The Beast: An Internal Battle

2 Pages 508 Words

It is natural for humans to have fears, but sometimes these fears can originate within the human mind. In William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys stranded on an island lose control of the sensibility they are accustomed to. Their inner conflicts arise and turn into “beasts” that control their lives. “Beasts” are whimsical images that take over the minds of the boys inhabiting the island. These “beasts” are an internal conflict that each character creates within himself. In the novel, each boy has a different “beast” that represents the greatest inner conflict within that character’s personality.
The characters inhabiting the island do not know what the beast is, but they know that it is something outside of their comprehension. With the boys knowing that there is something among them on the island, they become suddenly aware of the oddities around them. Actions among the characters on the island are cautious and subdued. The boy’s fear of being alone creates the fear of being captured by this imaginary beast.
Knowing that there is a believed “beast” among the woods, Simon volunteers to go into the woods alone. Simon comes across as a fearless individual, making his beast less obvious. The beast that enthralls upon Simon’s character is one that displays his fear of uncivilized behavior among the other boys. “Simon occupies a central position in the symbolic scheme, for he represents truth, vision, and moral understanding. Unfortunately, he is quiet and shy and has difficulty speaking out. When he does try to tell the savages the truth about the beast, they refuse to listen and literally tear him apart, as if to blot out his message.” (www.pinkmonkey.com) Simon is the only one to discover that the only existing beasts are within the themselves.
With each character possessing different qualities and personality traits, they are each going to have a different beast. Jac...