Through its way of life and drama, William Golding's Lord of the flies shows how a group of boys adapts and survive on a stranded island with no parents or guardians. Golding shows that savagery develops in a given group of boys due to the lack of civility and an authoritative figure. The boys have no upper figure to follow so their only choice is to come up with what they believe is civil. Savagery also occurs when in an individual or group fear certain psychological phenomenon such as, "The Beast." "The Beast," is a reoccurring example of fear the boys encounter blaming anything that scares them on the beast. Golding states the fear of the beast that the boys fabricated, the lynching of Simon and Piggy triggered by savagery in the boys, and Savagery from the fear of the beast brings the downfall of the boys on the island.
When in an assembly Simon receives the conch, he speaks up and gives input on who the beast possible is, this is important because Simon realizes that the beast is being uncovered to the boys. "Maybe there is a beast, maybe it's only us," (Golding 89). This is important because Simon is foreshadowing that the boys will become, "Beasts," and they don't have to fear the, "Beast," because it may not exist at all. Simon implies that maybe there is a beast out in the forest possibly watching everyone. Ironically three-fourths through the book Simon attends a feast while on his way to the feast he stumbles over a bush and all the boys start clawing, biting Simon out of fear for the, "beast." Maurice mentions his dad told him that, "They haven't found all the animals in the sea yet," (88). This is important in showing how the beast can be something no one has ever seen before or known about brewing up the beast to be something unknown to the boys bringing more fear for the beast. Having the beast be unknown to the boys presents the possibility of the beast being able to come out of the water so the boys must fear the beast from the forest and the sea.