Re-Read the Beginning of the Novel to P

Lord of the Flies Text analysis Model Answer

Re-read the beginning of the novel to p.13 “What’s your name?” How does this opening prepare the reader for the rest of the novel? Support your ideas with details from the writing.

This is an extract taken from the novel Lord of the Flies written in 1954 by the British writer William Golding. The novel is set in the twentieth century and tells the story of a group of boys aged between five and twelve stranded on a desert island after an aeroplane crash. The story describes the change from civilised order to savage disorder and gives us great insight into the problems that may arise due to conflictual leadership and a lack of rules. This extract is actually the opening of the novel where we are first introduced to two of the main characters, Piggy and Ralph. We are also told a little about the setting of the island and introduced to some of the major themes of the novel.

The characters Piggy and Ralph are the first boys to discover each other’s presence on the island. We do not learn the name of ‘the boy with fair hair’ until the end of this extract and they are at first referred to as ‘the fair boy’ and ‘the fat boy’ and simply with reference to voice. This use of description as opposed to names adds suspense and makes the reader want to read on and discover who these characters are. Ralph appears to be at ease with his body as he ‘clamber[s] heavily among the creepers’, ‘lower[s]himself down’ and begins to ‘pick his way’ towards the lagoon. He is moving around like a young boy might do in any situation and when he ‘jerk[s]his stockings with an automatic gesture’ we see that the island has not yet had an adverse effect on his usual behaviour. He is, however, clearly affected by the oppressive heat as ‘his hair was plastered to his head’ Here, a hyperbole describes how his hair is so wet it is stuck to his head, rather like paint to a wall.

Whereas Ralph seems to be more confident and at ease with his body, Piggy’s first words tell us he ‘got caught up’ which suggest he is having more difficulty moving around.He is dressed in a ‘greasy wind-breaker’ and the use of this rather unusual adjective to describe his coat gives us quite a negative impression of Piggy from the start. His knees are described as ‘plump’and although this is a rather more gentle way of describing his opulent figure, it is followed by the harsh observation ‘he was shorter than the fair boy and very fat’.The reference to his ‘thick spectacles’ foreshadows later events involving Piggy’s glasses and the ideas they symbolise.

Piggy’s use of language and in particular his grammatical errors informs us of his working class origins and this can be seen in statements such as ‘all them other kids’ and ‘we was attacked’ where mistakes in verb conjugaisons and pronouns distinguish him from the other characters we meet later in the novel. He does however show signs of careful thought and judgement as he considers how they got there and he provides us with key information as to how the boys ended up on the island. The use of alliteration in the simple question ‘where’s the man with the megaphone?’ makes the reader question the identity of this man and what he was doing with a megaphone.

As far as the setting is concerned, there are many words linked to the description of the island, for example, rock,lagoon, reef, jungle, creepers,tree trunks. These nouns help us to imagine what kind of island they have landed on. It is clearly very warm as the atmosphere is described using the metaphor a ‘bath of heat’ which evokes the idea of the air being somewhat suffocating. The creepers make it difficult to move around and Piggy has been 2 badly scratched by thorns in the undergrowth, evoking a wild, savage environment which symbolises the boys subsequent behaviour. The vibrant colours of red and yellow are used to describe the bird which has a ‘witch-like cry’ and this implies that the atmosphere is tropical and adds to the rather eerie atmosphere.

Piggy and Ralph’s first meeting marks the beginning of a fairly tumultuous relationship where, throughout the novel, Ralph discovers that although Piggy is irritating he does tend to have sensible ideas. He clearly does not need Piggy at the beginning of the novel as he says ‘He tried to be offhand and not too obviously uninterested...’ The development of their relationship is a key theme of the novel and is responsible for Ralph’s evolving character. Another key theme is alluded to in Piggy’s innocent question ‘Aren’t there any grown-ups at all?’. At this stage in the novel this is not yet a problem, however, we will soon witness how young boys behave without the threat of discipline enforced by figures of authority, namely adults.

To sum up, this extract is a particularly effective opening to the novel as suspense is created through the description of character, setting and themes. As readers, we want to discover more about ‘plump’ Piggy and ‘fair-haired’ Ralph and see how their relationship will develop. Moreover,the description of setting helps us to imagine the situation the boys find themselves in. The use of dialogue is clearly going to play a key role in our understanding of character and as the extract ends with us discovering that one of the boy’s names is in fact Ralph, we want to read on and discover more about the other.

900 words

1. Read the model answer and using different colours highlight the following: a) Reference to language techniques b) Linkwords c) 3 examples of PQC( write P-Q-C in the margin)

2. What do you notice about the use of quotations? What does the use of [ ] mean? ...... 3. Write a short plan that the writer of this commentary would have used. Think of a short heading for each paragraph.

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