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Ralph, Jack and Simon have climbed the mountain and determined that they were indeed on an island.
They call a meeting of the boys late that afternoon to report back.
The suggestion is made that the only way for them to be rescued is by building a fire, at which point the
meeting disintegrates as the boys rush back to the mountain to light their fire.
The attempt is a disaster as the flames leap out of control. At least one of the boys is killed in the inferno.
CORAL ISLAND VS LORD OF THE FLIES
Why does Simon climb the mountain with Ralph and Jack? He was only six years of age and not very
strong? Indeed, he was the young boy who had earlier fainted.
To find a possible answer, one has to turn to an earlier novel called Coral Island by R.M.
Ballantyne which forms the foundation upon which William Golding builds his story.
Coral Island is the tale of three English lads who get wrecked on a South Pacific island during the
latter part of the 19th century. They are Ralph, Jack and Peterkin.
The tropical island is precisely the same place in both novels. The big difference lies in the quality of the
boys.
Ballantyne's heroes are gentlemen -- and they remain gentlemen throughout the novel.
They have true leadership and absolute loyalty to one another. To them, the entire incident is one great
adventure which they enjoy to the entirety.
In Coral Island, Ralph and Jack are the leaders -- just as they are in Lord of the Flies.
Peterkin, however, is not quite so bright. He nevertheless remains a respected member of the team.
In Lord of the Flies, Peterkin is replaced by Piggy, a boy who is very bright indeed but is fat,
irritating
and suffers from asthma.
Unlike Peterkin of Coral Island, Golding starts working Piggy away from the comfort of friendship
with either Ralph or Jack.
Nevertheless, Golding needs three boys to explore the island. He therefore settles on a youngster, Simon,
to replace the Peterkin of the original novel.
This enables Ralph and Jack to discuss things over the top of Simon's head.
In Coral Island, on the other hand, Peterkin claims that his head is so hollow that Jack and
Ralph's
words can go right through it without hindrance.
The major difference between the two novels, apart from the number of children, is that in Coral
Island the boys remain gentlemen throughout.
In Lord of the Flies, they descend quickly into a state of anarchy and barbarism.
It is as though Golding is saying, "Look where English children are today. During the 19th century, they
would have remained stout-hearted gentlemen. Modern English children have only a veneer of civilization.
Leave them alone for just a short time and they will descend into unutterable savagery."
Of course, Golding has the example of Germany to prove his point. Germany was one of the bastions
of civilization of the 19th century and yet, in the mid-20th century, along came Hitler and revealed that
even this civilization was a mere veneer, a sham.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
At the second meeting which took place the afternoon after the plane crash, the choir was "noticeably
less of a group".
[Need help?]
With no adults around, Jack's authority had lessened, especially after the election of Ralph as their leader.
Does this not also indicate a rebellion against Jack's authoritarian control?
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Almost as soon as the meeting began, Jack revealed his dictatorial and sadistic side. Explain
how. (3)
[Need help?]
Jack said emphatically that they would have rules, "lots of rules". If anyone broke them, that boy
would be severely punished.
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Piggy told the meeting, "You're hindering Ralph. You're not letting him get to the most important
thing."
- What was this "most important thing" that Piggy had in mind? (2)
[Need help?]
Piggy thought perpetually about rescue -- getting a message out to the world that they were wrecked on
this island. Throughout the novel that would be his war-cry.
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Ralph commented that the island had everything that they could want.
- What did he mean by "everything"? (3)
[Need help?]
Ralph mentioned food, water for drinking and for washing, the beach for swimming, the mountain to climb,
the forests in which to hunt pigs, and of course the whole adventure thing.
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- What important things were not on his list? (5)
[Need help?]
Ralph did not think of medicine, education, shelter and, of course, civilization. What else has he left out?
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The little boy with the birthmark reported that there was a "snake-thing" on the island, a
"beastie".
- Why did he conjure up the idea of the beastie? (3)
[Need help?]
The boys had had a traumatic experience with the plane crash. The little boy felt hopeless and insecure,
and there were no adults to deal with his trauma.
This caused him to have nightmares in which the creepers became snakes during the night, while
reverting to creepers in the light of day.
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- What effect did his story have on the rest of the boys? (3)
[Need help?]
Although some, like Ralph, argued that it was only a dream and that there was no actual beastie, the boy's
story nevertheless caused consternation and a feeling of unease amongst everyone.
Indeed, the majority of the boys were scared that the story might be true.
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- Comment on the different way in which Ralph and Jack viewed the beastie. (4)
[Need help?]
Ralph was adamant that there was no beastie, that the fear was merely a dream.
Jack, on the other hand, prevaricated by saying that there was no beastie -- thus agreeing with Ralph
-- but also that he would hunt it down and kill it.
Jack thereby reinforced the fear that there might indeed be a beastie on the island.
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At the announcement about making a fire, the meeting disintegrated as the boys rushed off in the
excitement of this further adventure. Piggy, however, was scornful. "I bet it's gone tea-time," he
said.
- What did Piggy mean by "tea-time"? (2)
[Need help?]
Piggy was presumably referring to the meal which the English call "high tea", a relatively major meal
which is eaten in early evening.
He meant therefore that it was almost evening, and far too late to go charging up a mountain to make a
fire.
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- Ralph charged off with the rest of the boys. What does this tell us about him? (2)
[Need help?]
Ralph had not yet learned the role of a leader. Indeed, he was still a child at heart who wanted to play with
the other children, not assume the serious responsibility of preserving life.
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The first attempt to build a fire was a dismal failure.
[Need help?]
The fire was made exclusively of very dry and rotting logs, material which would burn in a great fury but
not last long.
It took so much effort in feeding such a fire that the boys were soon totally exhausted.
Furthermore, the fire made a huge flame but almost no smoke and soon the fire raged out of control,
destroying parts of the island. It might have destroyed all their food, and it seemed to have killed at least
one of the boys.
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- What happened to the little boy with the purplish mark on his face? (2)
[Need help?]
He presumably died in the forest when the fire went out of control.
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