The Monster Within: Fear, Anger, and Power in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Category: Psychology
Last Updated: 30 Jun 2023
Pages: 2 Views: 90

Fear, anger and power can sometimes over power you and your decisions. William Golding shows us this in his book Lord of the Flies. Meg and Dia's Thrilling song, called Monster, portrays all the feelings of fear Piggy has, the anger Ralph expresses and the power hungry urge Jack possess.

Jack Meridew has always felt the need to be a leader. Throughout the book Jack becomes more and more satanic. By chapter 10 Jacks desire for power overwhelms his ability to use reason and logic or right and wrong. Jack's actions become inexplicitly inhumane. On page 176 Robert (one of Jacks tribe members) tells Roger (Ralph's tribe member) that "he's (Jack) going to beat Wilfred." When Roger asks Robert why Jack intends on beating him Robert himself cannot find an explanation and settles for the excuse that Jack simply wanted to. In the song called Monster, the lyrics say;" He battered his tiny fist to feel something, then he slowly saw their nightmares were his dreams." These lyrics tell a story of someone (or something) wanting to hurt and terrorize. Just as Jack feels he needs to do to gain eminent power.

Also, the melody of the loud intriguing song gives off the emotion of unbearable anger held within. You can visualize the feeling of wanting to explode with pure rage as you listen. This sound is perfect to describe the way Ralph is feeling when Jack has already taken so much away from him and is now entering Ralph's territory as a threat. On page 184 the author (William Golding) describes the boiling blood inside Ralph and how he was (as written on page 184 in paragraph 5) "hitting with more passion and hysteria as the face became slippery." Just as you get the feeling of enragement while you absorb the thrilling melody through your ears you get this same feeling as you read about Ralph's emotions at this point in chapter 10.

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Furthermore, the fear in Piggy's heart can be represented by the eerie lyrics; "Monster, how should I feel? Creatures lie here, lurking through the windows, I can, hear the voices. "On page 176 William Golding describes the feel of the dead silent night being filled with terrifying noises getting closer and closer. A stick crack, a movement and the voices. "I want you piggy." In Piggy's mind is fear of the "creatures, lurking through the window" or in this case "circling around the huts." As Piggy becomes more and more terrified, his asthma kicks in his back arches and then crashes to the leaves (as said on page 176).

The song lyrics describe a creature haunting someone and this is how Piggy feels, haunted by the voices outside. To conclude, Monster by Meg and Dia is a song about fear, power and anger in both the lyrics and melody of the song. These three emotions are what chapter 10 is mainly focused on. The enragement you feel, the empowerment and the anxiety you feel as you listen to the song fits perfectly with the harsh disturbing words written in chapter 10.

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The Monster Within: Fear, Anger, and Power in Lord of the Flies by William Golding. (2023, Jun 25). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/the-monster-within-fear-anger-and-power-in-lord-of-the-flies-by-william-golding/

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