Lord of the Flies

Recall that our theme is Out of Chaos, What Patterns Emerge?

With this in mind, consider what patterns emerge in the following characters' thoughts and behaviors from the beginning of the novel through Page 108 (through Chapter 6).

Ralph, Jack, and Piggy

When identifying these emerging patterns, ask yourself what experiences and characteristics of each character might account for them?

What I did when attempting this was to make a list of character traits for each as I saw them toward the beginning of the novel; then I looked for changes in thoughts and behaviors as the action unfolded. 

Ralph was the easiest because we as readers are literally "inside his head" (omniscient narration--we know his thoughts).  The first part of Chapter 5, pp. 76-79, helped me a lot in seeing patterns emerging in Ralph and got me thinking about the other two characters as well.

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Ralph says to the group, "Things are breaking up.  I don't understand why.  We began well; we were happy.  And then--"(82).

So he recognizes the entropy occurring, that order is turning to chaos.

The Beast.

At the night meeting during a discussion of  fear and The Beast, Piggy remarks, "Unless we get frightened of people" (84).  This perhaps suggests that Piggy is one of the characters who recognizes that other people might pose a threat.  He seems the most sensitive to this danger perhaps because he is the one least able to protect himself in nature; he is most reliant on society to defend him because he lacks the natural skills (eye sight, ability to move quickly and) necessary to survive.

A few pages later, Simon takes it further.  When Ralph asks him what he thinks, Simon muses, "What I mean is . . . maybe it's only us" (89).

To this, even Piggy says "Nuts!" (89).

But the narrator takes Simon's side.  We read "Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind's essential illness.  Inspiration came to him."  Simon continues, "What's the dirtiest thing there is?" (89)

Upon hearing Simon's question, the narrator then reports that, "As an answer Jack dropped into uncomprehending silence." (89).

A gush of IRONY pours out at the end of this chapter.  Remember that during this time the world is engaged in the most horrific war ever imagined (World War II). As the boys are trying to survive the island, their adult counterparts--the grown-ups--are participating in savagery and suffering on a scale never before seen.

And therein lies the irony.

What follows the end of night meeting is this exchange among Piggy, Ralph and Simon :

        " 'At home there was always a grownup. 'Please, sir; please, miss; and then you got an answer.  How I wish!'
          'I wish my auntie was here.'
          'I wish my father . . . Oh, what's the use?'
          'Keep the fire going.'
    The dance was over and the hunters were going back to their shelters.
         'Grownups know things,' said Piggy.  'They ain't afraid of the dark.  They meet and have tea and discuss.'
           Then things 'ud be all right--'
          'They wouldn't set fire to the island. Or lose--[the boy with the birthmark]'
          'They'd build a ship--'
    The three boys stood in darkness, trying unsuccessfully to convey the majesty of adult life.
      [and here comes the kicker]
          'They wouldn't quarrel--' "(94)

The Beast from the Air, (pp. 95-108)

In this chapter, Golding introduces the larger theme--that within the fishbowl of the island and within the larger fishbowl of the world, essentially the same thing is going on--war and hostility.

Our narrator reports that there were "other lights in the sky, that moved fast, winked, or went out, though not even the faint popping came down from the battle fought at ten miles' height" (95).

The dead airman who happens to land on the island via parachute is a concrete symbol of the effects of such behavior.  Notice how the narrator describes his "sinking and bowing" from the wind (96).  Reminds one of a puppet controlled by a marionette. The use of the word "bow" may also have religious implications.

Also in this chapter is the mock attack on Roger.  Note how the bloodlust of the hunt even temporarily overcomes Ralph.  We also see that Ralph is more complete than Jack.  Jack interacts only as a warrior;  if he sees a far superior opponent (The Beast on the mountain) he loses his courage.  Ralph, too, has these instincts, but also uses the higher levels of his brain.

After Jack's failure to win the leader's job through votes, he leaves in humiliation, but others follow him. Even this factionalism is a pattern emerging from the chaos.

Roger, Jack, and Ralph confirm that there is a beast.  Jack calls a meeting, challenges Ralph's leadership, and the group splits.

The two paragraphs that being p. 135 are are an excellent example of the literary theme of Naturalism--that, no matter what our human illusions are and no matter what we believe motivates our actions, it is natural law that controls us and is the foundation of our behavior.

