All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat

The all-consuming nature of human destruction is emphasised by the

image

of the scar being ‘long’ and ‘all round him’ – there is no escaping the devastation.

The

sibilance of ‘scar smashed’ is almost onomatopoeic – the reader can hear the sounds of the violent crash, with the metaphor ‘scar’ alluding to the wounds mankind inflicts upon nature.

A sense of being overwhelmed and oppressed are evident from the beginning of the novel. ‘Jungle’ has associations with future savagery, but also a sense of being trapped in an overgrown environment. The pathetic fallacy of ‘bath of heat’ creates a sense of being submerged in something overwhelming. Slide2

Jack held out his hands for the conch and stood up, holding the delicate thing carefully in his sooty hands. ‘I agree with Ralph, We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English.

The conch is described as a ‘delicate thing’,

symbolically

referencing the fragility of order and civilisation. It is

juxtaposed with Jack’s ‘sooty hands’, an image of the corrupt darkness that begins to develop in the novel.

Jack contrasts ‘savages’ (seen as strange, foreign people who lack ‘rules’) with being ‘English’, yet the

irony is the children are only on the island due to the savage effects of the war the English were engaged in. Slide3

Except for a pair of tattered shorts held up by his knife-belt he was naked. He closed his eyes, raised his head and breathed in gently with flared nostrils.

Clothes, particularly school uniform, represent

civilisation and order – Jack’s shorts are ‘tattered’, a clear indication the rules of school are disappearing.

Jack is ‘naked’ – this is not the innocent nakedness of Ralph in the first chapter, but a more sinister disregard for ‘English’ behaviour. His shorts are held up by a belt – the inclusion of ‘knife’ suggests the belt is not part of a uniform anymore , but a tool to help him with his violent , destructive hunting.

‘

Flared nostrils’ develops an image

of Jack as an animal, not a boy. Slide4

‘Flowers and fruit grew together on the same tree and everywhere was the scent of ripeness and the booming of a million bees at pasture.’

Images

of nature working in harmony, suggesting it is the boys who cause the descent into savagery, not their environment.

Alliteration

creates a tone of pleasant unity.

‘grew together’ suggests working as one leads to growth,

symbolic

of Simon handing

littluns fruit so all are fed.

Associations of hard work and living closely together. A symbol of how the boys should live – one leader, with everyone else working together for the good of the community. Slide5

Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger’s arm was conditioned by a civilisation that knew nothing of him and was in ruins.

The

verb

‘conditioned’ suggests man is not instinctively wholesome and good – we have to be ‘conditioned’ to behave correctly.

Polysyndeton highlights the work required to civilise mankind. We are taught morally (‘parents’), educationally (‘school’) and legally (‘policemen’ / ‘the law’)

Civilisation soon fades away. Whilst it is ‘strong’, it is ‘invisible’ and therefore easy to reject. ‘Old’ suggests a new way of life is coming; it is only ‘Roger’s arm’ that is conditioned, not his mind’ and the adult world is ‘in ruins’.Slide6

The hunters, circling still, pretended to beat him. As they danced, they sang “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.” Ralph watched them, envious and resentful.

‘Pretended’ has associations of youthful imagination and childish games, but is

juxtaposed

with ‘beat him’, depicting a move from innocence to violence.

‘Envious and resentful’ highlights the appeal of the chant – whilst Ralph is ‘resentful’, he is still drawn to the excitement of their tribal behaviour.

It is important to track changes to the ‘Kill’ chants. ‘Kill’ and ‘cut’ are harsh, violent and aggressive verbs, but also necessary for a hunt. However, the earlier ‘spill her blood’, whilst still violent, now becomes ‘bash her in’, a

destructive image of bludgeoning that serves no purpose except a desire for violence. Slide7

Or putting into words

“What I mean is … maybe it’s only us.” … Simon went on. “We could be sort of …” Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness. Inspiration came to him. “What’s the dirtiest thing there is?”

The inclusion of ‘only’ before ‘us’ underestimates the level of evil humans inflict. He articulates it as the ‘dirtiest thing’, with ‘dirtiest’ not even close to describing the horrific actions of the boys throughout the novel.

‘Inarticulate’ and ‘express’ highlight the difficulty of comprehending or putting into words the potential for evil within mankind.

‘Mankind’s essential illness’ is a terrifying concept. ‘Mankind’s stresses we are all inflicted by this disease and we cannot escape it - it is ‘essential’, a fundamental part of who we are. Slide8

A sign came down from the world of grown-ups… there was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars. There was a speck above the island, a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute, a figure that hung with dangling limbs.

‘The world of grown-ups’ is meant to be safe and secure. Instead the violence of ‘explosion’, rather than bringing safety creates nothing but ‘darkness’.

The ‘sign’ is clear; human life is insignificant. The pilot is just a ‘speck’ and ‘figure’ with no identity. Just like Piggy, no one knows his name , he is killed in conflict and is washed out to sea. The boys simply copy this adult world.

The fragility of human life is emphasised by the

adjective ‘dangling’. Slide9

A beast with claws that scratched, that sat on a mountain-top, that left no tracks and yet was not fast enough to catch

Samneric

. However Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick.

‘Claws’, ‘tracks’ and ‘mountain-top’ link with fiction and mythical tales. The beast they create is like a traditional fantasy story, highlighting their innocence.

It is Simon’s ‘inward sight’ that allows him to see the truth’ it is ironic he is killed by boys who are blinded by a frenzied tribal dance in the dark.

