Donovan Dicks

Milam Pd. 6

Lord of the Flies Dialectic Journals

Chapter 1

All around him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.

This quote strikes me because I read it incorrectly every time. The diction is strange to me, but

that makes it captivating and interesting. It paints an image of something of devastating but also

unknown to reader just yet. Within the first paragraph, I find myself quite held to the book and

my curiosity quite high.

Chapter 1

The first chapter sets the stage for a downhill survival story. There are many metaphors present,

which establish an important element of symbolism. The conch shell symbolizes authority and

civilization, a key signal of who is in control, of who has the power. Ralph uses it to gather the

masses, presenting himself as a natural and the first leader. It is said that there was a mildness

about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil. This is quickly disproved, as he quickly

teases Piggy for his name. Ralph proves to have a devil inside him, much in contrast to what was

previously stated. A competition of authority is sparked between Jack and Ralph, who both have

their own devils. The friendship forged will be short-lived, as it is founded on a competition for

leadership, which is the key goal to surviving the island. They both desire to have followers, to

lead the masses, to have control, but there cannot be two leaders. Jacks savagery is first shown

in his rude behavior towards Piggy and those he believes to be lesser than himself. It comes out

again when attempts to kill the trapped pig. The savage behavior builds up and is about to be
released, but he hesitates and the pig escapes. Piggy is obviously lacking of authority and

respect, due to his name, size, and his complaining nature including the repetition of phrases like

my auntie and my asthma. The relation of the islands shape to a boat, and even the slight

illusion that it seems to be drifting astern, paints the island as a lifeboat. It is the boys escape

from death, their last chance of survival.

Chapter 2

A snake-thing

Serpent- evil, corruption, destruction

This first appears from the boy with the mulberry-colored mark. He is frightened of a beastie he

believes to have seen in the dark. Later in the chapter, after setting the bon fire, it returns as the

fire gets out of hand. The boys scream, saying they see the snakes, and Piggy points out that the

young boy with the mark was playing where the fire spread, and he is nowhere to be found. The

guilt is present and strong, and Ralph attempts to explain it but cannot. Ralph earlier claimed that

there can be no beastie, that creatures like that cant be present on the island, that the kid mustve

had a nightmare. In a sense, he is right that there is no snake beastie. Rather, the beastie is inside

them all. The boy questions if the beastie will come back again at night. The answer? Yes, and

every night to come the savagery of the boys will return.

Chapter 2

There is an extended metaphor concerning the fire that the boys lit down the mountain. The

flame is related to jungle life, as a squirrel, as a jaguar. The animal behavior of the flame, the

majesty and destructive power, is well captured in this metaphor. The fire spreads to an
enormous area and becomes quite the spectacle. Piggy glanced nervously into hell. The raging

fire is related to hell, and evil. The boys have thus created hell, which leaves something to be

said about the devil within them.

Piggy is unaccepted by the boys. He represents intelligence and science, related to his glasses

(nerd stereotype). His glasses are also the source of fire, which can represent intelligence. Piggy

yells at the boys, saying the first thing they should have down is make shelter. This cling to

civilization is important, as it is another sign of Piggys intelligence and what he can offer to

their survival. He goes further to point out that boys ran up the mountain like kids at the first

mention of fire. The childish impulse and desire for fire is an outward representation of the inner

evil in all of them, the inner desire for something destructive.

When Piggy reminds the boys of the young one with the mark, the sun is nearly set, signifying

death.

Chapter 3

As if the beastie, the beastie or the snake-thing, was real.

This quote comes in the middle of an argument between Ralph and Jack, who are both frustrated

with themselves and each other. Ralph brings up how the kids are frightened, and Simon

interjects that they talk and scream in their sleep as if the island wasnt a good island, and that

there is a monster haunting the children. The beastie is real, and it is in all of them. Simon is

quite right about that.

The clearing Simon comes across is a garden: a paradise, a symbol of life and fertility.

Chapter 5
Maybe, maybe there is a beast. [] What I mean is . . . maybe its only us.

Simon is the first of the boys to not only believe in the beast but also begin to understand what it

is. The beast is something inside the boys, it is the devil in them all, not an animal on the island

with them.

Chapter 7

The hunt for the beast is frightening and exhilarating for the boys, and their savagery is tempted

when they discover and hunt a boar. The thrill of the hunt sends the boys into a savage frenzy in

which they crazily reenact the hunt. When Roger pretends to be the boar, the boys still fail to

remember that they are all people, and that it is only a game. They nearly kill Robert out of their

savage frenzy. The beast is truly within them, and it is easily tempted.

Chapter 8

A gift for the beast. Might not the beast come for it? (Simon)

There isnt anyone to help you. Only me. And Im the beast. (Lord of the Flies)

You knew didnt you? Im part of you?

Simons first thought is that the beast will come and accept the offering; that the beast is an

external, physical being. However, when the head begins to speak to him he fully realizes that

the beast isnt a physical being. Now the Lord of the Flies has confirmed what Simon has been

catching on to the whole novel. Here we see the clearing as the Garden of Eden, the Lord of the

Flies as Beelzebub, or the devil, and Simon as Jesus, or a savior with knowledge, a

representation of innocence. The garden was tainted with evil when the boys killed the sow and
staked its head in the clearing. Simon has been given the secret and the explanation to the boys

fears, to the beastie that haunts their dreams.

Chapter 9

The boys savagery returns at their feast, and it returns to a frenzy as they reenact the hunt. Their

mob mentality overcomes them as Simon appears and they attack him and kill him. The savior

figure has been brutally murdered, and the secret of the beast remains unsolved as he is the only

one to possess the knowledge of it.

Chapter 10

The hunters steal Piggys glasses rather than just fire. By doing this, they have stolen the ability

to make fire, and thus have stolen power and intelligence. The glasses are essential to survival as

they are the means for starting a fire. Like the conch shell, they are a symbol of authority and

power, and whoever possesses both will survive the longest.

Chapter 11

Ralph goes to Castle Rock with the conch shell to retrieve Piggys glasses and hope to reassert

authority and reason. The conch is useless and Ralph is unable to regain his followers. This

finally end to Ralphs authority is emphasized by the capture of the twins Samneric and the

shattering of the shell when Piggy is killed by the rock. All innocence has been lost at this point,

all sense of reason and the importance of rescue has been rejected, and the beast of savagery has

completely taken over.

Chapter 12

Deus ex Machina- unsolvable problem suddenly solved, character in danger suddenly rescued,

by a new, outside force with perfect timing. (Naval officer)

The boys have all lost their innocence, through a natural course of things that unfolded on the

island. Survival and the need for power drove them all to compete and fight to lead and live. This

competition led to the severe savagery that ruined the boys and their innocence as well as their

comprehension of innocence in itself.