Note the narrator's emphasis on the indifference of the the 'preoccupied butterflies dancing in the clearing,' to the sow's suffering as she is slaughtered.

To experience another example of this theme, check out this web page about indifference to suffering. 

First, study the painting, and then read the poem.  Note the painting is about Icarus, a boy from Greek mythology who plunges to his death in the ocean when the sun melts his wings of wax. 

You can see his legs in the water in the bottom right-hand corner of the painting. 

Next, check out the other characters in the painting, how indifferent all are to his suffering. Note the cows, the sheep, the herders, the fisherman, the boat to his left--they are all facing away and indifferent.

Now read Auden's poem about the painting.

Note also the lack of foresight on Jack's part in killing the sow who is nursing her young.  If the boys remain on the island, they will need a continuous supply of food.  Slaughtering a nursing sow not only kills her, but the potential of her offspring as well.

 This is might have been a consideration Ralph or Piggy would have given this act--but not Jack--he is purely elemental and savage.  Jack is really not into the hunt for the food; instead,  he is addicted to the adrenaline rush and excitement of the stalk and the kill.  Perhaps surrendering to this "savage" impulse is his way of imposing some structure or pattern (attempting to gain a sense of power) on the environment, a way of counteracting the fear.

Note also the hunters' impulse to act out the hunt.  This is reminiscent of "war dances" or "hunting dances" we have evidence that what we would consider to be more "primitive" cultures practice(d).

In addition, we have an animal sacrifice or gift (the pig's head) to placate a god (The Beast).

Jack's plan is to raid Ralph's group for fire rather than develop the technical expertise to start one himself (136).

The Lord of the Flies (the sow's head) is introduced on p. 138.  Note Simon's attraction/repulsion response to it.

Behind the paint, Jack and his hunters lose their identity. Old cultural, social behavior patterns seem to hold no power because of the anonymity the paint provides.  The hunters (Jack, Maurice, and Robert) cease to be individuals and become instead a "type," each a representation of the same pattern cut from the same cloth (140-1).

The conch now holds importance only to the "civilized" group (Ralph and Piggy).  Jack does not need it anymore to be heard.

Fire (a natural force) takes on various meanings--to Ralph and Piggy it symbolizes rescue; to Jack and the hunters, it is simply another tool. 

Considering Jack's lack of concern about rescue, perhaps Golding is suggesting that beasts and savages do not need rescue--they are indifferent to it--they are a part of the natural order, not in conflict with it.

The Lord of the Flies (the Beast) speaks to Simon (143).  The Beast realizes that Simon sees him for what he is--an internal part of humanity, not some outside force.

Speaking to Simon, the Beast asks rhetorically, "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close!  I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?" (143)

Then the Beast encourages Simon to forget the secret he (Simon) knows and return to the group. 

Does this indicate that the Beast fears recognition of its true nature and location?  Is knowing the Beast for what it is a potential defense against its influence?

Or is the Beast saying in effect, "Simon, even though you know this, you can do nothing about me,--I am a given--so return to the others and survive as best you can"?

Regardless, Simon meets his death as he comes to bring the truth.

Note how the sea swallows the bodies of Simon, Piggy, and the parachutist.  Only their memories remain--and rationalization and selective amnesia are used to blot those out.

The novel accelerates to its inevitable ending with Ralph being hunted.

The naval officer arrives and the old society is reestablished (200-1).. Ralph tells the naval officer the truth--that two are dead--the naval officer is a mixture of emotion.  On the one hand he has assumed that the boys were just there for "fun and games" (200) and "having a war or something" (201), yet he seems to believe Ralph.

Note when asked who is the leader, Ralph says loudly that he is.  The officer represents the structure that has reasserted itself on the island.  Also note Jack's response.  As Ralph proclaims himself chief to the naval officer, we read,

"A little boy [Jack] who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair, and who carried the remains of a pair of spectacles as his waist, started forward, then changed his mind and stood still" (201).

The naval officer comments that he thought British children would have stayed more civilized, given the propriety usually attributed to the British.

Ralph attempts a feeble reply and then breaks into tears.  Our narrator relates that "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy" (202).

To reassert that no real difference exists between what the boys and the naval officer have been doing, the last action in the novel has the naval officer "allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance" (202).  The naval officer, as well as most of the world's adults, have also been "having a war or something" but with far more lethal weapons.  The cycle continues.