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Unit 25: William Golding — Lord of the Flies: Detailed Study of Text-I

Monsters, violent squid, and ghosts: all three creatures represent different instantiations of the Notes
“beast” or “beastie” that has been the subject of the boys’ mounting fear. As the title suggests,
the beast is of crucial importance to this chapter and will figure largely in the tragic events
to come. On a symbolic level, the beast has several meanings. First, it invokes the devil, the
Satan of Judeo-Christian mythology, which foreshadows the “lord of the flies” object that will
become the mascot of Jack’s tribe later. The fear of the beast among the boys may symbolize
their fear of evil from an external, supernatural source. Second, it symbolizes the unknown,
amoral, dark forces of nature, which remain beyond the boys’ control. Finally, the beast may
allude to the Freudian concept of the Id, the instinctual, primordial drive that is present in the
human psyche and which, unfettered by social mores, tends towards savagery and destruction.
In this framework, the boys’ fear of the beast is a displacement of a fear of themselves, of their
capacity for violence and evil which is unleashed in the absence of adult authority and ordered
social life.
With the anarchy incited by Jack and the panic among the littluns, only the illusion of civilization
is left on the island. Percival’s tearful repetition of his home address is a stark reminder that
the boys no longer reside in civilized culture and that the Home Counties remain little more
than a pleasant memory. As Ralph, Piggy, and Simon muse on adulthood, we recall that adult
society should be sufficiently rational and organized to solve the problems that the children
face on the island, though we wonder how well a similar group of adults would do.

Chapter Six: Beast from Air

Later that night, Ralph and Simon pick up Percival and carry him into a shelter. Overhead,
beyond the horizon, there is an aerial battle while the boys sleep. They do not hear the
explosions in the sky, nor do they see a pilot drop from a parachute, sweeping across the reef
toward the mountain. Unbeknownst to the boys, the dead pilot lands on the mountaintop, his
flapping chute throwing strange shadows across the ground, with his head appearing to float
in the wind.

Early the next morning, there are noises from a rock falling down the side of the mountain.
The twins Samneric, the two boys on duty at the fire, awake and add kindling to the fire. Just
then they spot the dead pilot at the top of the mountain and are immobilized by fear. Eventually,
they scramble down the mountain to wake Ralph. Samneric claim that they saw the beast.
Ralph calls a meeting, and the group assembles again at the beach. Eric announces to the other
boys that he and Sam saw the beast. He describes it as having teeth and claws and states that
it followed them as they ran away.
Jack calls for a hunt, but Piggy says that they should stay there, for the beast may not want
to approach them on the beach. In response to Jack’s belligerence, Piggy points out that only
he has the right to speak because he is holding the conch. Jack responds that they no longer
need the conch. Ralph becomes exasperated at Jack, accusing him of not wanting to be rescued,
and Jack takes a swing at him. Despite Jack’s hostility towards Ralph and the rules of the
island, Ralph not only allows Jack to lead the hunt but also decides that he will accompany
the hunters to search for the beast.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
6. Ralph decides to call a meeting near the ......... .
7. Ralph goes to the beach because he needs a place to think and feel overcome with ......... .
8. ......... highlights Ralph’s essentially responsible, adult nature.

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