Lord of the Flies Forum

Please help!! does jack really believe in the beast?

I have a feeling that Jack understands what the Beast really is. He is intelligent enough to use the boys' fear to his own advantage. As long as they believe in the Beast, they need him to protect them. He makes a big show of leaving a sow's head to appease the Beast, as if he knows what he's doing. After the boys kill Simon, he keeps the Beast alive, so to speak, by telling them to keep alert for it. When a boy asks, "Didn't we, didn't we..." he answers no, "How could we--kill--it?" He seems to know that the Beast is not something that can be destroyed. Also he wants the boys to continue to fear it so that they continue to need his protection from it. Sort of like "The Red Menace" of Golding's time. As long as there is an enemy, the people will sacrifice their freedom to a protector (in this case, a government), even if that protector is evil himself.

Thank you so much that really helped!