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Paragraph 3: fear can control and manipulate - Coggle Diagram
Paragraph 3: fear can control and manipulate
Golding symbolises the control and manipulation of fear primarily through the Lord of the Flies
their fear of this imaginary 'beastie' blinds them from realising that they should actually fear themselves and each other
the 'lord of the flies' is a pig's head that the boys conceptualise as the source of all their worse impulses
fear of the unknown
creates illusions which changes their reality and perception of things
evidence: description of the island before and after (paradise to sleeping leviathan)
the boys feel threatened over something they have no control over, and in response act in a barbaric manner in order to feel like they are in control
the boys are controlled by their fear of the beast. this isn't the beast itself, but the fear of the unknown
their fear becomes a source of motivation for their actions
the manipulative nature is portrayed through Simon's meeting with the 'beastie'
killing Simon shows how fear has perpetuated itself into the island and is getting rid of anything that might alleviate it
the controlling nature of fear can be exploited by others to gain power
Jack magnifies the others' fear of the beast, because the more afraid they are of it, the more willing they'll be to do what Jack says, in order to not be scared
without the beast (chapter 10), jack loses his power and hold over the other boys, which is why he says to make an offering to the beast, even after the other boys think that the beast died with simon
Jack insisted that Simon was merely disguised as the beast and the beast is not really dead.
Jack makes himself strong in their eyes by hunting and killing, so that the boys can think that he can save them from the beast
while Ralph tried to explain reason to the other boys, Jack plays up the horror of the beast, which causes disorder within the group
Golding uses this to show that fear can make you act irrationally
Jack capitalises on the boys' fear of the unknown to gain their trust and take advantage of them
In chapter 4, Jack uses his rage to incite fear into the other boys, but the fear of him
"Eat! Damn you!"
most of the boys didn't realise the damage they were inflicting, because
The beast represents the way in which man will try to convince himself that there is no evil inside of him by making someone or something else seem to be the cause for the evil
the realisation that the fear had consumed the boys was evident at the end of the book when the adults came to rescue them
the Navy officers, who represent the law and order, reveal to the boys that there was nothing to be afraid of, and you can see a glimpse of their previous, innocent selves when they cry
they attain self-knowledge is because of the arrival of an adult figure on the island, which allows law and order to be restored, thereby eliminating the evil.
parallel to dictatorship
Jack uses the beast in the same manner that real propagandists from history and today use scare tactics. The beast represents a threat to the other boys and strikes fear in them. Just like all scare tactics, it is not important rather a threat truly exists, it is significant for leaders to convince their audience simply that they need to feel fear.
jack's absolute power makes him a dictator, which can be effective, however just like previous dictators in histroy, he resorts to violence and preys on people's fears
They convinced the German people that their economic crisis was caused by the Jews ("the beast" according to Hitler) and then convinced Germans that they alone could provide the only solution to this "dangerous, malevolent" threat.
jack's constant use of violence keeps the boys in subservience through fear of him and the beast
autocracy
Jack leads through fear, like Stalin
Roger is the merciless rule-keeper who keeps the others in line
Stalin's secret police kept order with brutality and fear
"there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil"
constantly conflicts with Ralph, who represents democracy because he rules through reason and example
he lets other people have a say and have ideas
the resulting nuclear attacks is represented when Jack set off the fire in the last chapter and alludes to how mankind is on the brim of destroying itself
LOTF was written in the 1950s, after the WW2 and during the Cold War
“compulsion to track down and kill things that was swallowing him up”
Jack's fear of not being strong was consuming him makes him want to kill it, wrongly thinking that this will make the danger go away
it's wrong because the thing he fears - that is, the unknown - isn't something that can be killed, yet Jack doesn't know this
this is evident because killing the pig only makes him worse
"Cut her throat! Spill the blood"
"cut" and "spill" are both visceral verbs and shows how savage the boys have become, yet they are still under the influence of fear and the impression that killing yet another pig will cure this
the world 'compulsion' suggests that Jack has no control over this instinct, thus showing that the fear he thinks will consume him already has, and is already controlling his thoughts
it is instinctive for him - Golding shows that this malicious desire is rooted deep inside of everyone
the use of the word 'swallowing' shows that it was a feeling that was taking over his life
parallel to ww2
jack and hitler ruled by autocracy - absolute power and not considering the ideas of others
hitler and jack favoured the strong and attacked the weak (piggy)
the SS was loyal to Hitler and kept order with brutality and fear
this is similar to how Roger terrifies the other boys into subservience
both German citizens and the boys who followed Jack followed orders without question
partly because they didn't fully realise the damage they were inflicting because their fear was being manipulated and preyed on to alter their reality, but also because they were too scared of Jack and Roger to do otherwise