By now we see that Ralph and Piggy are complete friends. They trust each other completely and depend on each other now that they are harshly facing the reality of human beings. Ralph realizes the gravity of the deed they had just performed the night before. He is probably the only person who dares to think and realize that they had murdered Simon. “That was murder”. We come to see that he tries to ignore and put aside the fact they were present at the murder. Piggy aids him in forgetting the whole thing but Ralph knows the harsh reality and probably might be second closest to getting to the truth. He certainly recognizes and accepts that this was murder. “We was scared.” We see that Piggy is unwilling to commit to the thought of murder. The one thing that we must understand from all of this is that both realize that they are isolated and also realize that what they did yesterday was wrong.
Even at this juncture of losing all his power or more accurately lost all his power Ralph still emphasizes on the fire. We must realize that the fire is a symbol used by Golding for hope. In this case Ralph and his friends’ effort to build the fire is practically feeble which results us in minimum smoke. This is a rather dejected symbol of lost hope. Bonding between Ralph, Piggy, and the twins take place as they all share the same thought that what happened last night was regretful and unspeakable. A couple of littluns are also left but we realize that no one regards them as useful. There is an invisible line between the big boys and the littluns. They have their own life and mind their own business, but as we saw the night before even they are capable of savage dealing.
Juxtaposed with this somber, regretful, and hopeless situation is one of intimidating brutality. We already see the stark contrast of the area in which the two situations are placed. One is near the beach with constant supply for food and fresh water, with shelters to sleep in. The other situation is located near on Castle Rock which is a good place for a fort, for protection, and gives Jack the opportunity to establish his kingdom. The choice of location made by Jack give us the idea that he emphasizes on protecting himself from the beast rather than food and fresh water or shelter.
We see that Jack attains a sort of dictatorship type of government. From the starting he indulges in acts of violence to consolidate his Kingdom. He and his next in power Roger do their best to instill fear in the minds of others. “He is going to beat Wilfred”. This act of violence on a child is a sort of warning for the other to behave. Again we see that Jack exercises his control over the group terrifyingly just as a dictator would. We see Jack’s similarity to that of Hitler the most prominent dictator in the world at those times or actually a bit before.
Golding for maximum effect uses the word savages instead of boys. “A savage raised his hand.” This change of names indicates that the boys are no longer boys but savages. Their identity is completely different to that of what they were. Golding implies strongly that not only have they changed in their names but they too have changed in the inside. Their inclination to savagery has been brought out. Again we see Jack’s dictatorship sort of government as he can only be called Chief. “The chief was vague but earnest.” We see that even Jack too has changed completely and can no longer be identified as the Jack he was but by the powerful name of Chief.
Jack uses the beast as a motto and idol for his tribe. He gives portrays the beast as immortal and able to change shape because he realizes that if he lets the belief of the beast die the boys might depart from his tribe as they no longer need protection. One significant aspect that can be seen from this is that the more one is willing to believe in the existence of the beast, the more his inclination to evil.
Golding again brings us back to the parallel running situation of Ralph and Piggy. Ralph realizes that another utility of the fire is to keep them warm. The situation portrayed by Golding is one of complete despair and hopelessness. All of them realize that it is impossible to keep the fire going. Ralph as time goes on is becoming more and more cynical. He forgets why they need the fire. “Ralph tried to remember. There was something good of the fire.” As darkness enveloped around we are exposed to the desperate feelings of the boys to go back home. The twins remark truth as they say that being captured by the reds is better than by Jack. Golding has taken us back to a wider view of the theme. Just as the savagery and evil prevails on the island, outside it too the same savagery is present in the outside world.
Jack and his hunters express their brutality in the ultimate act of violence. They invade the shelters, put what little fire was left and viciously attack the four boys. This supreme act of violence indicates the power of Jack and his hunters or rather the Chief and his savages on the island. We also see the real character behind Jack. His wanting for consolidating for power might provoke him to do anything. Jack’s action of stealing Piggy’s glasses indicates that the savages have completely lost all sign of civilization. More than that we must realize that they have stolen something precious from Ralph and his group. Piggy’s glasses symbolized the fire, and their only hope to being rescued. It symbolized pure intellect and civilization. With this significant symbol of civilization diminished it is only a matter of time before the conch too is terminated.
