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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.
READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
Other boys were appearing now; tiny tots some of them, brown, with the distended bellies of small
savages. One of them came close to the officer and looked up.
"I'm, I'm -- "
But there was no more to come. Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had
faded clean away.
The officer turned back to Ralph.
"We'll take you off. How many of you are there?"
Ralph shook his head. The officer looked past him to the group of painted boys.
"Who's boss here?"
"I am," said Ralph loudly.
A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the
remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist, started forward, then changed his mind and stood still.
"We saw your smoke. And you don't know how many of you there are?"
"No, sir."
"I should have thought," said the officer as he visualized the search before him, "I should have thought
that a pack of British boys -- you're all British aren't you? -- would have been able to put up a better show
than that -- I mean -- "
"It was like that at first," said Ralph, "before things -- "
He stopped.
"We were together then -- "
The officer nodded helpfully.
"I know. Jolly good show. Like the Coral Island."
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:
Other boys were appearing now; tiny tots some of them, brown, with the distended bellies of small
savages.
- Why does the author use the word, "tiny tots"? (2)
[Need help?]
Suddenly the reader is presented with the sad truth of this whole episode: that many of the boys were
indeed nothing more than tiny tots.
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- Why do these tiny tots have "distended bellies"? (2)
[Need help?]
An extended belly is typical of children who are severely undernourished. It is called kwashiorkor
and is a common site in malnourished rural areas, especially in Africa.
Although the children were eating lots of fruit, there was not enough nourishment for them. Indeed, most
of them ate the fruit before it was fully ripe, causing constant upset stomachs which in turn would have
further leached their bodies of nutrients.
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Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away.
- What is an "incantation"? (2)
[Need help?]
An "incantation" is a phrase that is repeated regularly -- or even chanted. It is often part of a
religious ceremony where a chorus is repeated regularly in response to a statement by the priest.
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- What is the significance of Percival Wemys Madison having completely forgotten his
"incantation"? (4)
[Need help?]
When the boys arrived on the island, Percival Wemys Madison was well versed in repeating his name and
address lest he got lost and needed help from a stranger.
The months spent on the island, however, had driven the incantation well out of his memory. He had now
forgotten even what his name was.
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"Who's boss here?"
"I am," said Ralph loudly.
- Ralph's words claiming to be boss reveal the full extent of his leadership. Can you explain
why? (4)
[Need help?]
Despite the fact that Ralph had nothing whatever to do with the fire which was destroying the island, he
was still willing to accept responsibility for it. The buck always stopped with him.
That is the sign of a genuine leader -- to accept responsibility and never to blame the others.
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A little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair and who carried the
remains of a pair of spectacles at his waist, started forward, then changed his mind and stood still.
- This short paragraph sums up the awful truth about Jack's leadership. Can you explain what this
is? (4)
[Need help?]
The reality was that Jack had appointed himself as leader and was totally responsible for all this mayhem.
He had mutinied against Ralph's leadership, had set up his own tribe, had killed Piggy and had sought to
kill Ralph himself. The fire which was destroying the island was entirely of his own making.
A true leader would have been able to accept responsibility. He would have been big enough to stand up
and say, "I am responsible for this mess. Don't put the blame on my followers."
Yet, now that the opportunity was there for Jack to claim responsibility for all that he had done and show
himself to be the leader, he shirked from his duty and allowed Ralph to take the blame.
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"I should have thought," said the officer as he visualized the search before him, "I should have thought
that a pack of British boys -- you're all British aren't you? -- would have been able to put up a better show
than that -- I mean -- "
- Why would the officer have "visualized the search before him"? (4)
[Need help?]
Since there were so many British boys who had fled onto the beach, just how many others would have
been caught up in the flames and been burnt to death?
The officer knew that he would now have to search the entire island for bodies, and either take these back
to Britain for burial or conduct a mass burial on the island.
The task would be a daunting one -- and very, very grisly.
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- Why would the officer have expected that the boys "would have been able to put up a better show
than that"? (4)
[Need help?]
The boys were British and back in 1952, when this novel was written, it was still commonly believed that
British children were somehow better than children elsewhere in the world.
This is something that is known as "jingoism", the belief that everything British was always the best.
They didn't speak of British children as "yobs" back then.
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The officer nodded helpfully.
"I know. Jolly good show. Like the Coral Island."
- What is the TONE of the officer's words? (2)
[Need help?]
The officer is very patronising, isn't he? Initially he had tried to accuse the boys of not behaving
well but now, as soon as a reasonable excuse was offered, he accepted it and tried to offer meaningless
words of praise.
In a sense, it was only because he had visualised the dreadful task ahead of him of finding all the burnt
bodies that he had criticised Ralph.
Now he sees that Ralph is probably correct, and immediately the officer's sense of Britishness and fair
play returns to him.
Since the boys were indeed British, they must have tried their best.
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- What does the officer mean when he says, "Jolly good show"? (2)
[Need help?]
This is a very English expression which means something like, "Well done!"
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- What is the significance of the officer's reference to "the Coral Island"? (10)
[Need help?]
The Coral Island, a book by R.M. Ballantyne, was the story of three British boys -- Ralph,
Jack and Peterkin -- who were shipwrecked on a coral island during the 19th century.
The book is a story of the boys' success in overcoming whatever hardships the island threw at them.
Furthermore, they remained British gentlemen from start to finish.
The island was precisely the same one as in Lord of the Flies but in the latter book the boys
became murderous savages instead of remaining British gentlemen.
The Coral Island was read by most literate English boys, hence the naval officer's reference to
it. He saw at once the similarity: a bunch of English boys shipwrecked on a coral island.
He also saw that they had made a thorough mess of it, hence his reprimand: "I should have thought
that a pack of British boys would have been able to put up a better show than that."
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- Was the officer correct to compare the setting on this island with that of "the Coral
Island"? (6)
[Need help?]
He was indeed correct. The setting was precisely the same. The same island. The same coral reef. The
same lagoon. The same mountain.
The officer wouldn't have known this but even the two leading boys were the same: Ralph and Jack.
And, just as in The Coral Island, the boys have been shipwrecked and forced to fend for
themselves -- except that, in this case, they had become stranded after an air crash rather than a
shipwreck.
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