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We all have fear, it’s a natural instinct and we cope with those fears differently because we are all different with our own unique personalities! In the book “Lord of the Flies” the author William Golding shows the fears of Jack, Ralph, and Piggy and chooses specific ways for them to cope with that fear. Each of the three boys react to fear in their own special way. All the boys have a fear but in the end the only thing they had to fear was themselves. Montesquieu talks about how a government in most cases is run by Virtue, Honor, and Fear. The three boys show Montesquieu’s theory in their actions when driven by fear and how they each respond to that fear.
The boys leader Ralph has his own fears. However, he deals with them in a different way. At first he does not fear the beast because he is too focused and scared that the fire won’t stay lit long enough for them to be rescued. Ralph’s fear stays about the same throughout most of the book, yet his efforts to show the urgency to the group are blown off by Jack the antagonist in the story. Ralph says, “I’m chief...There’s no signal showing.” There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers?”. This quote shows how he fears being stranded on the island and why he won’t stop stressing about the fire (signal). Ralph also begins to fear the other boys. After Simon dies, he realizes what the boys are capable of doing, especially under the influence of Jack. Ralph tries to find refuge from his fear in his friend Piggy.
The second boy Piggy, fears Jack and with good reason! Jack takes his anger out on Piggy and bullies him. Piggy deals with this fear by avoiding Jack and remaining with Ralph most of the time. Another fear of Piggy’s is the fear of being ignored or disapproved by the other boys. Piggy just wants to be acknowledged of his opinions and thoughts and with good reason because he’s is the wisest of them all. A quote from the book says “I got the conch...You let me speak!” This quote shows that Piggy is constantly trying to be recognized by the other boys and to make them pay attention to him. Throughout most of the book, Piggy seeks refuge from his fears in both his friend Ralph and the conch.
The Final boy is Jack and he believes that a beast really does exist! He is afraid and not ashamed to admit it. However, he deals with his fear with aggressive violence and cruelty. He chooses to hunt for the beast, to try to kill it. “If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!” says Jack. He also uses the fear of the beast to scare the other children and make himself seem courageous when he says he’s going to hunt it. Because the boys fear the beast they are more likely to listen to Jack and follow his orders since he seems like a strong, courageous leader. Jack’s other fear is Ralph’s power over the group and Piggy’s rational thinking. He knows that both of them conflict with his need for absolute power. He responds to these fears in his normal violent way. He verbally and physically bullies Piggy, and he argues with Ralph and questions his authority. Eventually that concludes with him leaving the group. Jack eventually solidifies his power by forcing the last members of Ralph’s group into his tribe and ordering a hunt for Ralph.
I feel like Montesquieu’s theory of virtue, honor, and fear is perfect to describe the boys and how they each try to run the group of boys on the island. The three boys rule not really through virtue or honor but mainly through how they respond to their different fears. While all are driven mainly by fear the outcome is completely different. The boys all have different fears in the book, Jack’s is the beast, Piggy’s fear is Jack and not being acknowledged, and Ralph’s fear is being stranded on the island. In reality the beast isn’t real, Piggy doesn’t have to hang around Jack, and the Navy ends up finding the boys so all the boys had to fear was themselves. It was all in their minds.
In conclusion, William Golding’s book “Lord of the Flies” shows the reader to three characters Jack, Ralph, and Piggy with completely different personalities and different fears. Each boy tries to overcome their fear in a different way. Fear is a normal emotion that everyone goes through, each person deals with it differently based on their own personalities. Based on what Montesquieu says they all run the political power over the boys based on fear. It was all fear in their minds and in themselves that they should have worried about.
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