Discuss the importance of the Beast in Goulding's Lord of the Flies

Goulding’s 1954 novella ‘Lord of the Flies’ presents an allegorical warning concerned with the intrinsic evil in all men, an idea expounded and explored through the presence of the ‘beastie.’ We can discuss the importance of the beast by analysing the purpose of it within the microcosm that Goulding creates.

Goulding explores the idea of human savagery; fitting in a post- war world with Goulding having experienced the war as a naval cadet. The beast serves as a symbol of evil, a way for Goulding to present his thesis. Simon suggests: “What I mean is . . . maybe it’s only us,” the first instance in the novel where it is considered the beast isn’t a physical entity. This evil is portrayed through the unravelling of the boy’s sanity within the microcosm of the island and the increase in savagery, such as the brutal murder of Simon. It is important to recognise that the beast is present even with children; Goulding is arguing that the beast is present in all man and is not protected by the innocence of youth.

Another interpretation of the Beast’s purpose is the idea that Dangar puts forth in The Nightmare Beast, War and the Children in William Golding's Lord of the Flies: ‘the Beast is the trauma of War.’ Dangar analyses many phycologists’ works on the effect that War has on the psyche of children, concluding that Goulding is presenting a metaphoric representation of the traumatic experiences the boys will have suffered; such as being apart from parents or experiencing bombings. The Beast may indeed not be an inexorable part of man, but instead a part of man that is brought out through the trauma of the war.