Huts on the Beach
English Lit: AQA GCSE Lord of the Flies, topic 2.3.1
Building Shelter
After making a sharpened stick to hunt with, Jack tries to find a pig to kill. He is determined that he can hunt and provide meat for the boys.
Hunting
- After making a sharpened stick to hunt with, Jack tries to find a pig to kill.
- We see the first hint of Jack losing his sense of humanity as he is “bent double”, has “his face a few inches away” from the ground, and moves in a “dog-like” way.
- Already, Jack’s determination to kill a pig has become an obsession.
- Jack hears a pig and throws his sharpened stick at it, but misses.
Building shelter
- Back on the beach, Ralph and Simon are trying to build shelters by putting leafy branches against tree trunks.
- Ralph becomes frustrated at how little progress they are making.
- He says the “littleuns” are useless and the older boys are just playing.
Play
- After Ralph points out the Jack’s hunters are just playing around, Jack says he allowed them to stop hunting.
- He thought that he could hunt alone and kill some pigs.
Determination
- Jack gets angry at Ralph after Ralph tells him to help them build shelters because his hunting has been useless.
- Jack is determined that he can hunt and provide meat for the boys.
- A “madness” comes into his eyes as his determination to kill grows.
Hunting or Hunted?
Ralph is irritated that Jack is becoming obsessed with the pigs. He wants them to focus on building shelters and creating a good signal fire.
Dark omens
- Simon tells them that the other boys are “frightened” that the island is bad.
- Ralph argues that the shelters are important because the boys are scared of the beast. The shelters will help to protect them.
Being hunted
- Jack admits that he feels a dark presence around him when he is hunting on his own – “you can feel as if you're not hunting, but-- being hunted”.
- Ralph doesn’t understand why Jack now thinks that there is a beast on the island.
- He tells Jack that his hunters need to keep the fire burning in case ships are passing.
Jack's obsession
- Showing how his obsession with killing is growing, Jack looks up the mountain and starts thinking about areas where the wild pigs might be resting in the daytime.
- Often, when Jack is thinking about killing pigs, he is described as looking mad...
The “opaque” look
- “He snatched up his spear and dashed it into the ground. The opaque, mad look came into his eyes again”.
- The “opaque” look could symbolise that his humanity and reasoning have been blocked by his obsession and insanity.
Ralph's irritation
- Ralph is irritated that Jack is becoming obsessed with the pigs.
- He wants them to focus on building shelters and creating a good signal fire.
Simon
- Simon wanders away from Ralph and Jack.
- He helps the smaller boys to gather fruit from the taller branches.
- Afterwards, Simon sits by himself in a clearing.
- He feels as if someone is watching him, so he hides behind some branches and listens to the sounds of nature.
Test yourself on Huts on the Beach
In Chapter 3, what do Ralph and Simon try to do on the beach?
Chapter 3: Building Shelters
Events of Chapter 3