
However, as the plot progresses, Ralph faces both internal and external conflicts; from those conflicts he greatly matures. Ralph always has the strong belief that all the children will be saved from the island sooner or later; he is so sure that he even insists that they should have fire at all times to signal. However, when the boys abandon the fire which is symbolic of Ralph’s hope of getting saved, Ralph faces an internal conflict that makes him fear about their future; perhaps they will not be rescued at all. By insisting that the children should keep the fire going, he creates an external conflict with Jack whose values are different. Jack is enjoying life as a leader of the savages, and he fears that fire will possibly end his authoritarian rule over the savages. Both conflicts are resolved when Ralph finally meets the naval officer.
“The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream” (“William Golding quotes.”). Fear lives to haunt and torment the person to a point of destruction and can be within everyone. Although a person is able to overcome fear, it is still very dangerous because it affects the person as well as everyone and everything around. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys are all so overwhelmed by fear that the island starts to recede into a state damaged beyond repair. In this case, Jack’s fear of not being leader originally starts to affect him, but it gradually starts to affect Ralph, and the rest of the boys. Ralph’s fear of survival brings out his inner savageness and an innocent life is taken away. Lastly, the boys’ fear of the beast causes them to feel so unsafe and uncertain that they are willing to do anything. As a result of the boys being consumed by these fears, it becomes the most destructive force on the island.
Lord of the Flies is an intriguing novel about a group of English boys who are stranded on a remote island during World War II after their plane was shot down. The schoolboys quickly use the resources they find and create a temporary form of order. As they continue to stay on the island, their proper English ways quickly turn into savage like instincts. In William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the conch, the Beast, leadership, murder, and fire to show that without rules there is chaos.
In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of English schools boys are stranded on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The boys’ plane crashed into the ocean in a futuristic war-ridden world. In these dire times, the boys manage to create a hierarchy and assign different roles to all of them. Throughout the novel, a human element of fear terrorizes their island society. Fear is the key element in the novel. It controls how their island society functions and it controls the boys’ actions. Fear was something that affected the adolescent school boys to a large extent by that led to the corruption and crumble of their society.
Golding has a rather pessimistic view of humanity having selfishness, impulsiveness and violence within, shown in his dark yet allegorical novel Lord of the Flies. Throughout the novel, the boys show great self-concern, act rashly, and pummel beasts, boys and bacon. The delicate facade of society is easily toppled by man's true beastly nature.
Katherine Paterson once said, “To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.” William Golding, who is a Nobel Prize winner for literature, writes Lord of the Flies, originally published in 1954. Golding’s novel is about a group of boys who crash land on an island. All of the adults are dead and they are abandoned on an island. The boys try to set rules and create a fire in efforts of being rescued. The group of boys chooses Ralph to be their leader. This choosing makes a literary character named Jack, who doesn’t show his anger until half way through the plot. The novel shows the nature of humans and how fear can control them. The novel also shows the difference between good and evil. Golding experienced this when he was in World War II. There were many times fear controlled the boys in the island in Lord of the Flies.
Fear in Lord of the Flies In the novel The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, fear. is the cause of all of the problems that take place on the island. At First, the island is thought to be splendid and a paradise, but as the boys' stay on the island increases, so, too, do their fears. The boys soon become afraid of each other and soon after that the boys break up.
“Earth is abundant with plentiful resources. Our practice of rationing resources through monetary control is no longer relevant and is counter-productive to our survival.” - Jacque Fresco. Lord of The Flies explores how a group of boys ultimately become savage after trying to ration resources. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of English boys are shot down while on a plane that crash lands onto an Island during World War II, where without any adults must survive on their own. They must overcome themselves and figure out how maintain a successful society. Through characterization and symbolism, William Golding asserts that man is innately savage and must be controlled through a civilized society.
In The Lord of the Flies, fear is the cause of all destruction and violence, which leads to savagery, and disobeying of human morals. Throughout the entire book fear is what drives these young innocent boys into savagery, and what also pulls most of them away from expectable human behavior. Without the normal rules of society helping to guide them, they become disoriented with the new surroundings, therefore freighting them into savage ways.
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.
Firstly, a notable trait that distinguishes Ralph from the other children on the island is his ability to think more rationally. As the boys become influenced by Jack’s rule, they regress into uncivilized savages that lack discipline. Whereas, Ralph is wisely able to keep the boys under order, which is particularly apparent through the meetings that he regularly holds. It is in those meetings that circumstances can be confronted with rationality and equanimity. For example, Ralph instructs the boys with, “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking,” (Golding 36). By saying this, Ralph enforces his role of a leader by making rules for the boys on the island to
The boys find their id being challenged by their ego. Ego is described as the “part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world,” meaning it is the part of the psyche which suppresses basic impulses according to the norms or “rules” of a person’s situation (Freud 1923). In the initial days on the island, the boys actions are greatly affected by the rules of their previous society or their “ego.” When Roger was throwing rocks at the young boys, there was still “a space round Henry...into which [Roger] dare not throw.” Here, Roger is still affected by “the taboo of the old life” and still concerned with social norms as he hasn’t been on the island long enough to revert to his inner primitive nature (Golding 83). The boys are also being held back by something else- their desire for order and leadership. When Ralph and Piggy happen upon the conch, it isn’t ever seen as just a shell. They almost immediately see the conch as a way to gather the boys and a way to provide structured speaking. Ralph’s first thought is that they “ought to have a chief to decide things," because it’s what he and the other boys are used to (Golding 27). The positive reaction to the idea of having a chief shows their trust in leadership and societal structure. Once Ralph’s leadership is challenged, and the structure is lost, the barbaric behavior begins, and the boys become more susceptible to groupthink and
In Lord of the Flies, Golding proves that fear draws out man’s inner evil and barbarism. Within the novel, Golding uses characterization of the boys and symbolism of the beast to show the gradual change from their initial civility to savagery and inhumanity. Learned civility, order and humanity become ultimately futile in the face of fear. The author teaches that without logic, fear consumes endlessly. He shows that fear clouds the mind, thus making it absolutely imperative to maintain reason and logic throughout life. Fear will always end in a fate worse than death for those who survive it.
William Golding's first book, Lord of the Flies, is the story of a group of boys of different backgrounds who are marooned on an unknown island when their plane crashes. As the boys try to organize and formulate a plan to get rescued, they begin to separate and as a result of the dissension a band of savage tribal hunters is formed. Eventually the "stranded boys in Lord of the Flies almost entirely shake off civilized behavior: (Riley 1: 119). When the confusion finally leads to a manhunt [for Ralph], the reader realizes that despite the strong sense of British character and civility that has been instilled in the youth throughout their lives, the boys have backpedaled and shown the underlying savage side existent in all humans. "Golding senses that institutions and order imposed from without are temporary, but man's irrationality and urge for destruction are enduring" (Riley 1: 119). The novel shows the reader how easy it is to revert back to the evil nature inherent in man. If a group of well-conditioned school boys can ultimately wind up committing various extreme travesties, one can imagine what adults, leaders of society, are capable of doing under the pressures of trying to maintain world relations.
In William Golding's profound novel entitled Lord of the Flies, about how a group of boys try to survive on an uninhabited island. This novel vindicates that power, fear and primitivity are just a few of the many unfortunate factors