2.4.1
Painted Faces & Long Hair
Roger and the Littleuns
Roger and the Littleuns
Roger is highlighted as a nasty, malicious character. He and Maurice needlessly destroy a sandcastle the littleuns are building.
Mirages
Mirages
- Mornings are cool, but afternoons are incredibly hot.
- The boys have settled into life on the island, although they are still troubled by images on the water.
- Piggy says that these are just mirages and dismisses them.
The “beastie”
The “beastie”
- At nighttime, the boys are frightened once more.
- The littleuns, in particular, suffer from horrible dreams.
- They fear that the “beastie” hunts in the darkness.
The sandcastle
The sandcastle
- Two of the older boys (Maurice and Roger) needlessly destroy a sandcastle the littleuns are building.
- Roger then hides behind a palm tree and starts throwing rocks towards one of the littleuns.
- At this point, he doesn’t actually aim at the boy, but keeps throwing the stones near to him.
Roger
Roger
- Roger is immediately highlighted as a nasty, malicious character.
- Although he is still somewhat civilised at this point, the beginnings of his violent, careless behaviour here could foreshadow his actions later in the story.
- He brutally murders Piggy in cold blood.
Jack's plan
Jack's plan
- Jack is still obsessed with the idea of killing a pig.
- He calls Roger to him and excitedly explains that he has a plan. He has figured out a way to kill a pig.
- Jack covers his face with charcoal and clay to camouflage himself ("For hunting. Like in the war.”).
- Then he, and some of the other boys, go into the jungle to hunt pigs.
A Ship on the Horizon
A Ship on the Horizon
Ralph and Piggy see a ship on the horizon but Jack and the other hunters have let the signal fire go out. Jack and Ralph clash over this even though Jack has managed to kill a pig.
A ship
A ship
- Back on the beach, Ralph and Piggy see a ship on the horizon.
- Ralph says that someone on the ship will see their signal fire on the top of the mountain because Jack and his hunters have been maintaining it.
- Piggy looks up the mountain and tells Ralph that there is no smoke coming from their signal fire.
The fire
The fire
- Ralph, Simon, Maurice and Piggy race up to the mountain top but discover that the flame has gone out completely.
- Ralph is furious with Jack and the hunters.
- It was their responsibility to keep the fire going, and now the ship has left because their signal died.
Loss of humanity
Loss of humanity
- Jack and the hunters return from the jungle, carrying a dead pig and chanting a strange song:
- “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.”
- This strange chanting signals the boys starting to lose their humanity and civilised behaviour.
Blood lust
Blood lust
- The boys are focused on the thrill of the violence.
- The repeated use of imperative verbs (“kill”, “cut”, “spill”) also shows their impatience and blood lust.
Jack and Ralph clash
Jack and Ralph clash
- Jack and the hunters are excited about having killed a pig.
- Jack brags about being the one to slit the pig’s throat but Ralph interrupts his bragging with: “You let the fire go out.”
- This interaction shows a big clash between Jack and Ralph.
- They are both vying for the role of chief (leader) of the island but they each have different priorities and disagree with the other’s ideas.
Eating the Pig
Eating the Pig
The relationship between Ralph and Jack continues to be strained. Jack is even meaner to Piggy, breaking his glasses and refusing to let him have any of the pig meat.
Disagreement
Disagreement
- Jack is “irritated” by Ralph spoiling his excitement over his hunt.
- Jack protests that he needed the boys to hunt the pig and that the fire hadn’t been out for very long.
- Ralph tells Jack that there had been a ship but that their signal fire had died so the ship had gone.
- Ralph says that Jack had gone against the wishes of their leader (him).
- He had told them to build the shelters first before they went hunting.
Piggy's glasses
Piggy's glasses
- Piggy yells loudly about how immature the hunters are.
- Jack slaps him in the head, sending his glasses flying and breaking one of the lenses.
- Simon retrieves the glasses and hands them back to Piggy.
- Now that one of the lenses is missing, Piggy can only see with one eye.
- Jack laughs at Piggy and the other boys join in, including Ralph (although Ralph tells Jack that his treatment of Piggy was mean).
Apologies
Apologies
- Jack eventually apologises to Ralph for letting the fire go out.
- Jack never apologises to Piggy.
- Ralph tells Jack to re-light the fire.
- Jack struggles to light the fire – he can’t do it.
A new fire
A new fire
- Ralph uses Piggy’s glasses to light a new fire.
- Ralph orders the boys to build a new fire and they do it, showing how much power he has as chief.
- Jack, however, “was powerless and raged without knowing why”.
- Jack begins to feel resentful towards Ralph.
- The relationship between Ralph and Jack has changed. Ralph is now working with Piggy.
Sharing the pig
Sharing the pig
- The boys put pig meat on sticks and cook it.
- Piggy is the only one who is not given any meat.
- Jack says that Piggy did not hunt but Ralph and Simon did not hunt either but are allowed to eat some of the meat.
- Simon hands Piggy some of his own meat.
Reenacting the hunt
Reenacting the hunt
- The hunters sing and dance around the fire, and begin to re-enact their hunt.
- One of the boys pretends to be the pig and the hunters sing and dance around him, chanting again: “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.”
- Ralph calls a meeting and walks down to the beach on his own.
1Context
2Story Analysis
2.2Chapter 2
2.3Chapter 3
2.4Chapter 4
2.6Chapter 6
2.7Chapter 7
2.9Chapter 9
2.10Chapter 10
2.11Chapter 11
2.12Chapter 12
3Key Characters
4Key Concepts
5Writing Techniques
Jump to other topics
1Context
2Story Analysis
2.2Chapter 2
2.3Chapter 3
2.4Chapter 4
2.6Chapter 6
2.7Chapter 7
2.9Chapter 9
2.10Chapter 10
2.11Chapter 11
2.12Chapter 12
3Key Characters
4Key Concepts
5Writing Techniques
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered