In Lord of the Flies, is there actually a beast or it is just the boys' imagination?The concept of the beast is a figment of the boys' imagination, which disturbs them during their time spent on the uninhabited tropical island. After a littlun suggests that there is a "beastie" on the island, the boys begin to argue over its existence. Various littluns suggest that the beast lives in the sea, while others believe it exists somewhere deep in the forest. After a dead paratrooper is shot out of the sky and lands on the top of the mountain, Samneric mistake the dead paratrooper's corpse for the beast. Even Ralph, Jack, and Roger believe that there is a beast that inhabits the island after they also witness the dead paratrooper's corpse. While there is certainly not a physical beast that inhabits the island, Simon does recognize that the real beast is the inherent wickedness in each individual on the island. Simon also has an enlightening conversation with the Lord of the Flies, which confirms his belief that the beast is each boys' inherent evil. It is this inherent wickedness that prevents the boys from establishing a civil society and motivates them to act like dangerous savages.
APPROVED BY ENOTES EDITORIAL TEAM
BULLGATORTAIL| CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
[url=]Cite[/url]
I suppose it depends on how you look at it. There is not actually a living "beast" on the island (other than the wild pigs that are hunted) as the boys imagine, but they hear strange noises and even believe that they see strange movements at night. When the boys trek to the mountaintop, they see an object they believe to be a beast: It is "a creature that bulged." Fear of this creature prevents the boys from visiting the top of the mountain, where a signal fire could best be seen. It is Simon who finally discovers that what the boys believe to be the beast is actually the now decomposed body of a dead parachutist swinging in the breeze. Before his discovery, Simon has an hallucinatory conversation with the "Pig's head on a stick"--the Lord of the Flies. It tells Simon that it is the beast. But there is yet another form of beast on the island: It is the boys themselves, reduced to murderous "savages" as the laws of civilization dissolve around them.
| 
