The Absence of Rationality: Fear Distorts Reality in Lord of the Flies
The unpleasant emotion that something or someone by your belief will injure or threaten you, makes humans to convert against each other. The presence of fear is vividly exposed in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The schoolboys experience countless versions of panic that contribute to the change in the boys thinking. It can be physical, emotional or the mere fantasy of the boy’s minds that make each character react nearly identical to what threatens them. Golding illustrates how the boys progressively change into a more primitive state throughout the novel. What separates the boys in their civilized state to their primitive state is how each of them respond to fear. …show more content…
‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you any more! The conch is gone –‘ He ran forward, stooping. ‘I’m Chief!’ Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. (201)
Ultimately, the death of Piggy and the conch is key for the downfall of the islands social order. It makes the boys eliminate all rational thought in existence and puts all the boys in their most primitive state. The savages single out Ralph, the only boy left with some form of moral dignity still etched in his heart. The tribe erodes into savage beings whose solitary pleasure is to kill.
In Lord of the Flies, the destruction of social order is caused by the innate fear the boys develop in their thinking, actions and imagination. The beast is the initial thing that triggers the boys’ fear deep within them. The fascination of murder and hunting in most boys generates the belief that they are tough and fearless when in actuality they hide the true fear that they have on the deserted island, whether they will be rescued or not. The boys go through a phase of independence which scares them into a lesser version of themselves in which their mind is corrupt. The characters in the novel revert into savagery when confronted with fear that they cannot control. The schoolboys’ actions are responsible for breaking and destroying the islands social civilization. As a result, fear brings out the beast within
The unpleasant emotion that something or someone by your belief will injure or threaten you, makes humans to convert against each other. The presence of fear is vividly exposed in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The schoolboys experience countless versions of panic that contribute to the change in the boys thinking. It can be physical, emotional or the mere fantasy of the boy’s minds that make each character react nearly identical to what threatens them. Golding illustrates how the boys progressively change into a more primitive state throughout the novel. What separates the boys in their civilized state to their primitive state is how each of them respond to fear. …show more content…
‘See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you any more! The conch is gone –‘ He ran forward, stooping. ‘I’m Chief!’ Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. (201)
Ultimately, the death of Piggy and the conch is key for the downfall of the islands social order. It makes the boys eliminate all rational thought in existence and puts all the boys in their most primitive state. The savages single out Ralph, the only boy left with some form of moral dignity still etched in his heart. The tribe erodes into savage beings whose solitary pleasure is to kill.
In Lord of the Flies, the destruction of social order is caused by the innate fear the boys develop in their thinking, actions and imagination. The beast is the initial thing that triggers the boys’ fear deep within them. The fascination of murder and hunting in most boys generates the belief that they are tough and fearless when in actuality they hide the true fear that they have on the deserted island, whether they will be rescued or not. The boys go through a phase of independence which scares them into a lesser version of themselves in which their mind is corrupt. The characters in the novel revert into savagery when confronted with fear that they cannot control. The schoolboys’ actions are responsible for breaking and destroying the islands social civilization. As a result, fear brings out the beast within