Fear In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding: An Analysis

Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain or to cause a threat. Throughout difficult situations, fear can emerge in various ways and can cause people to do unimaginable things they would not normally do. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, fear is shown through a group of British boys whose plane, escaping an atomic war, crashes, leaving them stranded on a deserted island. The boys are left alone with no adults and no contact with the real world, therefore they decide to come together so they can survive and be rescued. Ralph and Jack, the two oldest boys, battle to be the leader of the group and with this conflict and tension arises. Fear overcomes the

group rapidly as they feel the island is dangerous and has a “beast”. One boy, Simon, discovers the truth about the “beast” of the island, but he is unable to tell the boys since he was killed due to the violence that erupts within the groups. In the novel, the idea that fear can cripple and overpower people is illustrated in multiple ways through the boy's’ fear of the island itself and through the idea of a “beast” living with them causing them to harm each other resulting in chaos and anarchy.
The boys have a fear of being on the island because they fear the island is dangerous for them to be on. They are terrified of the island and the harm it can bring to them. As the boys are gathered around for the first time, Piggy discusses the fact that the boys “‘may stay [there] till [they] die’” and at the sound of the word death, the boys become hushed and apprehensive about their time on the island (Golding 14). Before Piggy speaks, the boys are ecstatic about how there are no adults on the island, but when Piggy mentions the word death, they start to realize how serious the situation is. It becomes apparent to the boys that they may never be rescued; they grow frightened and overwhelmed at the thought of staying there permanently. As the novel progresses, the boys continue to face the issue of being petrified and alone on the island. Ralph describes hearing the little ones “‘talk and scream’” and hearing the other boys say “‘it [is] not a good island’”(Golding 52). The little ones, and even the older ones, start to feel and show how scared they really are of the island. Due to this fear, the boys start to take actions into their own matters and try to protect themselves, leading them to do horrific things to each other like inflicting pain, tormenting each other, and even killing some boys. Put in a situation with no adults, most kids would be terrified to be on their own, especially if they were stuck on an island. No matter how much order and discipline someone enforces, no kid feels completely safe unless there is an adult present. William Golding is trying to express how fear can turn one’s actions to become vicious in order to protect them.The boys show multiple times that they are frightened to be on the island because they feel the island is a treacherous place for them to be.
An idea of a “beast” being present haunts the boys tremendously while they are on the island causing them to turn on each other.

After thinking they saw the “beast”, Jack and Ralph call an assembly to tell the boys they came face to face with the hideous creature. Ralph tells the boys, in referring to fighting the beast, that “[they] would [not] fight [it].’ He believes that the boys would ‘hide, even Jack [would] hide’”(Golding 124). Knowing the “beast” is real frightens the boys more than before because they now know it is not just their imagination. In the beginning, they have confidence in themselves that they can kill the “beast but now that Ralph and Jack say it is real the boys are more skeptical about their abilities to kill it. Ralph acknowledges the fact that the “beast” is something that all the boys are scared of and how even Jack, one of the bravest on the island, is too scared to fight it. Throughout the novel, the fear of the “beast” continues to increase, but Simon realizes that the “beast” is within each person in the group and the creature is not real. During a stormy night, Simon realizes that the creature thought to be a “beast” is actually a dead parachuter. While rushing down to tell the boys, they mistake Simon for the “beast” and attack him as he is “crying out against the abominable noise about a body on the hill” the group “[surges] after [him], leaps onto [him], strike, bite, [and] tear”(Golding 152). This gruesome killing shows how fear can impact one’s thought process. In an article about fear, it talks about how people “can become violent, and can even become deadly; [fear] can cause an instinctive reaction to rising adrenaline levels rather than a consciously thought-out decision”( Science Daily ). For the boys on the island, the fear of the “beast” being real causes them to hurt each other, kill each other, and causes chaos to erupt. The boys believe there is a creature living with them on the island, which leads to a great fear

in the group.
The immense amount of fear the boys have of the “beast” being on the island makes them revert to savage ways. Simon is clever in thinking the “beast” is not real, but he ends up being killed by the other boys due to the violence and commotion that breaks out on the island because of their fear. Golding’s novel reflects how fear can manipulate one’s mind causing them to go to extreme levels to protect themselves. Fear causes people to act in such a way they normally would not in situations. Humans want to protect themselves first and will fight to keep themselves alive before helping anyone else as shown in the novel. Fear is an emotion provoked by danger which can cause humans to defend themselves and act in ways that are not clearly thought out.