Fear first comes into play when the boys are all up on top of the mountain
after they light their first fire. The entire back side of the mountain bursts into
flames, and all that can be heard is the popping and hissing from the brush. The odd
pop sends branches and "creepers" into the air. When one of the little boys sees one
of the creepers fly up from down below, he screams "Snakes! Snakes!" This
frightens the other "lil 'uns."
While all the boys are still up on top of the mountain, Piggy had noticed that
something was missing. The boy with the large birthmark on his face was missing!
At first they didn't think too much of it. He could be playing in the bushes, or back
down at the beach. After a great deal of time, the small boy was still nowhere to be
found, and was soon forgotten by the other boys.
English: Piggy Riddell
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph PagliaAlthough the boy with the
birthmark on his face was lost in the minds of the other boys, the memory of that
day still haunted Piggy. This reminded him of how he hated the society in which
they had created. He just wanted to get away from it all. Ralph was the only one
that ensured his survival. Without Ralph, Piggy was nothing.
The boy's fear of the unknown on the island leads to their fear of the beast. The
boys cannot accept the notion of a beast existing on the island, nor can they let go of
it. The recognition that no real beast exists, and that the only beast on the island is
fear itself is one of the deepest meanings of the story.