Dbq Lord Of The Flies Analysis

Many children have imaginary friends. However, growing upon your own in a bad environment can lead to eerie, false creatures instead. This is what has happened in Lord of the Flies. The story takes place in the near future with young schoolboys who are stranded on an island in the midst of a war and they generate a fear of a mysterious “beast.” The meaning of the tale depends on the interpretation of the ominous perception. The beast can represent a plethora of illusions. Initially, the beast symbolizes fear. Minors need a mother to comfort them in their fears, but there are no mothers on the island they are on. “They externalize these fears into the beast.” (Doc A) With no safe or at home feeling, the kids have to express their thoughts somehow. The most practical way for them to do so is by visualizing imaginary creatures and ideas. A child discusses his encounter with the beast and the boys’ explanation was, “He was dreaming… he must’ve had a nightmare.” (Doc B) Again, the children express their fears through nightmares and they become imaginary figures that seem real to them.
A war is happening while the children are on the island. The author, William Golding, shares his thoughts of the battle as, “Where did the second World War come from? Was it made by something inhuman and alien? Or was it created by chaps with eyes and legs and hearts?”(Doc C) The words used to describe the war in this quote illustrate a beast-like figure. “This war led to the boys’ evacuation from England and to the crash landing of their evacuation on the plane.” (Doc D) With all of these negative impacts the war is having on the adolescents, the beast represents the war at this