What Is The Beast In Lord Of The Flies?

The beast in Lord of the Flies is the symbol of evil, but it's also the symbol of all that is natural. The boys' fear of it comes from their inability to reconcile their own humanity with the natural world.

The beast, as described by Golding, is a "dark shapeless mass" moving through the forest at night. It's an animalistic force that threatens to destroy everything that the boys have built for themselves on the island; it's also an animalistic force that threatens to destroy what they've done to themselves as humans.

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