heads till they ducked and roared”; this personification of the forest creates a
very violent image, because to create a roaring forest it needs an incredibly
powerful wind. The storm is definitely intensifying. From Chapter 8 we
could already feel the tension build up and now it was being confirmed, the
matter now was just when it was going to “explode”. The anticipation is
continually increased, destined for a climax, Golding has made such a build
up of the storm that the reader is sure the storm will result in a major event.
Throughout the beginning of Chapter 9, the storm is mentioned, whether by a
character or by Golding, however it only really starts after the sow has been
eaten and Ralph realises that Jack has now become the leader for the majority
of the boys. A fight between the two evolves and then the storm truly
begins. At first Golding describes the lightning as a “blink of bright light”,
but later in the chapter as “flickering”, “flashes”, and even “shattering”.
Golding has built up the intensity of the atmosphere using the lightning; as the
words get more powerful, so does the storm. He also adds friction by
increasing the strength of the words just like the lightning but with the
children, they are described as “whining”, “screaming” then “stumbling”and
“fleeing”. This not only helps to develop the confusion and fear but reminds
the reader that they are only children. Golding describes the rain as striking
when it fell. Striking is an unusual adjective for rain - obviously it is very
hard, storm rain but this sentence “ drops of rain.... making individual sounds
when they struck” could reflect the striking that each individual boy made on
the beast, further on in the chapter; perhaps Golding linked the two.
Ralph then tries to get back at Jack and his followers saying “you'll have
rain”, “who's clever now?”, “where are your shelters?” and “what are you
going to do?”. Ralph is made out to be very headstrong creating a tense
atmosphere between the groups, most of the boys are possibly regretting not
helping with the building of the shelters and Jack is bitter as a result of being
shown up in front of the others. Ralph seems quite pleased about the storm,
because the hunters will finally see that it would have benefited them more to
have helped put up the shelters. However Jack is infuriated as he knows that
Ralph is right but he doesn't want to accept it in front of all the others and let
his guard down. Instead he just gets maddened and worked up. The tension
and frustration between Jack and Ralph is raised close to the maximum.
Now caught in the storm on the beach the boys begin to move ”restlessly”but
“swaying” rhythmically; the boys just don't know which way to go and what
to do. Jack takes his chance, and attempts to show Ralph and everyone else
who really is leader. He leaps onto the sand commanding the others “Do
our dance! Come on! Dance!”. The boys follow and Jack can claim victory
over Ralph for leadership. Now the lightning is “flashing”, Golding has made
it bigger and more frequent, making the intensity of the atmosphere escalate
further.
Whilst Roger pretends to be the pig the boys take their weapons “ spears,
clubs of fire wood” and form two circles. “A circling movement developed
and chant”. The boys now enclose Roger and move together. The chanting,
“Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” begins as an exciting roar of
children but after a while “began to beat like a steady pulse”. Golding has
made a group of small boys seem like a threatening army and turned the
hunting of the pig from a survival necessity to a game or sport. In a matter of
sentences, Golding has taken us from a boyish fight, to a serious, extreme
situation where 12 year old boys are chanting to kill a beast with sharp
weapons. We quickly become very uncomfortable and distressed, thinking
about what will happen next, whether they will break off the chant into a fit of
laughter or more seriously and likely continue getting wrapped up in the
killing of an animal.
The simile “.... beat like a steady pulse” gives the impression that the boys
are now one thing, breathing together. Roger then stops and joins the others
completing the circle of boys but leaving an empty middle; “.... the centre of
the ring yawned emptily”. Golding has highlighted the fact of the empty
circle making it a focal point and clear to the reader that something is going to
happen there. All the boys are now together as one, chanting, breathing, and
moving. Golding seems to have made a beast of the boys. Even now
“blind” by the rain or perhaps even blind to moral reason, the children as one
organism have the “desire” to kill. It is strong “thick.... urgent”; these boys
can't be stopped. The storm has become so strong it has enveloped the
boys into a daze, letting them move freely, bounding together, giving them no
time to think before their actions.
