During chapter four, Golding shows that it’s not only Piggy that Jack hates, but Ralph too, ‘splashing and laughing are just about enough to bring them back together again.’ At the start of the book it seems a happy adventure as all the boys do get along and listen to Ralph’s rules but things start to change as Jack realises there’s no point in listening to Ralph as he wanted to be leader all along.
As Ralph is leader and made rules for the other boys, calling an assembly, this shows the maturity in the book and his adult characteristics. He seemed to handle things well but then knew he could not think as well as Piggy. Jack shows the immaturity on the island as he treats everything as a game. When the boys had been showing a role-play of their hunt and Robert was the ‘pig’, Jack had become quite aggressive hurting Roger, but afterwards all he said was, ‘That was a good game.’ And when he left the others he said, ‘I don’t want to play with Ralph’s’ lot anymore.’
When Jack first entered the island he was a fair skinned boy who attended the choir and was thought of as a leader, so he didn’t take it well when Ralph was chosen as leader instead of him. So to make things even he was made leader of the ‘hunters’. At first Jack ‘grimaced distastefully at the touch of blood’. This then changed and he had ‘a sharpened stick at one end…tattered shorts held up by a knife belt’. Does this show an innocent choirboy from an adventure story?
Simon was Golding’s way of expressing nature in the novel and when the ‘boys’ killed Simon, they did not as they thought kill the beast but they let the beast out and killed hope and peace. Piggy and Simon were the means of civilisation. Piggy was the only one besides Ralph who stood up to Jack and he was the one who always remembered rescue, hope, signal fire and innocence. When the ‘savages’ took away Piggy’s glasses they also took away civilisation and soon after that they took away his life.
Adventure stories always end with a happy ending so how could Lord of the Flies be an adventure story? Unless Ralph is being hunted down is happy. I suppose in away it is happy because Ralph received what he had wanted from the moment they set foot on the island; rescue. The ending was ironic as all the way through Ralph had wanted his fire and depended on signal and Jack had been the same about hunting. They both got what they wanted as they were rescued by Jack hunting down Ralph with a fire.
Putting all my points together I have come to the conclusion that The Lord of the Flies novel is surely an adventure but not the simple, innocent little boy type as it involves hunting, death, fighting and conflict. It shows the break up of society, lack of civilisation, evil and sin. But on the other hand it shows sunlight, fun, games, nature, happiness and laughter. Although the simple adventure part of this novel would show little boys stuck on an island having fun and trying to be rescued and would not add in the death and arguments.
