Question on Lord of the Flies?

Question

Who or what is the beast?

Answer 1

The beast, the Lord of the Flies, is seen as a real object on the island which frightens the boys. Actually the beast is something internal; the Lord of the Flies is in soul and mind of the boys, leading them to the natural chaos of a society with no reasoning adults. Only Simon understands what the real beast is, but is killed when he tries to tell the boys about the Lord of the Flies.

Answer 2

A dead guy with a parachute that sits on top of fire mountain.

[Additional] Most of the people who answered you here were incorrect. I'm assuming your reading this for class. THE BEAST and THE LORD OF THE FLIES are two separate things. THE BEAST is the dead guy who scares the boys. THE LORD OF THE FLIES represents the savagery of human nature who is basically thought up by Simon. Hope this helps

Answer 3

We have met the Beast - and It is us.


The imaginary beast that frightens all the boys stands for the primal instinct of savagery that exists within all human beings. The boys are afraid of the beast, but only Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. As the boys grow more savage, their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the novel, the boys are leaving it sacrifices and treating it as a totemic god. The boys’ behavior is what brings the beast into existence, so the more savagely the boys act, the more real the beast seems to become.
In keeping with the overall allegorical nature of Lord of the Flies, the beast can be interpreted in a number of different lights. In a religious reading, for instance, the beast recalls the devil; in a Freudian reading, it can represent the id, the instinctual urges and desires of the human unconscious mind. However we interpret the beast, the littlun’s idea of the monster rising from the sea terrifies the boys because it represents the beast’s emergence from their own unconscious minds. As Simon realizes later in the novel, the beast is not necessarily something that exists outside in the jungle. Rather, it already exists inside each boy’s mind and soul, the capacity for savagery and evil that slowly overwhelms them.
As the idea of the beast increasingly fills the boys with dread, Jack and the hunters manipulate the boys’ fear of the beast to their own advantage. Jack continues to hint that the beast exists when he knows that it probably does not—a manipulation that leaves the rest of the group fearful and more willing to cede power to Jack and his hunters, more willing to overlook barbarism on Jack’s part for the sake of maintaining the “safety” of the group. In this way, the beast indirectly becomes one of Jack’s primary sources of power. At the same time, Jack effectively enables the boys themselves to act as the beast—to express the instinct for savagery that civilization has previously held in check. Because that instinct is natural and present within each human being, Golding asserts that we are all capable of becoming the beast.

Answer 4

Well, some people think that the beast is the pig that was on the island, some people think that the beast is more metophorical, like the beast being a human reaction to being stranded on an island (how you lose control or common sense and makes you crazy). Rember how they turned on each other and "Piggy" was killed? I read the book a very long time ago so please bare with me

Answer 5

The Beast is metaphorical. It's like the force of evil. It's represented by the pig's head on a stake, but it's really the evil that lurks inside the boys' hearts. It's the savagery that comes out and shows itself after they've been on the island for a while.

It's not anything literal that you can touch, it's the power of darkness. Ooh, cliche.

Answer 6

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

Symbolism played an important part in the development of story. This narrative technique is used to give significance to certain people or objects, which represent some other figure. The following list shows many of the examples of symbolism used throughout Golding's book.

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliessymbolism.htm

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliesdiscusssymbolism.htm

http://www.studyworld.com/newsite/ReportEssay/literature/Novel%5CSymbolism_In_Lord_Of_The_Flies-38847.htm

Themes in 'Lord of the Flies'

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliesthemes.htm

Summaries :

http://www.antistudy.com/search.php?title=lord+of+the+flies

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Golding.html#Lord

http://www.freebooknotes.com/book.php3?id=246


Good luck.

Kevin

Answer 7

The beast is the pigs head on the stick

Answer 8

The beast is in Piggy and Raph and the boys mind. It's a made up creature, and it's all in their heads.

Answer 9

I always wondered this myself. I assumed it was a bear. Or a great figment of the boys imagination.

Answer 10

A wild boar, although it symbolizes much more.