TOP 3 Most Important Quotes Flashcards
(3 cards)
‘Maybe there is a beast… maybe its’s only us’
Spoken by Simon
It challenges the boys assumption that the ‘beast’ is an external, monstrous threat. Simon suggests that the real danger lies within themselves. Golding uses Simon to introduce the idea that evil is intrinsic to human nature.
It shifts the story’s theme from a survival narrative to a darker exploration of human psychology. Golding implies that civilisation and moral codes are fragile conducts and they barely surpress our darker instincts. When those conducts dissolve on the island the boys reveal the beast within, succumbing to violence and cruelty.
‘The thing is - fear cant hurt you anymore than a dream’
Spoken by Jack
Jacks comment about fear is ironic. Fear becomes one of the most influential forced driving the boys’ actions. Fear of the unknown ‘beast’ grows into a collective frenzy that pushes them towards savagery. This foreshadows how fear warps perception and allows irrationality to overpower reason and morality.
The boys fear manifests their descent into chaos and brutality, showing how primal instincts can overtake rational thought. Golding suggests that fear is more dangerous than the ‘beast’, as it allows people to surrender to darker tendencies without accountability.
‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of mans heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called piggy’
Reflection from Ralph
It encapsulates his realisation of the boys loss of innocence. Piggy’s death symbolises the destruction of logic and civilisation on the island. Ralphs grief displays the inability to return to the innocence they once had.
Golding uses this moment to highlight the destructive power of inherent evil and how once innocence is lost it cant fully be regained. Golding argues that within everyone there is an underlying savagery can can surface under the right conditions, making us doubt the concept of human goodness.
