Lord of the Flies Fear of the Unknown

“Fear is the most potent weapon,” said Faraaz Kazi. Fear of the unknown and fascination of death torments the minds of the boys and causes a big split of the group during the middle of the novel. In the novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses fear and death to threaten the boys as fear becomes paralyzing and unconquerable by the realization that the only thing the boys have to fear is fear itself. In the very beginning, the beast was something that only existed in the boys’ minds and practically only scared the littluns. As time passed by, it mutated into something much larger than any unknown creature could possibly be. They feared what they could not see in the dark and they were vulnerable as sunlight turned into darkness. When the sun set, their worries came lashing back at them. “Soon the darkness was full of claws, full of the awful unknown and menace” (99). It’s very ironic how multiple horrific events happen when the sun is no longer present like the killing of Simon; so daylight gave them assurance of safety. While Ralph and Jack’s hunters went hunting for the beast… “The sun was bright and danger had faded with the darkness” (108). They were concerned with the possibility of a monster lurking through the vast, unexplored island that could harm them. They’re even unsure of what the beast really is and where it comes from. “He says the beast comes out of the sea” (88). Even more horrifying, they feared each other even though they never really knew it themselves. The most dangerous thing on that island was not the beast, but fear. Especially fear of the unknown. Every single one of the boys feared something; and they each had a variety of different fears. Also, Jack didn’t believe that fear could hurt you when they started to talk about the beastie in the very beginning. “The thing is-fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream. There aren’t any beasts to be afraid of on this island” (83). He was totally wrong. There was a beast, and fear