Ashley LotoszynskiDarren PagtakhanSocial JusticeDecember 17, 2013Imaginary FearTeddy Roosevelt once said that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Fear is a product of the absence of knowledge and magnified thoughts. As human beings we are afraid of the unknown and what it hides from us. In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, a group of children wash up on an unknown island without any adults. As time passes, the kids become uncomfortable and try to seek comfort from their leaders. As their imaginations take over, the unknown soon ignites their fear, and apprehension hinders the young people in their attempt to restore order. Because fear is fueled by imagination, kids' outward attempt to conquer it only results in violence and chaos. Because we are afraid of what we don't know, we believe that the unknown can hurt us. At first the little ones get scared and talk about a "beast". Piggy asks one of the little ones what he saw and reports that "he [the little one] says he saw the beast, the snake... he says that in the morning it turned into things like ropes in the trees and they hung on the branches" (Golding 36) The "snake thing" is a figment of the little ones' imagination, which causes children to be more afraid and which in turn leads them to conjure up more imaginary objects that they believe will harm them It is also evident that the boys are scared when Ralph tells Jack that “they're scared… they're dreaming. You hear them… They're talking and screaming… As if the island isn't good” (Golding 52). nothing to fear on the island, yet they want to go home where there is danger and war. It is ironic that the boys want to leave the island and go home where there is…… middle of paper……(Golding 181). Jack is a character who instills fear in other boys to manipulate them to get what he wants. By putting fear in other boys, they follow him and carry out his evil work leading to violence and chaos. This not only shows that Jack is manipulative, but that he is also afraid of not being a leader and not being in control. Imagination is the root of fear and leads to destruction and death in the novel. It can cause people to do irrational things and trigger responses in our security center. In Lord of the Flies fear is more dangerous than any beast because the boys are afraid of themselves. Everything that kids are afraid of has an unknown aspect to them. Instead of conquering fear, imagination causes violence and chaos. The only thing we truly have to fear is fear itself due to its mentally and physically destructive nature.