Fear Within Fear

Fear is a very abstract and complex idea that most find hard to understand. It is the fear of the unknown that William Golding interweaves as a theme throughout his novel "Lord of the Flies". Golding illustrates how fear can be placed upon anything, especially what is undiscovered and unknown. He illustrates this theme through the progression of his characters and the development of their fears. Whether it is from the boys' fear of the darkness, their fear of the possibility of a beast, or their complete ignorance of the source of their fears, Golding effectively explores this abstract concept.

From the very beginning, there is fear in the boys of the darkness and the unknown, evil things that could be hidden within. The atmosphere of the island, which should be peaceful and calm, has undertones of evil that leave them with an eerie and uncanny feeling that gets personified during the night. It is this feeling of eeriness that first contributes to the boys' fear and apprehension of the island. This leads into the fear of what is in the darkness of the jungle. The boys show a reluctance to go into the jungle at night, and only find comfort in the companionship of the others. Most boys, except Simon, who understands what fear is and where it comes from, will not explore the jungle alone and no one will explore it atnight. These fears then cause nightmares to announce themselves upon the boys, particularly the little ones. They dream about the jungle and giant snake-like beasts that live within it, which really are the vines, or "creepers", as the boys call them. Thus, Golding uses his characters to develop the theme of the fear of the unknown rather early in the novel.

Subsequently, the boys' fear escalates to a point where not only are they discussing the possibility of a "beast", but they become terrified at just the idea of one. Even though there is no real, concrete proof that a "beast" exists, they become consumed with the fear of it as it swallows them whole. The little ones shout stories of seeing the "beast", and everyone vehemenently refuses to go into the jungle by themselves, especially at night, for fear of a sighting. Then, when the boys' find the dead parachutist, they have tangible "proof" that the beast exists. In their minds, the "beast" is no longer something they believe to exist, but know to exist. This leads to even more fear; so much so, that the boys start to leave sacrifices for the beast. They become utterly consumed by the being that is the "beast".

Unfortunately, although the boys feel fear on the island, which they think is from the beast, they do not realize that their fear comes from the evil within. They sense themselves slipping away from what they once were and into something much more sinister, but do not understand why. Because these feelings are an unknown and foreign concept, they