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Unit 26: William Golding — Lord of the Flies: Detailed Study of Text-II

When Ralph and Piggy arrive at Jack’s camp, they find the other boys sitting in a group Notes
together, laughing and eating the roasted sow. Jack, now a leader, sits on a great log, painted
and garlanded as an idol. When he sees Ralph and Piggy, he orders the other boys to give
them something to eat, then orders another boy to bring him a drink. Jack asks all of the boys
who among them will join his tribe, for he gave them food and demonstrated that his hunters
will protect them. Ralph is distressed to see most of them agree to join Jack’s tribe. Attempting
to convince his boys otherwise, Ralph provokes yet another argument with Jack, and the two
yell at each other about who deserves to be chief. Feeling that he is losing ground, Ralph
appeals to his symbol of authority, the conch shell. Jack, however, does not acknowledge the
conch’s significance and tells Ralph that it does not count on his side of the island.
Disturbed by the hostile turn of events, Piggy urges Ralph to leave Jack’s camp before there
is serious trouble. It starts to rain. Ralph warns the group that a storm is coming and points
out that Jack’s tribe is unprepared for such disasters, since they do not even have any shelters.
The littluns become frightened, and Jack tries to reassure them by ordering his group to
perform its ritual pig hunting dance. The boys begin dancing and chanting wildly, and they
are soon consumed by frenzy. The storm begins, and a figure emerges suddenly from the
forest. It is Simon, running to tell the others about the dead parachutist. Caught up in the
madness of the dance, however, they do not recognize him. As Simon cries out about the dead
body on the mountain, the boys rush after him with violent malice. They fall on Simon,
striking him repeatedly until he is dead.

Task What are the reasons the other boys go to Jack’s party?

Meanwhile, on the mountain, the storm intensifies and spreads across the island. The boys run
to the shelters, seeking safety from the increasingly violent wind and rain. The strong winds
lift the parachute and the body attached to it and blows it across the island and into the sea,
a sight which again terrifies the boys, who still mistake the body for a beast. At the same time,
the strong tide, propelled by wind, washes over Simon’s body and carries it out to sea, where
a school of glowing fish surrounds it.

Analysis

In this particularly significant chapter, Ralph finally loses his leadership over the other boys,
who succumb to Jack’s increasing charisma and the opportunity he gives them to indulge their
violent and childish interests. Golding underscores the tragedy of this shift in power with the
violent storm that ravages the island, a storm for which the shortsighted Jack was not prepared.
Just when Ralph’s calm judgment and practicality is most needed, he lacks the authority to
bring the boys to safety. The storm on the island serves as a reminder of the perils they face;
while Ralph has built shelters for the boys and is prepared for this situation, Jack has focused
simply on hunting and entertaining the boys, to their detriment. Golding again directs the
reader’s sympathy towards Ralph, whose concern remains for the good of the group.

Jack’s authority over the other boys becomes increasingly disturbing and dangerous in this
chapter. When Ralph finds Jack, he is painted and garlanded, sitting on a log like an idol. This
distinctly pagan image is at odds with the ordered society from which Jack came and is the
final manifestation of his rejection of civilization. We may note again the presence of chanting
and dancing among the boys in his group and recall that, prior to their arrival on the island,
Jack and his boys were members of a choir. Traditionally, boys’ choirs sang Christian religious
songs and hymns. Jack and his tribesmen still sing, but they sing chants that strongly evoke

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