A littleun breaks the biguns circle, ironically creating a horseshoe; horseshoes
are usually thought of as good luck however not so in this situation. “Him!
him!” the littleun could still be made out pointing or looking at something. At
this point the reader cannot be sure what this thing is, just that it came
“darkly, uncertainly” suggesting it to be sinister and evil in some way. The
boys repeat their chant “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”. It is
only when the horseshoe lets the “crawling thing” in that the reader finds out
that the “beast” is actually Simon, “Simon was crying out something about a
dead man on a hill”. He has returned from finding out the secret of the
original beast on the hill found by sameneric - that it is in fact a dead pilot.
As Simon is described as “crawling” you can imagine how the boys could
mistake him for a beast amidst the rain and wind blurring their vision, they
were confused by the excitement and commotion. Simon has also had a
couple of injuries such as a nose bleed and falling unconscious so he
wouldn't look particularly normal or what the boys were used to seeing.
Compared to them, excited and lively, Simon is bedraggled, he is looked
upon as an outsider. However we, the reader have it confirmed that it is in
fact Simon, so we feel powerless against the boys as we have no way of
telling them the truth. Golding has successfully made us feel helpless, and all
we can do is sit back and read, unable to stop the events unfolding. The
chant carries on with the monosyllabic words creating a steady pace making
the beat as if it was the beat of the organism's heart made by the boys. This
keeps the boys going together and as one, they can finally do something
together as a group, and they like the way it gives them so much power.
Without the continuous beat, the boys would break apart, they wouldn't feel
like a group and the dance wouldn't be a strong but with it they are the
dominant animal on the island, they are in control.
The “blue white scar” is now constant and unendurable, the boys have taken
enough; they turn against the beast now in the middle of the circle. Spears
are thrown and the circle “crunched” as if describing the beast bones being
broken down by the boys still as one organism. Still named the “beast” he
kneels down in the centre of the circle “arms folded over its face” in a very
vulnerable position. The reader feels shocked and horrified, sympathising
with Simon. The use of the different names for Simon is confusing, but
when Golding names Simon the “beast” whilst describing the boys actions
towards him, it lets the reader see how the boys perceived Simon at the time.
They had no idea it was Simon, the frenzy of the storm blinded them from
the truth. But when Golding uses his real name “Simon” when narrating the
story we can't understand why the boys are attacking him. By using different
names the reader gets to see both sides of it. When Golding uses pronouns
to describe Simon, it makes the reader feels as if he has no identity; he is just
an “it”, somehow being called that seems worse than called a “beast”
because at least a beast has characteristics. When Simon is described as “it”
after being killed it's as if the boys have stripped him of his dignity, character
and identity. However all this is restored to him when the body lays to rest
by the water.
The “abominable” noise was too much, Simon tried to cry out to them but
the boys wouldn't listen. Although we know that at this point in time the
boys can't see Simon for what he is, we still feel that they are heartless and
inhumane. He broke from the ring and fell off a rock onto the sand. The
circle had been broken, but the boys still “surged” after Simon as one, they
were savages moving as one, no individuals, nothing stopping them. It was
as if they were subconsciously letting out all of their anger and depression
over their time on the island on Simon. We are again powerless. The ring
has been broken, Simon is exposed but we are unable to protect him. The
boys poured down the rock, reflecting the speed of the rain and frenzy of the
situation, reminding the reader that they are not themselves but part of a
creature as if under a spell.
All civilised values are lost when the boys attack the beast, they “screamed,
struck, bit and tore”; all control was lost. Instead of Simon supposedly
being the beast the reader is now more drawn to thinking that the only sure
threat on the island is the boys themselves. The boys have become true
savages “tearing of teeth, and claws”. Golding has related them to animal
predators on the island. Making them seem even more barbaric in their
actions.
Then when the rain begins to fall “like a waterfall” Golding makes the reader
feel like everything is being washed away and cleansed; this simile brings us
hope. The heat of the situation is also quenched “like a cold shower” as if
everything is cooling down. It is only now that the “single organism” breaks.
The boys have realised what they've done and separate “figures staggered
away” it seems that if the boys were to have stayed together something
equally bad could have happened again. However the rain snaps them out of
the frenzy of the dance and chant and they become aware of what they have
done.
