In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of young, English boys are overcome with the fears of their own thoughts that they become completely irrational and eventually savage. When the group of boys crash-land on an island, an immediate sense of fear creeps upon them. This fear is seen throughout the entire novel and is exasperated at the mention of a beastie. When the boys hear of this beastie, their minds take over and they lose the majority of their rationality. The beastie is a very significant symbol in the text and represents the fear and savagery that is within each of the boys. From the moment the littluns address their fear of the beastie, the disintegration of the boys’ unity is inevitable. When the boy with the mulberry
…show more content…
As Samneric are tending to the fire, they see an outline of a figure and do not think twice before they “scramble away over the rocks and [flee]” (Golding 98). The fact that Samneric are so convinced that the beastie is indeed an actuality, it influences their every thought and action. When they see the harmless, dead parachuter lying among the trees, they do not take the time to clearly analyze what they are looking at. This negatively affects Samneric because after they have convinced themselves that they have seen the beastie, their fears went rampant with irrational and distorted depictions of what they had experienced. Also, as Samneric fled the mountain and arrive at all of the huts, they begin to create a false and exaggerated portrayal of what had happened by saying that they saw eyes, teeth and claws and that the “beast followed” them; however, this is not what they had experienced (Golding 100). As the twins’ fear had now infiltrated the entire group of boys, each of them responded with their own anxieties and control mechanisms. As a result of this, Jack’s predatorial instincts begin to run wild and he tells the boys that it will “be a real hunt” to find the beastie and invites them all to join in (Golding 100). This is significant to the disintegration of the boys’ unity because after Jack has received a foothold in being able to hunt with a purpose, he quickly gains control over the group of hunters and is able to influence their thoughts by his
As Samneric are tending to the fire, they see an outline of a figure and do not think twice before they “scramble away over the rocks and [flee]” (Golding 98). The fact that Samneric are so convinced that the beastie is indeed an actuality, it influences their every thought and action. When they see the harmless, dead parachuter lying among the trees, they do not take the time to clearly analyze what they are looking at. This negatively affects Samneric because after they have convinced themselves that they have seen the beastie, their fears went rampant with irrational and distorted depictions of what they had experienced. Also, as Samneric fled the mountain and arrive at all of the huts, they begin to create a false and exaggerated portrayal of what had happened by saying that they saw eyes, teeth and claws and that the “beast followed” them; however, this is not what they had experienced (Golding 100). As the twins’ fear had now infiltrated the entire group of boys, each of them responded with their own anxieties and control mechanisms. As a result of this, Jack’s predatorial instincts begin to run wild and he tells the boys that it will “be a real hunt” to find the beastie and invites them all to join in (Golding 100). This is significant to the disintegration of the boys’ unity because after Jack has received a foothold in being able to hunt with a purpose, he quickly gains control over the group of hunters and is able to influence their thoughts by his