Lord of the Flies
“Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins.”
-William Golding.
Once Ralph and the group of children settle on the island, they decide to set up some rules to determine how each individual is going to work. Despite the circumstances, at the beginning, everything seems to go smoothly. In fact, the kids manage to find shelter, and even start a fire.
Nevertheless, things grow complicated when Jack begins to disregard the rules. Truth be told, the boy possesses several leadership qualities, which makes the other youngsters want to follow him. Besides, Jack’s wish is to hunt a pig. Thus, with this objective in mind, he and a part of the gang go into the forest to search for the animal.
On the other hand, the remaining kids who did not go hunting see a miracle: they spot a ship. With high hopes, Ralph runs to the place where the fire was supposed to be producing smoke, only to find out that it had died out.
Later that day, Jack and company return, showing the others their prey’s corpse. However, as Ralph laments their lost opportunity to be rescued, he reclaims Jack for not having taken care of the fire. Moreover, after realizing something is not right, Ralph ends up calling for a meeting with the whole group. Unfortunately, the discussion transforms into a quarrel and no agreement is reached.
As the story progresses, I have noticed various changes in the children’s personalities. For instance, whereas Ralph and Piggy are the sanest of them all, Jack and the others have started to show aggressive behaviours.
-Abril Canché Covarrubias
#Lord of the Flies #book #WilliamGolding
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