4th quarter

Synopsis

In the novel Lord of the Flies the boys have split into two groups with the majority in Jack's tribe. Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric struggle to keep the fire going when Jack and his hunters steal Piggy's glasses in the middle of the night. They crept up while Ralph and Piggy were sleeping and soon a brawl broke out and in the morning the glasses were missing. Jack and his tribe inhabit castle rock and are all painted from head to toe. Ralph and Piggy make their way to castle rock to discuss with Jack the issue with the signal fire and the theft of Piggy's specs. Its at this point in the book where Roger pushes a boulder that hits Piggy and knocks him forty feet off the cliff to his death. Jack then has a temper tantrum and hurls his spear at Ralph with his tribe following him. Jack holds down castle rock and forces Samneric to join him and help keep Ralph out. Ralph seeks them out when on guard and they inform him that Jack and his tribe are planning to capture/kill Ralph. Ralph, in panic decides he should hide close by to secure his safety. Jack and his tribe set the whole island on fire in search of Ralph and when they finally corner him they are greeted by an officer who saw the smoke and came to rescue their bodies even though their souls cannot be rescued.

Characters

Ralph - Protagonist, dynamic character, leader. Fair haired boy. Body of a boxer, small and compact.

Jack - Antagonist, leader of the other tribe, dynamic character. Tall, lanky, red haired boy.

Roger - Murderer of Piggy, shock of black hair, inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy, Jack's right-hand man.


Point of View

The story is written in third person. The author could have done this so he wouldn't have to revolve the story around one character and therefore giving deeper explanation to what's happening on the island instead of one character. The story takes place on a deserted island where several young boys have been stranded on. They have to use the few resources on the island such as the spring and the pigs lurking around.


Notables on author's writing style

I think the author's writing style has a deeper meaning in many occasions and is very descriptive. He uses symbolism regularly and has a connection with most of the characters. Golding may have put his own traits into the characters as a realistic experimentation despite the unrealistic nature of the problem. This is only a thought but could very well be true. He uses characterization to create vivid imagery of the boys to the last speck of dirt on their faces.

Theme

The theme of Lord of the Flies is that humans are a dark race that show their true colours in everyday life no matter how pure you may be. Even a nasty remark protrudes darkness within people. Its understandable that we are the dominant race and use animals as resources to survive. But thats just a stepping stone to the savagery of our race.