The imaginary beast is one symbolic figure that Golding implements into Lord of the Flies that exhibits the change in human nature as an individual gets farther away from civilization. Most of the boys suppose that there is a terrifying beast on the island due to the physical forms they have seen such as the dead parachutist and believe that it remains hidden in the ocean during the day and emerges only at night. The majority of them believe in this idea, except Simon. "What I mean is . . . Maybe it's only us . . ." (89), Simon proposes that perhaps the beast is only a figure made up within the boys' minds, during the group's questioning of the beast's actual existence. While although all the other boys laugh at his idea, Simon's belief conforms
