Lord of the flies quotes explanation help!?

Question

Can you help me elaborate this quote "Life...is scientific..i know there isn't no beast...but i know there isn't no fear either,...unless we get frightened of people.".........I have to write a 250 word DJ in details explaining it. Ive already done 9 other quotes.But I'm really stuck on this one.Ive already been to spark notes and all the other web sites! and nada !

Answer 1

It's been a while since I read this book, but I'll see if I can help.

At first the kids refuse to believe in the beast, and claim that the 'littluns' are just afraid of nothing.  And fear, itself, can't hurt you because it is just an abstract feeling that exists only in the mind.  And you know that with the absence of grown-ups/authority, the boys (who tried to make their own 'government' at first) begin to lose their bonds with humanity.  In other words, because there are no rules to break, some of the boys don't feel bad about letting themselves become more and more horrible/beast-like.  It's like they no longert care that they may be causing others harm.

They turn their initial fear into bloodthirst and hunt the beast--kill it before it kills them.  They have to become wild predators to feel safe, and this is a truly dangerous thing for their make-shift society.  Ralph and Jack already stood on shaky ground, but fear becomes a weapon through Jack when he decides to go ahead and turn himself into an animal, while Ralph tries to cling to the last threads of civilization.

Piggy, who has been afraid of Jack for a while, realizes this, even if it's only subconsciously, or to a certain extent.

Like I said, it's been a while since I read this, but it's a fantastic book.  Hope this helps.