Ralph is the elected leader on the island when the boys’ first meet. He is the complete opposite of Jack and is a descent and honest leader. Ralph is described as “athletic”, “good looking”, “broad shouldered” and is said “to have a mildness about his mouth and eyes’ that proclaimed no devil.” Ralph is the character giving hope to the group, the character that tries to stop the threat to civilisation, the civilisation that the boys’ on the island started with.
Piggy provides the reality and practicality to the island. He is the one who warns everyone of what is happening, of the threats to civilisation. He is bullied by most of the other boys’ because of his appearance, plump, glasses, ugly, looks like a pig (hence the nickname), and is from a lower class background. But, along with Ralph, he is a protester for a civilised society; he does not want to see the society of democracy and freedom turn into an autocracy where you are told what to do by a ‘dictator’. Piggy is also the ‘brains’ on the island and looks at the situation realistically, “we may stay here till we die.” This is why Piggy does not want the civilisation on the island to be threatened and broken down.
Simon, who is described as having black hair, skinny and as being “a vivid little boy”, is extremely introvert. He plays quite a major role within the body of the novel. This is because of the symbolism that surrounds his character. Simon is a symbol of spiritualism and religion, and who represents God and morals on the island. This is shown in many quotes, but is best represented when his body “gently moves out into the open sea”, using words such as “silver”, “gently” and “softly”. When Simon is killed this is the point at which the spiritualism, religion and morals leave the island almost completely. This is the point at which the threats to civilisation can take over the island and transform it into an uncivilised, evil society, a ‘tribe’.
In the Stolen Bacillus there is similar character reference. But, in the Stolen Bacillus there are only two main characters. One of these poses the threat to civilisation and one is trying to stop this threat. These two characters are ‘the pale faced man’, who’s name we never get to know, and the bacteriologist, who is the character trying to stop the threat.
The “Pale faced man” is an anarchist seeking recognition, and at the end of the story, martyrdom. The “pale faced man” is described with “lank black hair and deep grey eyes’, the haggard expression and nervous manner.” He has a fascination in the bacterium, cholera, as we find from the quote, “satisfaction appeared momentarily in the face of the pale man.” He is the threat because he wants the cholera to breakdown the civilised society of the great city of London. The “pale faced man” is the Stolen Bacillus’s equivalent of Jack from Lord of the Flies, and in some senses Jack could also been seen as an anarchist.
The bacteriologist is a scientist, and the character that cultivates the bacillus cholera that poses the threat to civilisation. We do not really get a description of the bacteriologist, apart from, “The bacteriologist, hatless, and in his carpet slippers.” From this description you may see him as a middle aged, middle class man. He is trying to stop the threat, and so, could be said to match Ralph from Lord of the Flies.
The writers of the two stories present to us the threats and the characters that are trying to stop the threats in both of the stories. And they do this by providing us with two sides in each story, the side that wants a civilised society and the side that wants to break down civilisation.
The Lord of the Flies is set on an island. The island is described in the book with “sea on either side, and the crystal heights of air”, “Circular horizon of water,” and “jungly flat of the island, dense green, but drawn at the end to a pink tail.” This portrays images of luscious green and tropical savannah. This setting is perfect for a civilised society, and does so for a while. But, fire spreads through the island, burning down fruit trees, killing future food supplies (animals), and even killing the boy with the mulberry patch on his face. It burns down because of the boys’ stupidity and because the fire was not supervised properly. This marks one of the first stages of civilisation breaking down. The island is the ‘society’ in which the boys’, at first, flourish but, then, in stages, break down into savages, all but Ralph and Piggy.
There are then two places within this setting, one with Ralph as the leader and one with Jack rules. The platform, where Ralph leads, portrays certain characteristics of Ralph. The platform is a flat, triangle shape surrounded by tropical palm trees’. This shows Ralph as straightforward, caring and democratic/equal. Castle rock, where Jack rules, is described to us to be in levels, “The rock of the cliff was split and the top littered with great lumps that seemed to totter.” This shows, like the platform, certain characteristics of Jack. It shows him as a challenging, violent and as a dictator. Jack likes the ‘fort’, he puts himself at the top level, above everyone else, he thinks of it as a new toy, and he wants to play with it. But, it is also somewhere in which he could kill somebody, showing the evilness. Castle Rock becomes the centre for the threat to civilisation.
The writer has presented us, the reader, a setting in which the threat can flourish. He has presented us with a small island, a confined space, where the group of boys COULD flourish. But, they choose not to and the threat wins.
The setting in the Stolen Bacillus is very different from that of the Lord of the Flies.
