Lord of the Flies
The Savage Side of Human Nature: The True BeastIn Lord of the Flies, the beast is a presence throughout the entire book. First seen by a littleun when he is frightened in the dark, the beast is seen everywhere by the boys, but only when they are afraid. Towards the end of the book, the boys begin to become more savage. They still believe the beast is a real being that is to be feared, but the reader begins to see that the true beast is not a physical being at all, but a side of the boys themselves. Many people would argue that the beast is an actual presence on the island, but we believe there is more to it and that the beast is the boys' fear and the darker, savage side of human nature coming out. The first time we see the beast is in the beginning of the story. They say it is the littleuns' fear that started it. Jack says at a meeting, "'You littleuns started all this, with the fear talk. Beasts!'"(82) Eventually, Jack and Ralph convince the boys to some extent that the beast is only their imaginations running wild. Jack also describes how he believes fear plays a major role. He says, "'Be frightened, because you're like that-but there is no beast in the forest'" (83). By saying this, Jack shows how he sees that the
In any case, the boys did not listen, which slowly caused their demise. The pig's head told Simon that there was not exactly a real beast, but that the beast was an idea that was causing the boys to act the way they had been. a sign came down from the world of grownups, though at the time there was no child awake to read it. That the true beast was the natural instincts of the boys was clearly shown throughout the book, and is most clearly summed up when the Lord of the Flies tells Simon, "'You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you?'" (143) Simon was the only one who knew the true nature of the beast. The evil presence they imagined was hunting them on the island did not exist; however, in their fear the boys became almost like beasts themselves. When the savages kill the pig and leave its head for the beast, their actions show how their darker, more primitive sides have caused them to become something other than what they originally were. There was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars"(95). the complementary circles went round and round as though repetition would achieve safety of itself. The grownup world would have been cautioning the boys against giving in to their evil sides, although the irony is clear since the grownups themselves had not followed that advice. Their cries of "'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!'"(152) is not something that would be expected of young boys, and instead shows that they have just the kind of animal instinct that a "beast" would possess. Golding shows this in the boys' actions when he writes: "Roger ceased to be a pig and became a hunter. Since the Lord of the Flies is only in Simon's head, this shows how he, too, is tempted to believe in salvation through savagery; however, he does not live long enough for it to be shown whether or not he would have become a beast, too. He knew that the beast was only a dead parachutist and not a danger to anyone. This shows that Simon knows the truth about what the beast is, and also what the other boys had become.
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Acceptance Essays
