January 22, 2012

Lord of the Flies - WR3: The Beastie


Inside every person is a darkness, a part considered hell in a place called heaven. For Ralph and all of the other survivors in Lord of the Flies by William Golding their darkness, their hell burns through. They are able to unleash the evil hidden within us since birth. While most beasts lurk beneath the surface of the soul with no chances of escaping, the boy’s are less fortunate having their inner demon escape on the island that lacks a sense of society - simply showing how a life without the existence of a society would cause total chaos.
            The island, with no social order, brings out how animalistic a world would be with no guidelines. Although it is harsh to face the evil that the island conveys in the boys, they still must face their fears. Many biblical references compare the ‘beastie’ to the devil, exactly how the boy’s ‘beastie’ is portrayed as darkness. Inside of them “… four unwinking eyes aimed and two mouths open… (98)” shows the devil living inside them. The twins up on the mountain faced their devil, a monster beyond recognition-themselves. Those moments on the island when they had to face the appalling side of them, the realization hit of why they hid behind the masks in the first place, “If faces were different when lit from above of below-what was a face what was anything? (78)” The island is all about choices, the option for below, a burning pit of hell, or the option for a glistening light of heaven with arms wide open. Although the boys will never be able to overcome their weaknesses, their fatal flaws, if they cannot even face the uncertainties.

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