What does chapter one of "The Spire" reveal about Jocelin and his attitude to other people? How does Golding's language reveal the extent to which he deceives himself?

Authors Avatar

What does chapter one of “The Spire” reveal about Jocelin and his attitude to other people? How does Golding’s language reveal the extent to which he deceives himself?

The first chapter of William Golding’s novel “The Spire” reveals much about Jocelin’s attitude to the people around him and also the contrary view that others hold about it. The language Golding uses highlights Jocelin’s delusions and shows the reader just how much he deceives himself.

Throughout the first chapter we are introduced to many of the people that Jocelin encounters on a daily basis.  One of the first characters to appear is Goody Pangall, who Jocelin views as his ‘daughter in God’.  This phrase shows how much Jocelin admires Goody and, at first, appears to simply demonstrate more of Jocelin’s loving nature.  However, after reading the following paragraph where he watches her walking away from him ‘with love and a little disappointment’, it becomes clear that the sentence holds more meaning than just showing his fondness.  It shows up Jocelin’s somewhat obsessive character, suggesting he views Goody as being flawless and that he has idealised her to the point where he can imagine her as God’s daughter. As Jocelin thinks ‘my daughter’ it becomes apparent that he has deceived himself into thinking that he loves Goody as if she were just his daughter but Golding makes it clear to the reader that this is not true.  As the paragraph continues it is revealed just how much Jocelin is infatuated with Goody for example, when she does not follow the same routine as usual, he has to ‘glimpse the long, sweet face’ as she turns away from him.  Golding’s use of the word ‘glimpse’ suggests that Jocelin is purposely looking out for her ‘sweet face’.  Golding repeats this word later in the paragraph ‘got a glimpse of green dress’, this too implies that Jocelin is trying to see more of Goody.  The fact that Golding has given Goody Pangall a ‘green dress’ under her ‘grey cloak’ and ‘wimple’ makes her more of a distraction for Jocelin and it give the impression that he waits each day to catch a ‘glimpse’ of her exotic, colourful interior under her seemingly plain, dull exterior.  It also shows the reader that Jocelin is looking at Goody with a masculine gaze, trying to see her passionate side instead of the pure and obliging woman that she must present to society.

Join now!

During the first chapter Goody Pangall is only referred to as ‘Pangall’s wife’.  Withholding her name allows Golding to deny Goody her own identity and personality, turning her into a possession rather than an individual person.  As Jocelin thinks of her as ‘Pangall’s wife’ it may be that he is trying to remind himself that she is married and the fact Jocelin feels the need to remind himself that she is married and that he cannot have her shows that he does not love her solely as a ‘daughter’.

A reason the Jocelin is so attracted to Goody ...

This is a preview of the whole essay