Lord of the Flies- Analysis

"A coral reef"

Described as beautiful and exotic. Just like the island. But in reality, its sharp and can cut you. Looks deceive. The island is deceiving.

'Bollocks to the rules!'

First time jack starts to show the hints of him not wanting to follow rules

"That understandable and lawful world, was slipping away"

Golding used a lot of handy symbolism in the novel to show how civilisation is weakening. Basically anything dirty or broken can symbolise the way the boys have become more savage.

"Next time there will be no mercy"

Jack can't kill the pig because of the "enormity of the knife." he's still kind of civilised-but his promise to kill next time hints at how he'll soon become more savage

"The madness came into his eyes again"

Jack has the inner evil that Golding presents in the novel. It's like the madness has always been there, but just not always visible. Jack's real nature is being exposed, just like the island is eroding it's true self.

"His laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling"

Jack is practically morphing into an animal. "Bloodthirsty snarling" is what you'd associate an animal doing. He is beginning to show animalistic characteristics as he is descending into savagery.

'Which is better- to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?'

Jack rallying up the tribe. They all end up being a solid mass of menace that bristled with spears. Civilisation vs Savagery

"I'm chapter chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp"

Jack thinking that stupid things like that actually matter. He thinks he has a lot of authority because he's been in charge of the choir for years. Beginning of conflict between him and Ralph because he challenges him to be chief.

"Feeling the beginnings of awe at the power"

Piggy points out that the boys have set the Island on fire. But they realise that they have power for the first time in their lives. No one is taking away their privileges for making a fire. Acting without fear of punishment.

"I tell you, I got the conch"

Piggy stands for logic. This is made clear in the way he believes in the power of the conch - he's trying to get order back into their lives. It's just pure chaos and the signs of civilisation and rules are basically gone

"You voted me chief. Now you do what I say"

Power and leadership. Ralph is reminding the boys that they decided to obey a set of rules. And that it's the only thing keeping the government in place. He is in charge

"Kicking them over" -the sandcastles

Quote about what Roger did to the sand castles

"The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering"

Ralph becomes an active participant in the hunt game when Robert plays the boar and the others attack him.

"Ralph wept for the end of innocence"

Ralph had seen the true nature of mankind and has witnessed two innocent characters being killed by savage mobs who were once normal little boys

"I'm chief"

Ralph is having to remind the boys of his authority. He is beginning to lose control over all of them as three become more savage.

"I'd like to put on war-paint and be a savage"

Ralph recognises that he's tempted by the evil within him, but this is overpowered by the desire to "keep the fire burning" - we are all capable of evil, but perhaps it's possible to choose to be civilised.

"I'm frightened. Of us. I want to go home"

Ralph talking to piggy after they've murdered Simon and he's realising the desperation of the situation. They got caught up in the savage act of killing Simon. He's scared of what might happen to him and everyone else if they stay there any longer

"Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things"

Ralph's line. The minute power starts playing a part. No adults, they still try follow civilisation and having rules. Beginning of conflict too, starting between Jack and Ralph.

"I hit him! The spear stuck in-"

Ralph's participation in a hunt in chapter 7 symbolises his loss of innocence. He is overwhelmed by having actually deliberately hurt a live animal and is in awe of the experience.

"Pink"

Red symbolises danger and blood. White symbolises purity and hope. When mixed together they form the colour pink, which is used to describe features of the island. Presents the duality of the island (good vs evil)

"What I mean is... maybe it's only us"

Simon suggests that the beast is themselves-he realised that everybody has evil inside them. But no one listens. Foreshadowing later events

"Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!"

Simons death is a big turning point in the book. Hints of violence had been there all along (like roger throwing stones) but now they've commuted full-blown murder. The violence escalates pretty quickly.

"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood"

Simplistic, violent language shows how they're becoming less civilised. "Her" refers to the sow, a mother pig with children...

"decaying coconuts"

The boys are not afraid yet of the island, but negative connotations of it already start to present themselves in chapter 1. Foreshadows how later on, the island erodes away demonstrating its true colours.

"Scientific"

What word does piggy use to describe life, and to convince the others that the beast doesn't exist?

"Forcing a spear still deeper"

Violence is overpowering. The boys are bathing in their power over the helpless animal.

"The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments"

The conch was the biggest symbol of purity and hope that Ralphs side possessed. The breaking of the shell symbolizes the last bit of civilization and order left on the island. It essentially grants the tribe the ability to kill. This was the first intentional murder, and it cleared the path for more to come. I believe a major idea in this quote is how the conch explodes into "a thousand white fragments." It symbolizes that the conch is beyond repair. That it has "ceased to exist." I believe it is important because if the conch was only broken in half, or in three pieces, it could be repaired. Since the conch is in a thousand pieces however, it is un-repairable and therefore unusable.

"the air was ready to explode"

The mountain is described in the midst of a storm. Semantic field of war is used when the word "explode" is used. Refers what was going on in the real world

"At the sight of flames and the irresistible course of the fire, the boys broke into shrill, excited cheering"

The rapidly spreading fire represents a savagery is overtaking stability, order and democracy. The fire engulfs the entirety of the island in smoke and flame. This is the start of a turning point in the book, as Jack and his tribe are gaining more and more power. The conch is fading and becoming translucent. Ralph, Simon and piggy are the only true symbols of civility now because Samneric join Jack and his tribe.

"Dark blue of the sea"

The word "dark" brings negative connotations to the sea, making it sound intimidating. They are surrounded by it, and even though it looks nice, they could drown in it easily. It's deadly.

"Ralph is like piggy"

To jack, intelligence is incompatible with strength. He thinks that he would've been a better chief from the start. Ralph uses logic and reasoning like Piggy does, and according to Jack that's not what a leader should do

"There was a gash visible in the trees"

Typically when people imagine islands, they match in paradise. People go to to see their natural and un disturbed beauty. The Lord of the flies island probably was that type of island before the plane crash- landed and the boys began to "take over". Here the island symbolises a perfect place or perhaps the 'garden of Eden.' Then the plane crashes and physically scars the uninhabited island. This represents mankind and the human nature coming in and thank something that was paralyse into chaos. Maybe this is why Golding chose to use the word 'scar' to symbolise the plane crash site.