The Best of the Bureau/The_Best_of_the_Bureau_Bureau_Development_Inc._1992.iso/dp/0125/01258.txt

Text File | 1992-08-07 | 27KB | 499 lines

$Unique_ID{bob01258}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Works of William Golding
Lord Of The Flies: Chapters 1 - 5}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Golding, William}
$Affiliation{Department Of English, Bard College}
$Subject{boys
ralph
jack
simon
island
jungle
fire
chapter
piggy
human
see
pictures
see
figures
}
$Date{}
$Log{See The Conch Shell*0125801.scf
See Pig Head Impaled*0125802.scf
}
Title:       Works of William Golding
Book:        Lord of the Flies
Author:      Golding, William
Critic:      Dewsnap, Terence
Affiliation: Department Of English, Bard College

Lord Of The Flies: Chapters 1 - 5

Chapter 1 The Sound Of The Shell

     A group of boys evacuated from England during an atomic war have landed
on a tropical island in a "passenger tube" ejected from a flaming airplane.
At first we see only two boys, Ralph, who is tall and fair-haired, and Piggy,
his fat companion. But, when Ralph discovers a conch shell and blows it, a
number of others straggle out of the jungle and gather on the beach. An
election for chief is held, and Ralph wins over Jack, the leader of a group of
black-robed choirboys. Ralph invites Jack and Simon, one of the choirboys, to
join him in scaling a mountain. The view from the mountain fills the three
boys with joy; they are the sole masters of the isolated island.

Comment:

     A remote jungle setting is useful to the author who wants to avoid the
complexities of civilized society and focus' instead on simple issues (for
example, whether Tarzan's wholesomeness will protect him from the
machinations of the evil witch doctor). Similarly, the advantage of using
children as characters is that they are, supposedly, innocent and
unsophisticated human beings who make no attempt to hide their true selves. It
is ironic that while Golding does focus on such fundamental themes as the
conflict of good and evil and the passage from innocence to experience, he
discovers in this lonely island many of the complex problems that afflict
society in the great cities of the world. The cruelty with which the boys
taunt Piggy for his fatness, his glasses, and his lack of physical dexterity
is like the attitude of sophisticated society to the outsider. Pride,
pretense, and jealousy are other adult faults that lurk beneath the innocent
appearances of the boys.

     In addition to these flaws, the boys contain elements of the nobility and
heroism that have made positive contributions to the progress of western
civilization. Simon represents a mystical, Piggy an intellectual, and Ralph
a political hope for the lost boys. These leaders, along with the wielder of
physical power, Jack, are faced with the same problems of survival as those of
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe on his island. They must organize their lives to meet
the threat to survival. Their problems contribute to suspense. Will they be
able to make contact with other human beings? Will they be able to keep their
group intact? And, more immediately, will they be able to find food and
shelter?

     The island, with a scar cut across it by the passenger tube, is a replica
of the cities scarred by atomic warfare. That the atmosphere of violence
should extend to this remote region is an indication of Golding's belief in
the universality of evil.

     The conch shell becomes a symbol of authority. The large, spiral shaped
sea shell, its geometrical form created over a period of scores of years, is a
fitting substitute on the island for the slowly evolved laws of human society.
In Greek mythology Triton, the son of Neptune, uses the conch shell to stir or
calm the seas. Here, Ralph, following the instructions of Piggy, uses the
shell to subdue and control the animal spirits of the boys.

[See The Conch Shell: The conch shell, symbol of authority]

     The mountain signifies many things for many people but generally
represents the dignity of man as he aspires to spiritual freedom. To achieve
the top of the mountain is to destroy fear and superstition and to gain
mastery over nature.

     Rock is a symbol of brute force. When Jack discovers a loose boulder
while ascending the mountain, Ralph and Simon help him pry it loose. When the
rock plummets down, "the forest further down shook as with the passage of an
enraged monster. Wacco" shouts one boy. "Like a bomb!" cries another. With
this episode, the realm of childish innocence of games and slang is broken by
the intrusion of a destructive force. It is Jack who distracts the boys from
their purpose of climbing the mountain and, for no reason except to create a
make-believe "monster" or "bomb," causes them to release this violence. Jack's
identity is here established. He is a leader who, like reckless leaders in the
civilized world, prefers destruction to creation.

Notes:

     passenger tube - a removable compartment in the airliner of the future.

     wacco - splendid.

     wizard - excellent.

Character Analyses:

     Ralph - a representative type, the traditional fair-haired hero of
boyhood adventure stories. His handsomeness and athletic ability make him a
natural leader. For him the island seems to be the fulfillment of a schoolboy
dream of adventure. Unfortunately his dream of adventure and hope of romantic
rescue do not fit the reality of the difficult situation of the lost boys.

     Piggy - an intelligent but physically deficient fat boy. He is one kind
of modern man, a reader and thinker-not a doer. He longs for the authority and
tradition of the grown-ups and the protection of the civilized world. He is
out of place on the island because his asthma and constantly steamed glasses
prevent him from carrying out plans to gather fruit or to find the other boys.
He is a ready victim for any beast of prey and, as an outsider, an easy target
for the scorn of the other boys.

     Jack - a cruel and unpleasant looking bully. When he leads his choir out
of the jungle, he forces them to remain in marching columns until one boy,
Simon, faints. He constantly competes with Ralph for control of the boys. The
only boy who carries a knife, at the end of the chapter he attempts to kill a
piglet.

     Simon - a poetic, religiously sensitive boy, given to fainting spells.
Why does Ralph choose Simon for the expedition to the mountain? Possibly he
feels that in Simon he has an ally whom he can dominate. Later we learn that
Ralph is attracted to Simon because of his bright eyes which seem to indicate
a lively personality. Whatever Ralph's reason, it is clear that Golding sees
in Simon a view of life different from that of the other two boys. When the
boys are coming down the mountain, Simon responds to the beauty of some
strange bushes by describing them, "Like candles. Candle bushes. Candle buds."
His is a poetical and mystical response to the natural world.

     Sam and Eric - identical twins who later become Samneric.

     Maurice - the second largest choirboy, "broad and grinning all the time."

     Roger - a secretive, "slight, furtive boy."

Chapter 2 Fire On The Mountain

     Ralph, conducting an organizational meeting on a granite platform above
the beach, rules that anyone who wants to speak must first raise his hand, and
then wait for the conch. While Ralph and Jack are attempting to reduce the
worries of the boys by promising them a good time, a small boy shocks the
assembly by announcing that a "snake-thing," a "beastie,"nfrightened him in
the woods. Ralph channels the excitement of the boys into building a signal
fire on the mountain. But, at the end of the chapter, the flames have crept
into the forest, a fire is raging out of control, and the littl'un who saw the
snake is missing.

Comment:

     The chapter begins in an attempt at order, with Ralph and Jack forming
two branches of government. Ralph would make rules for the better conduct of
the community's business. Jack, whose choirboys have now become "hunters,"
would happily enforce the rules by beating up anyone who disobeyed. With the
establishment of a competitive relationship between the legislative and the
military, the