Throughout the passage of the dance Simon is known as many different
things, at first “the beast”, then “Simon” and now “it” as if to say that he has
lost his identity completely and it has been stripped from him. Throughout
the chapter not only has Simon's identity changed, the boys' has as well. At
first they are “the hunters” and then “boys” then they become the “single
organism”. However now after Simon's murder the group of boys are
described as “figures” breaking up, and then when fleeing from the air-borne
pilot as “boys”. They have now broken completely, there is no single
organism, they are back to individuals and back to thinking like individuals.
After both Simon and the pilot have come in contact with water, Simon being
washed by it and the pilot floating out to sea, the whole text afterwards has a
complete tonal shift. What was once a very chaotic, broken up fast flowing
piece of text is now relaxed and calming; “the rain ceased”, “clouds drifted”
and “the breeze died”. It is a direct contrast to the text of the dance; whereas
then there was the sound of the chanting and thunder it is now silent - “there
was no noise”. Golding has turned the whole situation around. You begin to
relax back into the book; the author has successfully made the reader feel
comfortable in a matter of sentences, in contrast to before the death when we
became increasingly agitated in the same amount of lines.
Although there is now a “pale beach” the “stains spread”, Simon's dead
body is very distinct against the white sand. Golding now makes Simon
seem quite innocent, whereas before everyone was against him and at the
beginning of the dance was seen to be quite sinister; now he is a very
vulnerable child “huddled” on the beach. Everything is now a complete
contrast to the dance scene, the way Simon has been perceived and the
whole ambiance of the situation. Now the sea is clear, illuminated with a
“streak of phosphorescence”. There is a much calmer image: “the tide....
smoothed everything with a layer of silver” as if the sea was making the rocks
better by coating them with a rich substance.
The style of Golding's writing has become very poetic and imaginative,
making odd words and phrases connect with each other and run smoothly.
Golding has turned a horrifying scene - the dead body of a young boy - into
something of a glorious ceremony describing the way his hair looked and his
shoulders in a most peculiarly elegant way: “the water.... dressed Simon's
coarse hair with brightness”, “his shoulder became sculptured marble”.
Everything is working together to dispose of Simon's body in a natural,
dignified way, “the strange attendant creatures busied themselves round his
head” almost as if they are trying to make Simon look presentable. It makes
you believe that perhaps Golding thought Simon had been through so much
he should be at least let go in an honourable way. You also feel that Golding
reminds the reader about the fact that Simon never really spoke and even
when he died all that happened was that a “bubble of air escaped from his
mouth”, perhaps making us think of all the other people in the real world who
die like that, without a last word. He also reminds the reader of the fact that
these boys are only children, putting in such phrases as “wet plop” whilst
describing the last bit of air passing out of Simon's mouth.
“The sun and moon were pulling” as if Golding was trying to get across the
fact that life goes on whatever happens, the sun will still rise and the moon
will set. When Simon's body is being carried away by the waters it is
referred to as "Simon's dead body”. We now know that he is truly dead and
he has finally got his identity back, he has his dignity along with his name; he
is no longer known as “the beast” or “it”, in which case the boys will
perhaps still believe that it is out there. “The dead body moved out towards
the open sea”. Although it is horrible to think of what happened to Simon,
the poetic text throughout the last few paragraphs of Chapter 9 makes you
almost forget why Simon is there, and instead believe that he died because
nature intended it. Golding has created a sense of serenity and peace about
him, he dies in nature and you think nothing more.
Chapter 9 is the most crucial part of “The Lord of the Flies”; it is the climax
of the book, which is mostly due to the description of the island. Golding's
simple techniques, for example his reference to the butterflies and energy of
the storm, cause such intense, heightened emotions that you know and sense
something irreversible is going to happen. The novel is similar to a roller
coaster. For the first few chapters you experience a few bumps and before
long you can feel yourself on a steady path upwards. Then at Chapter 9 with
the storm the ride becomes very steep and suddenly you come crashing
down at Simon's death. The ride comes to a halt. You are shocked and
disturbed by the murder but not surprised, as Golding has already created
the idea of something dark and devious in your mind. By the end of Chapter
9 the atmosphere is broken and a weight lifted, the boys realise their plunder
and most begin to return to their roots. Golding has created a pivot in the
book turning a climax of angst and torment into a peaceful death which
releases all the tension.