|
READ THIS
We find Jack searching through the forest for any sign of the pigs. He returns to the platform where Ralph
is in a state of frustration, attempting to construct shelters with only Simon's aid.
An argument ensues as to whether Jack and his hunters should be helping. Eventually the boys abandon
the effort for a swim, but Simon goes off by himself into the forest.
THE PASSING OF TIME
At no stage in Lord of the Flies are we told how long the boys have been on the island. We are
left to ascertain this by means of hints from the author.
The story opens, for example, at midday when Ralph and Piggy are splashing about in a pool to cool down
from the heat.
And yet there are hints that the aeroplane had crashed at night-time and its wreckage was pulled out to
sea in the dark.
Certainly none of the boys had any knowledge of seeing the actual wreckage even though they must have
escaped from inside. The fact that they couldn't see it means that it must have been very dark when they
crashed.
There is also mention of a thunderstorm when they arrived.
One can surmise from this, therefore, that time had passed since their arrival. How much time? At least
12 hours. Possibly more.
Indeed, it is possible that a whole day or even several days may already have passed by but it is left to
the reader's imagination to work out just how long.
Likewise with the passing of time generally. The author makes absolutely no mention of the duration of
their stay on the island. It would appear from the story-telling that there is a close chronology, one day
simply following on another in the unveiling of events.
And yet there are the clues: the length of the boys' hair; the ingrained filth on their faces and necks; the
deteriorating condition of their clothing; the degree to which the boys are sunburnt.
Can to identify any other hints as to the passing of time?
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
|
TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
Why did Jack go off alone looking for the pigs? (4)
[Need help?]
Initially, Jack had gone out hunting with his hunters but, when they became bored and wished to return
to the beach for a swim, Jack continued the search.
He was probably driven by two things: his passion to find and kill a pig; his realisation that weeks had
gone by already and he had still not found the pigs. He needed to justify himself before Ralph or lose face.
|
Jack's search for the pigs has clearly become a passion.
[Need help?]
A passion can be described as an overwhelming enthusiasm for something.
|
- In what way could one call Jack's search "a passion"? (2)
[Need help?]
Jack's search for the pigs has become so strong a desire that he can think of little else. Even when all
the hunters have become bored and gone home, Jack continues his search relentlessly.
|
From the pig-run came the quick, hard patter of hoofs, a castanet sound, seductive, maddening -- a
promise of meat.
- What is meant by onomatopoeia? (2)
[Need help?]
Onomatopoeia is the use of a word which sounds similar to the noise made by the object being described,
e.g. the buzzing of the bees; the snake hissed.
|
- List one onomatopoeic word found in above quotation. Explain why you have chosen that
word. (1)
[Need help?]
In the sentence provided, the pigs' hoofs patter on the ground -- the word "patter" sounds much
like the noise that their hoofs would make on the hard earth floor of the forest.
|
Jack saw a tendril that was "polished on the underside".
- Why should this have suggested to him that the pigs regularly used that path? (4)
[Need help?]
In a tropical rain forest, as this island was, any damage to a branch or tendril would quickly disappear
under new growth.
The polishing of the underside of the tendril therefore indicated that something regularly brushed against
it.
The polishing was also so defined as to suggest that the pigs were still brushing it, or else the bark of the
tendril would have healed .
|
How do you know that the canopy of the forest was thick? (2)
[Need help?]
The story speaks of the semi-darkness in the forest. This could only be the result of a thick canopy
overhead.
|
How do you know that some time has elapsed between the last chapter and the events now being
described? (Supply at least THREE reasons) (3)
[Need help?]
The boys' hair is now much longer, revealing a growth period of at least a few weeks, perhaps even a few
months. It is also bleached from constant exposure to the sun.
Jack's shorts are said to be "tattered".
All the boys now have considerably tanned shoulders and backs -- except for Jack who, having a pale
skin, is constantly peeling.
|
What indication is there that pigs had in fact recently passed that way. (2)
[Need help?]
The pig droppings were not only warm but also still steaming a little.
|
They were bright blue eyes, eyes that in this frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad.
- Why did Jack's eyes appear "bolting" and "nearly mad"? (2)
[Need help?]
Many weeks have now elapsed and Jack is clearly desperately frustrated at not finding a pig.
His reputation is very much at stake because, if he manages to kill a pig, he will have cause to challenge
Ralph for leadership but, if not, he will simply become known as a big mouth.
|
Ralph was standing by a contraption of palm trunks and leaves, a rude shelter that faced the lagoon,
and seemed very near to falling down.
- List THREE words which indicate that the shelter was badly constructed. (3)
[Need help?]
- "very near to falling down".
|
|
