The key to well being is reason. The precious ability to reason, as a force that utilizes the human mind, promotes stability of thought, allowing humans to think before they act and to make wise decisions. Fear, on the other hand, is a powerful emotion that distorts reality, working only to hold back the logical side of humans. In Lord of the Flies, the boys stranded on the island are vulnerable victims of fear. Through them, William Golding lucidly shows that the human mind, when affected by fear, has an intrinsic tendency to amplify the fear within itself until it reaches a point where all logic is lost, impetuous mistakes are made, and ultimately, harm is shed upon others, as shown through the beast in each one of its varying forms.

            As the boys discuss what they think the beast is at a meeting, they demonstrate that the human mind acts only to provoke more fear. At the beginning of the meeting, a young boy named Phil presents his fears to the assembly: “‘I was asleep when the twisty things were fighting and when they went away I was awake, and I saw something big and horrid moving in the trees’” (85). Phil’s mind creates an imaginary beast for himself to be afraid of. Consequently, Phil, along with the other boys, is now scared of a beast present in the forest, demonstrating that human imagination strongly promotes fear. The mind’s role in causing fear is further shown as meeting progresses. In response to Percival’s claim that the beast comes from the sea, Maurice says: “‘My daddy says there’s things… that are hundreds of yards long and eat whales whole’” (88). Already, the beast has changed its form. Maurice’s comment is now viewed as the truth by the boys, who are shown to be willing to use anything they know, whether true or false, to convince themselves that a beast exists. It emphasizes the role each boy’s mind plays in causing fear in both themselves and in each other. Near the end of the meeting, the beast changes form yet once more: “A hushed and anonymous voice broke in. ‘Perhaps that’s what the beast is—a ghost.’ The assembly was shaken as by a wind” (90). Again, the boys are affected by an unsupported idea. As more and more ideas of these ideas of what the beast is are announced to the assembly, each boy’s mind opens to accept that the beast may be anything. The boys will, resultingly, become apprehensive about ordinary things in life, leaving them to suffer in a growing feeling of terror. From the ideas each boy reveals about how they view the beast throughout the assembly, it becomes evident that the human mind empowers fear.

Humans develop an inclination to make irrational assumptions when stimulated by fear, as shown when the boys believe the beast to be the dead parachuter. As Jack, Ralph, and Roger approach the top of the mountain at night, they find “something like a great ape…sitting asleep with its head between its knees…the creature lifted its head, holding toward them the ruin of a face” (123). Although they can not identify what the creature is, the boys automatically identify it as the beast because of the feeling of fear accumulated inside them. This demonstrates their inability to determine what the beast is, whether is exists or not. As a result, the boys are only able to tenuous assumptions, which are negatively influenced by a sense of dread. On another night, the boys see the beast once again. They apprehensively watch as a “parachute filled and moved...it sank toward the beach and the boys rushed screaming into the darkness” (153). As the boys believe to see the beast more often, they end up becoming more frightened. They have lost their ability to think without being affected by fear, now relying on impulse and temporary bursts of emotion to make decisions. In modern society, these illogical assumptions lead to confusion, anger, and conflict between humans.

            When triggered by fear, humans make spontaneous decisions which, in turn, lead to the detriment of others, as shown when the boys think Simon is the beast. While performing their chant, the boys see a “thing was crawling out of the forest. It came darkly, uncertainly” (152). The “thing” the boys saw could have been anything. However, since they have lost their ability to reason, they decide to call it a beast, completely disregarding what it actually is. This lack of thought leads to imprudent actions that are damaging to others. The result is shown after the beast enters and the boys are energized to attack: “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!’…the crowd surged after it…leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movement but the tearing of teeth and claws” (153). The group of boys charged with great fervor but little thought. Not even knowing what it is, they decided attack and make the kill. In this case, however, it is Simon who takes the form of the beast. This shows that, in today’s world, it is the apprehensive people who are likely to make erroneous choices, go against others, and perform acts of crime.

            In a state of trepidation, humans become incoherent beings who have a propensity to make the wrong decisions and end up harming one another. Each character in Lord of the Flies undergoes obvious changes that outline the effect the fear of the beast has on them. The boys are willing to believe anything or anyone is the beast. This misdirected eagerness guides the boys into more anxiety up to a point where an innocent boy is perceived as the beast. The boys on the island demonstrate that the dreaded state of fear leads to misconduct and acts of violence. This applies to the world today, in which fear influences humans to make unjudicial decisions, causing many problems in the world. In the end, the damage associated with the irrationality caused by fear far exceeds whatever there is to be afraid of, that is, if there is anything at all.