In the Stolen Bacillus the setting is one of a big city, the capital city of Britain, London. London, full of large buildings and roads. This is set in a city where a civilised society is imperative, and if were broken down would cause chaos and destruction. It is the centre of Britain and world trade, the economy of Britain would be destroyed.
While on the cab chase the bacteriologists and “pale faced man” go through a few places of London named in the story. Havelock Crescent, Haverstock Hill, Camden Town High Street and Great Saint Andrew’s Street. We are told of these streets to show we are in a large city which is full of people who are all in threat from one, single, man.
Again, the writer has presented to us a setting in which civilisation could flourish, and that could get broken down by any threats that are posed to it.
So, the settings and places, and the things they show, are extremely different in the two stories. But, in both, the threat to society and civilisation would, if carried out, cause catastrophic effects on the everyday lives of the people living in them, and the wider world.
In the Lord of the Flies there is a very specific tone. The tone of the story is one of fear, power, aggression and greed.
All of this tone is incorporated into the novel to show how a civilised society ends up if destroyed by a few individuals and how much destruction just those few individuals, can do in a matter of days/weeks/months or years.
All this fear, power, aggression and greed are brought upon by one individual, Jack! Jack rules his tribe of hunters by fear. But, the novels begins on a good note with rules, morality, religion and democracy, a tone of fairness and equal being on the island. That tone is not to last. The tone of fear also includes death on the island. The first death is caused by carelessness among the boys’. Then Simon gets killed in a savage frenzy, “the beast was on its knees in the centre, its arms folded over its face.” We later find the beast to be Simon, a mistake. Then Piggy gets killed, intentionally, by Roger. This is pre meditated and Jack approves. The whole tribe then tries to kill Ralph, the “sharpen a stick at both ends.”
These deaths are all threats to the civilised society and the increase in the intent of the deaths show the demise of civilisation.
The writer presents to the reader a tone which incorporates the threats to civilisation. A tone that would bring any type of civilisation down.
In the Stolen Bacillus there are two tones. One of fear, as in the Lord of the Flies, and one of comedy, which you do not find in the Lord of the Flies.
The fear comes from the “pale faced man” and the cholera.
The fear that the cholera could infect the waters of London, which we see when the bacteriologist describes what, would happen. He says things such as “Go forth, increase and multiply, and replenish the cisterns,” “death-mysterious, untraceable death, death swift and terrible.” These lines instil a tone of fear and death in the readers mind and what the cholera could do instils the threat to society and civilisation, and along with the full description gives us the full picture of what could happen, if it got into the hands of the wrong person.
The comedy comes in at the middle of the story, during the cab chase. The cab men watching start to annotate the chase, saying things like, “Go it George!” “She’s a goer, she is!” and “strike me giddy!”
This comedy is to, somewhat, portray the eventual ending of the story to us. Also, because the writer is trying to portray the fact that science is not a threat, it is something that will help us live a better quality of life, it is interesting.
The comedy comes at the end when we find out that the strain of cholera that the “pale faced man” has stolen, only actually turns people blue, “it turned that kitten blue, and three puppies-in patches, and the sparrow-bright blue.” Again this is to portray the fact that science should not be seen as a threat, but as something to help you, to laugh at.
The writer, like in Lord of the Flies, has presented to us a tone in which civilised society can prosper, but, he has also presented to us a tone of comedy, to inform us of his views on science.
The length of the two stories is very different. One is only a short story and one is a full novel.
The Lord of the Flies is the long novel and is for one reason. This is because |William Golding presents to us, the reader, the threats to civilisation in carefully planned out stages, to show us the demise of civilisation in the most realistically possible way.
The Stolen Bacillus is the short novel. This is because H. G. Wells wishes to express his views on science and does not need to present this in stages. Perhaps he wishes to entertain the reader, inform and explain to us about science, and threats to civilisation.
In conclusion, both Lord of the Flies and the Stolen Bacillus present the threat to civilisation in different ways, but, they do have similarities as well as differences. The Lord of the Flies civilised society breaks down in stages because of one individual, Jack, who poses the threat because of his greed and thirst for power, and this I presented to the reader throughout the book.
In the Stolen Bacillus the threat to civilisation comes from, also, one individual, “the pale faced man”, but, also from science, the cholera.
But, perhaps the books have wider meanings. The Lord of the Flies is influenced by the wider world and William Golding is trying to represent whet he sees’ going on in the world around him. In the Stolen Bacillus H. G. Wells, who supported science, is trying to inform others that science is not a threat.
So, really what we have to ask ourselves is what is portrayed to us in these two books, what would really happen if our modern society were to break down? Would we survive?
