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READ THIS
Ralph and Simon, together with Jack and his hunters, are scouring the island looking for some place in
which the beast could be hiding.
They arrive at a dramatic place overlooking the ocean, but the ocean as Ralph has never yet seen it. The
sight enthrals him.
READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE
They were miles wide, apparently not breakers or the banked ridges of shallow water. They travelled the
length of the island with an air of disregarding it and being set on other business; they were less a
progress than a momentous rise and fall of the whole ocean. Now the sea would suck down, making
cascades and waterfalls of retreating water, would sink past the rocks and plaster down the seaweed like
shining hair: then, pausing, gather and rise with a roar, irresistibly swelling over point and outcrop,
climbing the little cliff, sending at last an arm of surf up a gully to end a yard or so from him in fingers of
spray.
Wave after wave, Ralph followed the rise and fall until something of the remoteness of the sea numbed
his brain. Then gradually the almost infinite size of this water forced itself on his attention. This was the
divider, the barrier. On the other side of the island, swathed at midday with mirage, defended by the shield
of the quiet lagoon, one might dream of rescue; but here, faced by the brute obtuseness of the ocean,
the miles of division, one was clamped down, one was helpless, one was condemned, one was . . .
Simon was speaking almost in his ear. Ralph found that he had rock painfully gripped in both hands,
found his body arched, the muscles of his neck stiff, his mouth strained open.
"You'll get back to where you came from."
Simon nodded as he spoke. He was kneeling on one knee, looking down from a higher rock which he
held with both hands; his other leg stretched down to Ralph's level.
Ralph was puzzled and searched Simon's face for a clue. "It's so big, I mean . . . "
Simon nodded.
"All the same. You'll get back all right. I think so, anyway."
Some of the strain had gone from Ralph's body. He glanced at the sea and then smiled bitterly at Simon.
"Got a ship in your pocket?"
Simon grinned and shook his head.
"How do you know, then?"
When Simon was still silent Ralph said curtly, "You're batty."
Simon shook his head violently till the coarse black hair flew backwards and forwards across his face.
"No, I'm not. I just think you'll get back all right."
For a moment nothing more was said. And then they suddenly smiled at each other.
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:
They were miles wide, apparently not breakers or the banked ridges of shallow water.
- If the waves that Ralph is watching are "not breakers" and are not "the banked ridges of
shallow water", then what are they? (2)
[Need help?]
They are in fact gigantic swells in the water that move inexorably in a certain directing.
If they looked gigantic, the reality is that most of their force was in fact below the level of the water but they
would only rise up and become waves as they reached the shallows near the island where the ocean floor
would push the swell higher and higher until it crashed onto the shore.
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- Why do these waves engross Ralph's attention in this way? (2)
[Need help?]
Ralph had never seen anything quite as spectacular. As a boy in England, he might never have seen the
sea while, on this island, the boys lived on the far side where the lagoon sheltered them from the open
ocean.
This was then the very first time that he looked out over the open ocean itself and was able to witness just
how big and powerful it was.
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They travelled the length of the island with an air of disregarding it and being set on other business;
they were less a progress than a momentous rise and fall of the whole ocean.
- What is the significance of the words, "with an air of disregarding it and being set on other
business"? (2)
[Need help?]
The swells were like living creatures, all hurrying along with an intention of getting somewhere. They had
a purpose and would ignore the island, pressing on and on to go where they were headed.
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They were less a progress than a momentous rise and fall of the whole ocean.
- What image of the ocean is the author creating with these words? (2)
[Need help?]
The ocean appears as if alive, as if it were a living beast, rising and falling as if it were breathing. This is,
of course, an example of personification.
Or maybe it's just a metaphor in which the ocean is compared to a living and breathing animal
rather than a person.
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This was the divider, the barrier.
- Explain this moment of enlightenment in Ralph's thoughts. (2)
[Need help?]
While they were on the far side of the island, protected by the lagoon and the coral reef beyond, it was
easy to believe that rescue was on the way.
Out here, however, the ocean appeared to stretch infinitely, making it appear that there was no other
world, that they were all alone and that rescue was out of the question.
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- Why should the author describe the ocean as having "brute obtuseness"? (2)
[Need help?]
"Obtuseness" means something that is unfeeling and insensitive.
The ocean has "brute obtuseness", therefore, because it appears like some gigantic beast which
cares nothing about the boys, which is unutterably insensitive to their well-being.
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Simon was speaking almost in his ear. Ralph found that he had rock painfully gripped in both hands,
found his body arched, the muscles of his neck stiff, his mouth strained open.
"You'll get back to where you came from."
- Explain Ralph's reaction when Simon speaks. (2)
[Need help?]
Ralph had been totally focussed on the ocean. He was lost in this thoughts. Simon's sudden speaking
to him therefore gave him a fright so that his body arched, his muscles strained and his mouth pulled
open.
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- Why is Simon's statement so strange -- indeed, enough to make Ralph call him
"batty"? (2)
[Need help?]
Simon appears to have psychic abilities. He knows precisely what Ralph is thinking about. He also
appears to be clairvoyant, to be able to see into the future and foresee rescue.
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"All the same. You'll get back all right. I think so, anyway."
Simon would appear to be repeating what he said earlier but there is a subtle change to his words.
- What is this change? Why does Simon make this subtle change? (2)
[Need help?]
The first time that Simon spoke, he claimed that Ralph would definitely be rescued. It was a fact as if he
could see into the future.
He suddenly realises what he has said, that he has given the appearance of psychic powers or
clairvoyance. He therefore changes his words to merely a statement of belief rather than a statement of
fact.
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Some of the strain had gone from Ralph's body. He glanced at the sea and then smiled bitterly at
Simon.
"Got a ship in your pocket?"
- How had Simon lifted of the strain from Ralph? (2)
[Need help?]
Ralph saw Simon's statement as being laughable. How could he be so sure? He is therefore able to be
sarcastic and to laugh.
It is possible, of course, that Simon's statement has also given Ralph a bit more hope.
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- Explain the sarcasm in Ralph's reply. (2)
[Need help?]
The sarcasm is in the question as to whether or not Simon had a ship in his pocket. There could be no
rescue unless Simon could not only foresee the future but also had the means to bring about the rescue.
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"No, I'm not. I just think you'll get back all right."
- Explain the purpose in Simon's words in which he again shifts meaning. (2)
[Need help?]
Once more Simon backtracks on his original statement. He makes it appear more clearly as if it was just
a thought, a passing hope rather than a clairvoyant ability to predict the future.
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