Fear In Lord Of The Flies Essay

719 Words3 Pages
The Deadly Impact of Fear People may think that their greatest fear is a ferocious animal, lightning speed, terrifying heights, or a venomous insect but the greatest fear of all is fear itself. When placed in an unfamiliar setting over an extended period of time, like the boys in William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies, fear escalates as time goes on. This is illustrated when the boys were unable to kill a pig when they had the right opportunity, to then brutally killing a pig as time progressed. To finally, killing one of their own. Lord of the Flies is the perfect example of how fear is a deadly driving force. The boys demonstrate savagery and heartless actions as fear increases within them. When the boys arrive on the island, excitement and power overcome them due to the lack of authority. However, their actions reveal the insecurity that lies within each of them. Knowing they will need food to stay alive, the boys decide they have to kill a pig. “They knew very well why he hadn’t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the…show more content…
Fear of the unknown can be a strong driving factor because it is unanswered. The boy’s lives revolve around fear and violence as it is all they think and care about: “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!” (Golding 141). Fear of the unknown arises in the boys in the form of an indescribable ‘beast’. They do not feel a sense of security until it is dead. Likewise, the idea of the beast creates an unsafe feeling and uncertain atmosphere on the island, driving them to kill. “That was Simon’ ‘You said that before’ ‘Piggy’ ‘Uh?’ ‘That was murder” (Golding 144). The boys become obsessed with fear that pushes them to kill Simon. This shows how cowardly the boys really are. There is evil inside everyone, given at any situation and time. Anyone can commit to terrible
Open Document