“There came a pause a hiatus...” Again this language shows that Jack is unsure about what he is doing. Golding is creating an atmosphere using these words. If he had not used the sentence at all, Jacks’ character would have gained more strength. Every sentence that Golding uses takes just that bit more confidence away from Jack and makes him seem like a scared boy.
Towards the end of the paragraph Golding writes, “they were left looking at each other and the place of terror.” Golding has described what just happened as a terrible experience by using the word terror. It shows that what has just happened was not a very pleasant experience as terror means fear, uncertainty, dismay, dread and panic. Had Golding used the word excitement it would have altered the meaning of the whole passage; this is because excitement has the hidden meanings of thrill, charge, happiness, having a good time and enjoying ones self. Using the word terror means that the characters did not enjoy the experience they just went through, it shows that the characters did not enjoy such activities as killing and harming another living being.
“Jacks face was white under the freckles” This sentence again shows that the character Jack was scared and that the experience terrified him as it was such a shock to him that he did such a thing.
The reader knows that the characters are ashamed of what they have done as Golding has written, “all of the laughed ashamedly.” Golding has picked the word ashamedly very carefully, as if he had used the word nervously it would not have given the same effect. This is because although the boys are probably still feeling very nervous, the word ashamedly has different connotations, it means they know what they did was wrong, which also shows that the boys still had a sense of what was right and wrong.
The characters then talk about what they would have done in a totally contrary manor. “You should stick a pig,” Ralph said fiercely. By using the word fiercely, it totally contradicts the way the boys have just been feeling; it shows that the boys all have two sides to them. This is displaying the pessimistic view as it means that although there is the feeling of being ashamed, there is still an evil side to them, which shines through after the incident. If these boys are representing human nature, Golding is saying that we all have an evil side to us and it will come out at any stage.
Ralph then goes on to ask Jack why he did not cut the piglets’ throat but Golding writes that they knew why he had not done so, “because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the undesirable blood.” Once more, this shows that the characters are scared, they do not really want to kill another living being and they see the wrong side. Although this does not yet show a bleak and pessimistic view of human nature, it does show that this is not the last time that Jack will kill a pig, “next time there would be no mercy”. This does show the development of a bleak and pessimistic future for the characters in Lord of the Flies because the reader can see that Jack is rapidly changing.
The next incident where the boys are involved in killing a pig is in the fourth chapter. Their attitudes towards it are completely different this time. They have lost the fear, panic and they are no longer ashamed of what they had done, in fact, they are quite the contrary. This instance they are excited and have made up a chant.
‘They seemed to share on wide, ecstatic grin.’ This shows that the characters were happy about what they had done. Golding has used the word ecstatic instead of happy or pleased because they are more than just content with what they had done; they actually enjoyed killing another creature. ‘He noticed blood on his hands and grimaced distastefully… … wiped them on his shorts and laughed’ Here we see that although Jack smiled at the fact that he had blood on his hands, he was not entirely rapt about it. We also see that it did not perturb him for too long as he laughed about it. The reader has seen the character of Jack modify throughout the chapters; already Jack seems to dismiss the fact that he has just killed something and enjoyed doing so. Jack is so ecstatic about what he has done that he is too preoccupied to worry about the fact that the fire has gone out ‘…too happy to let it worry him’ In Lord of the Flies the fire is what the boys use to try to get rescued and to keep their society together, therefore, if they are too fascinated by killing other animals, their society is bound to deteriorate, which presents a bleak and pessimistic future.
Later in this section, Jack is said to have laughed and shuddered at the same time. This proclaims that killing still vexes him but that he is gradually getting used to it and actually enjoying it. This creates a bleak and pessimistic view because he is starting to enjoy killing another animal and the reader does not know what it might lead too next.
The next incident in the book where the boys are attacking something is where they are “play killing”. The play starts with all the boys playing and pretending that one of the characters (Robert) is a pig. Robert plays along and all is well until they all start to close in on him. They are all jabbing their sticks at Robert and although he tells them to stop it, they still carry on. This shows that although they are playing, they still take their game too far. Golding does this with language by using words such as ‘the chat rose ritually.’ By using the word ritually, Golding creates an image in the readers’ mind. This is because the word ritually has certain connotations, which are usually sinister, such as baneful existences meeting and doing outlandish things and people dancing and chanting around a campfire, summoning pernicious spirits. If Golding had used the word harmoniously, the meaning would be divergent and would have created an opposite picture in the readers’ mind. For example, choir boys sitting around a campfire singing or boy scouts kneeling outside a hut roasting their refection.
This presents a bleak and pessimistic future as now the boys have turned upon themselves. This shows that the society the boys are surviving in is gradually abrading. If the characters on this island are representing human nature, Golding is declaring that all humans would end up forgetting about rules and moral issues and turn into their former states of territorial animals.
The reader can tell from Goldings’ use of language that Ralph was shocked and maybe quite disturbed by what happened by what happened, “Just a game” said Ralph uneasily. “I got jolly badly hurt at rugger once.” By using the word uneasy, Golding has made the reader feel uncomfortable. Ralph knows that they were carried away and that it could be worse next time; he also compared what previously happened to a game, this is to try to take the severity of the actions away. This presents a bleak and pessimistic view as one of the characters, who represents the moral, law abiding side of society, knows what is happening and that is wrong but he can do nothing to stop the events from taking place.
The atmosphere created is quite alarming, this is because what was supposed to be a game but turned out to be unintentional bulling. Tension is created here, as the reader is unsure as to what is about to happen next; also, there be the potential for more violence.
In chapter nine, A View to Death, things become more sever. The atmosphere is thick and the boys are in the middle of a thunderstorm. Again, the characters are chanting “kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” Golding tells us how, yet again, the boy’s are play killing. The reader knows that this time, everything is much worse than before. They know this because the background of the scene is more dramatic also, a thunder storm is a illustrative setting for something sinister to happen, in fact, very rarely does something virtuous happen in a thunder storm!
Golding describes the lightening as a blue-white scar; a scar is habitually associated with a bad occurrence, as you do not usually get a scar from something favourable. If Golding had merely written: a lightening flash, the affect would not be as dramatic; this is because the word scar, as previously mentioned, has individual connotations, which one associates with bad, which the word flash does not have.
Golding presents a bleak and pessimistic view of human nature using language, imagery and background by
