In the novel, there are many references to the beast. Each one illustrates the gradual decline of humanity, and the rising of savagery. Simon is the only boy on the island who truly understands what is controlling the boys on this island, yet he cannot express his thoughts into words clearly, and ends up being killed for even trying.

In the beginning, the fear of a "beastie" on the island first stems from a littlun with a distinctive marking, a "mulberry-colored birthmark" on his face, who says the beast comes out at night. Both Ralph and Jack, thinking these to be simply childish nightmares, comfort and more or less manage to convince everyone that there is no beast. It is this same mulberry birthmarked boy, who disappears after the boys' first fire burns out of control across the island. Even though he had probably died in the fire, his disappearance was something that no one had ever accounted for, as no one knew the exact answer. This would have probably

Jack is now "Chief" in the eyes of his hunters, a sign that the other boys are indeed embracing the savagery of Jack's world, in exchange for protection and food. Jack has managed to tap into the fear that each and every one of them have of the beastie, and converted this fear into something that he can manipulate at will. He gives his hunters strength, and convinces them that the beastie will be no match for them. In chapter 10, he assures his hunters that the thing they had attacked was indeed the beast who had come to them disguised in the form of Simon. The beast is no longer an animal, and it now takes on the role of an abstract, supernatural force that can disguise itself at will. Jack also warns them that they "can't tell what he(the beast) might do".

The beast has now become a topic of discussion during assembly and the boys now openly express their fears. Simon has been mistaken for the beast by one of the littluns out sleep-walking. Piggy gives his scientific opinion that there is nothing to be afraid of on the island unless they are afraid of people. Simon tries to add to this by ambiguously stating this about the beast: "Maybe it's only us.", but no one really understood that he meant that the beast was within them, not anywhere else on the island. When Ralph called for a vote on whether there were ghosts on the island, many of the boys showed that they thought so by raising their hands. Ralph feels that the more they believe that such creatures exist, the less civilized they become, quote "that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away". Jack's conflict with Ralph then signals the end of the assembly, as well as the breaking down of civilization. Jack says "Bollocks to the rules! We're strong - we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down!", giving the beast the physical quality of an animal. More importantly, we can see here that Ralph's control over the boys is slowly slipping away, as can be seen from the reaction of the boys when they heard what Jack had said, quote "the platform was full of noise and excitement, scramblings, screams and laughter. The assembly shredded away...". We see the boys gradually moving over towards Jack's savage side, and discarding the organization of a civilized society.

From the world of grown-ups comes an object mistaken to be the beast, the body of a deceased pilot having come to rest on the island. Samneric see this body swaying in the wind and, terrified, flee back to the beach where the others are sleeping. The boys' imaginations run wild and, seeing scratches on one of the twin's bodies(caused by braches as they ran down the mountain), the boys are sure that the beast had attacked Samneric. Eric himself said, "We've seen the beast with our own eyes", and between the two of them, managed to describe what the beastie had looked like. It was during this meeting that Jack challenged Ralph's authority yet again, saying, "we don't need the conch any more...it's a hun

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2002
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)