The

juxtaposition of ‘heroic’, suggesting brave and courageous, and ‘sick’, suggesting ill and depraved, highlights the conflict within mankind’s behaviour. Is the death and destruction of the war they fled ‘heroic’ or ‘sick’? Slide10

Something like a great ape was sitting asleep with its head between its knees. Then the wind roared in the forest, there was confusion in the darkness and the creature lifted its head, holding toward them the ruin of a face.

The

simile

‘like a great ape’ makes the link between man and animal clear –we have not evolved beyond the animalistic savagery of beast. Humans are nothing more than a ‘creature’, suggesting a lack of evolution.

The once harmonious island now attacks the boys. Personification of the wind that ‘roared’ suggests the anger of the island at human behaviour, and ‘confusion’ and ‘darkness’ show this former paradise is now a hellish place.

‘The ruin of a face’ is an horrific

image of violence and destruction. Slide11

He was safe from shame or self-consciousness behind the mask of his paint and could look at each of them in turn. Ralph was kneeling by the remains of the fire like a sprinter at his mark and his face was half-hidden by hair and smut.

The contrast between Jack and Ralph is clear. Jack’s ‘mask’ and ‘paint’ have associations of savagery, whereas Ralph remains a heroic, athletic ‘sprinter’.

Ralph clings to his identity and civilisation. His face is only ‘half-hidden’, and it is with ‘hair’ and ‘smut’(dirt); he only needs to wash to regain his innocence.

Jack’s mask is almost an excuse for his behaviour; ‘shame’ and ‘self-consciousness’ are human traits that tell us when we are wrong – Jack’s mask makes him ‘safe’ from them, as if he now has no moral judgement. Slide12

Over the island the build-up of clouds continued. A steady current of heated air rose all day from the mountain and was thrust to ten thousand feet; revolving masses of gas piled up the static until the air was ready to explode.

‘Build-up’ and ‘piled up’ mimics the tension on the island. The

alliteration

of ‘clouds continued’ and use of ‘steady’ suggests an unstoppable build up.

‘Clouds’ and ‘revolving masses of gas’ are both

images

of the island becoming trapped and enclosed by violent destructive forces.The language of confrontation foreshadows clashes between Ralph, Piggy and the hunters – ‘heated’ and ‘explode’ reference the hunt of Ralph, Piggy’s head on the rock and the end of the conch, with ‘thrust’ linking to Simon’s death. Slide13

At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.

The

noun ‘crowd’ suggests the boys are no longer individuals responsible for their own behaviour – they are a collective a pack of animals driven by instinct.

The imagery

is animalistic – ‘bit, tore’, ‘teeth and claws’ gives no suggestion of humanity. The associations are predatory, of savage animals ripping apart prey.

Repeated use of commas and sibilance in ‘screamed, struck, bit ,tore’ creates a frenzy, mimicking the wildness with which Simon is torn apart. Slide14

He began to pound the mouth below him, using his clenched fist as a hammer; he hit with more and more passionate hysteria as the face became slippery. A knee jerked up between his legs and he fell sideways.

Ralph’s victim, Jack, is dehumanised – he is simply ‘the mouth’, ‘the face’ and ‘a knee’. Ralph does not see a boy, but simply something that must be attacked.

This is not a playground fight but a frenzied destruction;

images

of a schoolboy fight (‘clenched fist’ and ‘hit) are juxtaposed with the imagery of a weapon (‘a hammer’). The savage ‘pound’ and ‘passionate hysteria’ are developed with the

phrase ‘more and more’ Slide15

He put the conch to his lips and began to blow. Savages appeared, painted out of recognition, edging round the ledge toward the neck. They carried spears and disposed themselves to defend the entrance.

It is important to track the boys throughout the novel. They were originally formal, educated and sophisticate (‘the Choir’), but are now purely primitive and animalistic (‘savages’)

The boys are unrecognisable. ‘Painted’ references tribal behaviour, and ‘out of recognition’ suggests human identity or individuality has disappeared.

The civilisation of ‘the conch’ is

juxtaposed

with the far more powerful ‘spears’ – rather than an assembly and coming together, we see a need to ‘’defend’ and keep people out. Slide16

The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to

knee.

The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist… His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed.

The pure ‘white’ conch is destroyed. Exploded into a ‘thousand fragments’ and ‘ceased to exist’ shows once evil triumphs, there can be no return to order.

The contrast of a huge, powerful ‘rock’, symbolising

violence, against a fragile ‘conch’, symbolising civilisation, suggests evil will always defeat good.

The insignificance of mankind is clear. Piggy’s brains, symbolic of his intelligence, are dismissed as ‘stuff’, his body simply ‘twitched a bit’ and the

image of Piggy as ‘like a pig’ shows the worthless nature of human life. Slide17

He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet, rushing through the forest toward the open beach … Below him someone's legs were getting tired.

All human identity has gone. Physical feelings of pain (‘wounds’, ‘hunger’, ‘thirst’) no longer matter as Ralph ‘became fear’. The boys are the

personified

‘beast’ and Ralph is personified

‘fear’ – all positive emotions are destroyed.

Ralph is ‘hopeless’ and the alliteration of the rapid ‘f’ sound mimics the terror and irresistible force of his fear. Ralph is like the hunted pig in earlier chapters.

Fear is so overwhelming Ralph cannot recognise himself anymore – he knows ‘someone’s legs were getting tired’, but has no comprehension they are his.