Oliver Miocic
11 MW
Explain how the boy’s behaviour and sense of order begins to disintegrate in chapter 5 of Golding’s “Lord Of The Flies”
Reading about the appearance of the boys and the rules they are flaunting, the audience learns that order on the isolated island is disintegrating. The boys no longer care for the rules that were established by Ralph and are beginning to form an alliance of their own. The conch is rapidly losing its role as being the item that summons order and some boys are becoming anxious by the beasties that are not real, but fear is travelling from the small boys to the older ones who contemplate about the beasties. It is this anxiety of the unknown, which creates fear leading to the boy's disintegration.
As the days of waiting continue, the boys care for the rules are nowhere to be found. This disregard of the laws of the land, implemented shortly after the crash, is starting to annoy Ralph, the lawmaker, and he summons a meeting. “Look at us! … We can’t keep a fire going to make smoke. Don’t you understand? Cant you see we ought to – ought to die before we let that fire out”. Ralph is trying to communicate two messages. One, that the fire is an important means of survival and one of the only chances of release form the island. Two, that the boy’s behaviour is disintegrating. The boys, if back in they’re homeland would abide by any law, but it seems on the island the law does not exist. The reason the boys are disconnecting themselves from the rules is because the rules are not fun. Any fun that was to be found on the island has been discovered and there is nothing left to do but sit and wait. The boys turn to mischief because they are bored and scared. This fear, especially in the younger boys, is caused by the “beasties”. The boys fear of “twisty things in the trees”. However the twisty things have never been seen by more than one boy and have never been spotted in daylight. This suggests that either everything is not what it seems on the island or the beasties are just figures in a bad dream. Both seem true. The island is not what it is supposed to be. It is not a sunny beach with palm trees, it is not a holiday island with soft lapping waves and it is definitely not a pleasant setting. The dreams too are not pleasant things. This leads me to think that the reason order is breaking down is from fear of the island and fear of the unknown on the island.
