lord of the flies quotes analysis Flashcards
small flames stirred at the hole of a tree and crawled
‘stirred’ suggests that the flames are waking up, gently. notice that the flames are ‘small’. this links to later images. ‘crawler’ suggests animal- like movement. it’s pace would be creeping or even sneaking
dividing and increasing. one patch touched a tree trunk and scrambled up like a bright squirrel
‘dividing and increasing’ continuous action is suggested by the use of these verbs- this momentum is happening now and will continue to happen into the future. ‘scrambled’ suggests a rapid but clumsy movement. ‘like a bright squirrel’- simile used to describe the movement of the fire through the trees. it’s a positive image; ‘bright’ suggests the light from the flames
his mind was crowded with memories … closed in on the struggling pig … outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink
if your mind is ‘crowded with memories’, you could expect these memories to be positive; here they are filled with the savagery of the kill, and jack glories in this kill. ‘closed in’ suggests that the boys were hunting as a pack of animals. the pig is ‘struggling’ it is powerless and defenceless. the boys have no mercy. ‘imposed their will’ this suggests domination and lust for power- almost like the cruelty shown to the littluns by roger. the last line of the quote which is a simile suggests they are feasting on the pig in the same way they will gorge on its flesh late in the chapter; ‘long satisfying drink’ links to their thirst for the kill- it is only satisfied by this violence
the two boys faced each other … longing and baffled common sense
ralph and jack are presented as opposites. they are facing each other like opponents and their worlds and obsessions have no connection. notice that ralph’s common sense is ‘baffled’, he has no understanding of jacks obsession with hunting. instead, he is presented as ‘longing’ - year i g for rescue and shelter
passions beat about simon on the mountain top with awful wings
here, simon represents the forces of good. he is presented as standing alone on the ‘mountain top’ seperate from the group. the metaphor shows me ‘passions’, anger and outrage as wings- but as ‘awful’ wings, suggesting dread and terror
puff by puff, the breeze …. blue flowers, over the boulders and red stones … here the breeze was fitful …. the parachute to tangle and festoon and the figure sat
the breeze suggests playfulness. colours are used to show the landscapes beauty. flowers are associated with delicacy and fragility. the lines of the parachute ‘festoon’ suggesting they are like garlands, decoration. the figure ‘sat’ suggesting rest and tranquility. instead of using ‘dead-body’ or ‘corpse’, golding refers to the dead pilot as the ‘figure’. this distances the reader from the horror
over the island the build up of clouds continued. a steady current of heated air rose all day
build up- suggesting the boys’ tension and fear. the build up is ongoing ‘steady’ and relentless. the air is perhaps the boys’ heightened emotions
revolving masses of gas piled up the static until the air was ready to explode. by early evening the sun had gone and a brassy glare had taken the place of clear daylight. even the air that pushed in from the sea was hot and held no refreshment
‘piled up’ linked to steady suggesting that the static is loaded, creating a jittery, pressurised mood. ‘explode’ violent, war-like image to imply that the air is at breaking point. like the harsh ‘brassy’ yellow colour, this light is unpleasantly hard and bright. ‘pushed in’ suggesting the air is rudely making its way from the sea.
drained from water and trees and pink surfaces of rock, and the white and brown clouds broaden
‘drained’ suggests the vibrant colours of the island are bleeding from the landscape. ‘brooded’ suggesting that the colours are moping or in a fretful mood
a thing was crawling out of the forest. it came darkly, uncertainly. the shrill screaming that rose before the beast was like a pain
focus on simon who has now been stripped of his humanity to become ‘a thing’. ‘crawling’ this language suggesting that this is a creature- not human. ‘shrill screaming’ in their frenzied chanting, the boys too are animal-like. ‘like a pain’ a smilie suggesting lack of control in the frenzy- perhaps foreshadowing the pain to come as a result of this.
‘kill the beast! cut his throat! spill his blood’
the focus is on the chant. the reader is familiar with this. the reader also knows how this can stir savage instincts in the boys as we remember ralph’s response to the chant
the blue-white scar was constant, the noise unendurable. simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill
‘blue white’ focus is back to simon and the harsh blue-white lightening. combined with the noise and the dance, golding presents the drama of the scene almost as if it’s a film. ‘dead man on a hill’ simons truth- a religious reference to the crucifix action of christ on a hill
at once the crowd surged after it, poured down …. screamed, struck, bit, tore. …. tearing of teeth and claws
golding describes this in a matter of fact way- he is a dispassionate observer of this savagery. it is also helpful to consider why he does not write this from the point of view of one of the boys. ‘it’ pronoun suggests inhumanity. ‘poured’ the boys are moving as one fluid creature. ‘screamed, struck, bit, tore’ a stark list of violent acts emphasising the inhuman savagery of the boys actions. ‘teeth and claws’ a description used previously about the beast.
the rock struck piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee
‘glancing’ suggests that the blow wasn’t full force yet it is from ‘chin to knee’. golding gives precise details
the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist
the violence of ‘exploded’ contrasts with the beauty of ‘white fragments’ , before we are told bluntly that they ‘ceased to exist’
