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Jack decided to hunt down and even kill Ralph, his only known opposition. Ralph, however, was so well
concealed inside a thicket that there was just no way to reach him. Jack therefore chose to smoke him
out.
The fire went hopelessly out of control and destroyed the entire island. Ironically, however, it sent up a
vast smoke signal into the heavens, causing a British naval cutter to investigate and come to the boys'
rescue.
FIRE ON THE ISLAND
Fire served several purposes on the island.
Originally the boys made a fire on the mountain as a signal to passing ships in the hope that they would
be rescued. They also used this fire for cooking purposes.
Because it was inconvenient to traipse all the way to the top of the mountain to cook crab and shell fish,
however, many of the boys also made fires on the beaches, something that Ralph tried to stop because
it was too dangerous.
Fire also served as a comfort, especially after it was discovered that a beast dwelt on the island.
On the other hand, the fire could be destructive. When they made the very first fire on the mountain, the
boys put on far too much wood and the flames leapt out of control.
Although it did not destroy the entire island, it did nevertheless wipe out a massive swath through the bush
and, in doing so, killed a littlun. No sign of him was ever found.
The fire also served to be a divisive element. Ralph was hell bent on keeping the rescue fire going.
Unfortunately, however, the task of supervising it was left in the incapable hands of Jack and his hunters
who had other things on their minds.
Jack particularly believed himself to be losing face with the boys because of his inability to kill a pig.
Several months passed and still he had not brought home the promised meat.
His obsession to kill a pig therefore caused him to neglect the fire and he allowed it to go out at the very
moment that a ship passed by.
Jack's euphoria at killing his first pig was dampened by Ralph's accusations of neglect. As a result, an
ever deepening rift developed between the two boys which culminated with Jack's mutiny and establishing
his own tribe.
It was also the celebration of the fire and roasted pig which led to Simon's unfortunate slaying when he
was mistaken for the beast in the midst of mass hysteria during a thunder storm.
The irony, however, was that it was the very division associated with the fire which brought them rescue.
Jack attempted to smoke Ralph out prior to killing him and, in doing so, set the entire island on fire.
This turned out to be a rescue fire deluxe and caught the attention of a passing naval cutter. The boys
were therefore saved from utter disaster by this runaway fire designed purely to capture and kill Ralph.
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:
Now the fire was nearer; those volleying shots were great limbs, trunks even, bursting. The fools! The
fools! The fire must be almost at the fruit trees -- what would they eat to-morrow?
- What was the purpose of this fire which was blazing on the island? (2)
[Need help?]
Jack and his tribe had lit the fire to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place in the thicket. The fire, however,
had got out of control and was now destroying the whole island.
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- What were the "volleying shots" which Ralph could hear? (2)
[Need help?]
Presumably the "volleying shots" was the noise of dry tree trunks exploding in the flames.
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- Fire had thus far played a role in two different ways. Can you explain each? (4)
[Need help?]
The original fire had been made as an attempt to send a smoke signal to passing ships so that the boys
could be rescued.
The fire was also used to cook things: first, crabs and shell fish and then pigs which were roasted on the
flames.
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- Ralph asked the important question, "What would they eat to-morrow?" Why was this an
important question? (4)
[Need help?]
The boys were alive because of two things:
- the fruit growing on the island;
- catching and roasting wild pig.
The fire, however, was sweeping across the entire island, destroying everything in its path. By morning,
there would be nothing left to eat.
The fruit would have been entirely destroyed and most of the pigs would have been burnt to death except
perhaps for a few which found refuge on the beaches.
These, however, would not sustain Jack's tribe for very long. And so, without fruit and pig to eat, the boys
would all be dead within a few weeks.
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- What does this fire tell you about the quality of Jack's leadership? (4)
[Need help?]
Jack had no leadership ability whatever. His entire chieftainship was based on fun and adventure.
The fire was meant to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place but no care had been taken not to set the
island on fire.
Besides, there were safer ways of coaxing Ralph out of hiding. What about the tried and tested means
of starving him out?
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- There is a bitter irony in this fire. Can you explain what this irony is? (4)
[Need help?]
Ralph had spent many months vainly attempting to keep the fire alight as a means of signalling a passing
ship. Jack had had little care for that fire.
Now, however, Jack had set the entire island alight. It was an absolute disaster but, with so much smoke
rising into the atmosphere, it had attracted the attention of a passing British naval ship.
The fire which was meant to destroy Ralph had therefore served to bring them rescue.
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And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of
innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.
The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little embarrassed. He turned away to give
them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the
distance.
- Why does Ralph weep "for the end of innocence"? (4)
[Need help?]
When the boys had crashed onto the island, they had been essentially very innocent. They came from
good schools in England. Jack and his hunters were choir boys, and Jack was their leader with an
excellent voice.
As the months swept by, however, everything changed. Division crept in so that the boys split into two
factions.
Then one of the littluns was accidentally burnt to death. Some time after that Simon was killed in a fit of
mass hysteria. Piggy was murdered. Other boys were set upon and assaulted.
And just how many boys had been burnt to death in this latest fire?
The island itself -- a paradise when they arrived, a Garden of Eden -- was now totally destroyed.
How would such boys be rehabilitated into normal society? They had indeed lost their innocence and had
become nothing more than brutal murderers who had little goodness remaining in them.
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- What does the author mean when he speaks of the "the darkness of man's
heart"? (4)
[Need help?]
Humans do good deeds and bad. When a person becomes obsessed with doing bad, it is spoken of as
emanating from "the darkness of his heart".
This is a common theme in novels. Joseph Conrad, for example, wrote a novel called Heart of
Darkness, a plot which became the central theme to the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola movie,
Apocalypse Now.
Notice, though, that the author speaks about "the darkness of man's heart" and not just
the darkness of the boys' hearts. It is mankind that the author wants us to think about.
The author is therefore making a statement about all of humanity. All mankind has a heart of darkness
upon which the author would like us to reflect.
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- Why was the officer "moved and a little embarrassed" at the sound of the boys
crying? (2)
[Need help?]
Back in 1952 when this novel was written, it was believed that men should never show their emotions,
should never cry. Rugby players and cricketers would never have hugged each other back then.
It was natural that the boys should have cried but the naval officer was embarrassed by it.
On the other hand, with all the boys starting to cry, the naval officer himself had probably become very
emotional and possibly close to tears. He was very embarrassed by that as well because men simply did
not cry.
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- Comment on the significance of the closing words to this novel: "allowing his eyes to rest on the
trim cruiser in the distance." (4)
[Need help?]
The cruiser out to sea looked so very orderly. It would have been well painted and everything about it
would have been well looked after. It represented the world of order and authority.
This is in total contrast to the life on the island. From the time that the boys had been wrecked in what
was a veritable Garden of Eden, everything had gone downhill -- from disagreements to feuding to
accidental killing to outright murder.
But suddenly here was order restored once more.
Or could it ever be restored? How could one rehabilitate murderous youngsters like Jack and Roger?
How would they live with their consciences -- if, of course, they had consciences.
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