How does William Golding use 'The Beast' in his novel as a whole?

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How does William Golding use 'The Beast' in his novel as a whole?

'The Beast' first comes to life at the start of chapter two. 'The Beast' is brought on to the scene by a small, timid boy with a birthmark on his face. The birthmark makes the boy stand out and makes him unique as if he is a chosen one. The small boy was made to introduce the idea of a "snake thing" by his peers. 'He was a shrimp of a boy, about six years old, and one side of his face was blotted out by a mulberry coloured birthmark...' The older boys mock him, as he asks for the conch the assembly "shouted with laughter" as a result of this the boy is too afraid to speak to the other boys. It would seem that he has already confided in Piggy, so Piggy tells Ralph and the older boys that the 'little uns' have been unsettled by some kind of 'beast', the older boys don't take the matter seriously and simply brush it off.

The beast is used as a symbol in the novel, in the imaginations of many of the boys, the beast is a tangible source of evil on the island. However, in reality, it represents the evil naturally present within everyone, which is causing life on the island to deteriorate. Simon begins to realize this even before his encounter with the Lord of the Flies, and during one argument over the existence of a beast, he attempts to share his insight with the others. Simon begins to realize this even before his encounter with the Lord of the Flies, and during one argument over the existence of a beast, he attempts to share his insight with the others. Timidly, Simon tells them, "Maybe...maybe there is a beast...what I mean is...maybe it's only us" (p. 96) In response to Simon's statement, the other boys, who had once conducted their meetings with some sense of order, immediately begin to argue more fiercely. The crowd gives a "wild whoop" when Jack rebukes Ralph, saying "Bollocks to the rules! We're strong...we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll close in and beat and beat and beat!" (p. 99). Clearly, the boys' fear of the beast and their ironic desire to kill it shows that the hold which society's rules once had over them has been loosened during the time they have spent without supervision on the island.
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The evil within the boys has more effect on their existence as they spend more time on the island, isolated from the rest of society, and this decline is portrayed by Piggy's specs. Throughout the novel, Piggy represents the civilization and the rules from which the boys have been separated, and interestingly, as Piggy loses his ability to see, so do the other boys lose their vision of that civilization. When the story begins, Piggy can see clearly with both lenses of his spectacles intact, and the boys are still fairly civilized. For example, at one of their ...

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This essay begins well and throughout the response there is some very good analysis taking place; however the second half of the essay does not relate to the question so in order for this to gain a higher mark the question would need to be changed or the response made more focused. 3 Stars