Lord Of The Flies Narrative

The first of these devices is the candle buds. It is significant that Simon speaks first about the bushes as he is the one out of the three who most appreciates nature. Golding has him mention the candle buds in three short consecutive sentences before any of the others say anything. Golding uses the number three numerous times in this scene, both in the language and for actual things in the play such as the fact that there are three boys. Jack’s response to the candle buds is much more aggressive as he “slashes” at them without saying anything first.

Slashes” paired with the “spilled” scent, provokes violent imagery in the readers mind and could be used by Golding to be foreshadowing later uses of the knife for more deadly purposes. Ralph has a much more practical approach to the buds, weighing up their usefulness before deciding they have no further applications. Ralph is portrayed as being very sensible in the scene, he is thinking about long term requirements while Jack “contemptuously” dismisses the buds, only caring about his appetite, “we can’t eat them”.

The main focus of the scene is the piglet caught in the creepers, and what effect it has on the boys. Immediately after encountering the piglet, Jack is keen to show off his experience and draws his knife “with a flourish”, demonstrating his skill and showing off to the others. However Golding has Jack pause before striking the pig and emphasises the importance of the pause to a great extent. He uses repeats the word ‘pause’ several times, building up the tension as the reader waits for Jack to stab the pig. However Jack cannot bring himself to kill the pig before it escapes his grasp.

Jack obviously is having trouble breaking free from the taboos of Western civilisation and cannot cross the line between civilisation and savagery. His “white” face portrays him as weak and innocent even though he is ashamed to have not killed the pig. However Jack, desperate to prove he is worthy of being leader, doesn’t want to show he is weak and his ego compels him to try and convince the others that he is strong. Golding emphasises the “enormity” of the knife and how monumental an event it would have been if Jack had “cut into living flesh”.

It would break the taboos which currently confine the boys and is often considered the act which signifies the transition from childhood to adulthood. “Next time-! ” While Jack doesn’t finish, the sentence with words, he instead uses the all important knife by “snatching” it from its sheath and “slamming” it into a tree. Golding’s use of language makes this gesture very dramatic, before returning the boys into the sunlight, where all is good. Neither Simon nor Ralph is significantly featured in this second part of the scene which allows the reader to more closely focus on the advancement of Jack’s character.