The Main Events in William Golding's Lord of The Flies

The Main Events in William Golding's Lord of The Flies

There are three events that stand out in the last three chapters of

the book. I have chosen the fight between Jack's tribe and Ralph's

group that results in the loss of Piggy's glasses, Piggy's death and

the sailor finding them all at the end. I have chosen these because

they stick out from their chapters and have a something special about

each one.

In the chapter "The Shell and The Glasses", Ralph and Piggy are trying

to come to terms with Simon's death. During the night, they are in one

of the huts when a voice is heard from heard form outside. It is

asking for Piggy, and they assume it's the beast. Piggy starts having

an asthma attack (I assume this because it says "he had his asthma")

and Ralph moves away, only to be ambushed in the dark.

They attacking group are described as animals, with a "vicious snarl"

and the "thump of living things". The Tribe have left humanity behind

for this sequence, reverting to brute force in order to get what they

need. I like the way a fist is described as a "piston", further

showing their slow loss of humanness, becoming robot-like in their

actions. Ralph becomes increasingly aggressive, pounding someone's

mouth with "passionate hysteria". This hysteria has been seen before,

when they are all dancing on the beach. He joins in with the madness

then, and he is now madly punching in the same way.However, the

attackers overcome him with the shelter collapsing with "smothering

finality" and the fight is over. The whole scene is described vividly,

and very believably with Ralph's emotions overpowering him.

Next in the chapter "Castle Rock", we see the destruction of the conch

and the death of Piggy. In the middle of a passionate argument, Roger

is left with the decision of whether or not to drop the rock. Roger is

high above the rest, and impulsive. "With a sense of delirious

abandonment" he throws away his western morals and drops the rock.