Thursday, January 10, 2008

Significant Quotes in Chapters 4-6

Pg. 75
"'Fear can't hurt you any more than a dream. There aren't any beasts to be afraid of on this island....Serve you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies!'"
The extract above is not as significant as the rest and does not deal with the beast, however, I decided to add it since I thought it would be nice to point out come of Jack’s insensitivity and his coldness that become ever more intense after donning his painted tribal mask. His harsh comments also lead to other incidents later on that effect the rest of the boys and society on the island.

(P. 75)Ralph made a step forward and smacked Piggy's head. Piggy's glasses flew and tinkled on the rocks. Piggy cried in terror:"My specs!"..."One sides broken"'
Piggy has just lost one side of his specs that have been the symbol of intellect in the group. The specs’ symbolism is clear from the start of the novel when they are used focus the sunlight and start a fire. Therefore, these glasses also led to the unity of the boys and their civilization, however, when one side is broken everything starts to disintegrate and savagery starts to take over the group. The boys are rapidly turning savage at this point and this is seen in their violent instincts.


Pg. 76
'Life...is scientific....I know there isn't no beast...but I know there isn't no fear, either....Unless we get frightened of people.'"
Although Simon is the first person to suggest that the beast lies within themselves, this is a very significant quote said by Piggy that is mainly the first suggestion that the presence of the beast is driven by fear within their own minds. This quote is quite puzzling because it makes the reader think that Piggy is the one who first suggested that the beast is "within".

(P.96)"'What I mean is...maybe it's only us.'"

This quote said by Simon is one of the most important of all quotes in the three chapters. I found it interesting how the rest of the younger boys considered that the beast might hide in the morning and come out at night whereas Simon proposed that perhaps the beast is within the boys themselves. At the time being, the rest of the boys laugh at his suggestion yet it is later proved right and is central to the theme of the book which revolves around the issue of evil in humans. The beast is truly the boys themselves driven by the fear that there is a beast.

-Amira M

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I noticed that Jack gets his way most of the time just by taunting the others. He says they're too scared, or crybabies and basically dares them to do whatever it was they didn't want to do.

I like the symbolism of Piggy's specs! It's really good. I also like that part because Simon picks them up for him before they get wrecked even more and you see how nice he is.

And I never really noticed that Piggy suggests the beast doesn't really exist good observation. But do you think that maybe unlike Simon he just thinks that there's no such thing as a beast at all and they're imagining it rather than feeling that it's inside of them like Simon does?

Anonymous said...

I noticed a type-o! When discussing the symbolism of Piggy's glasses, the site quoted that "Ralph made a step forward and smacked Piggy's head." In the book, the actual quote is "Ralph made a step forward and JACK smacked Piggy's head." Just wanted to make sure that no one got in trouble at school for using the wrong words! :)

Anonymous said...

USE THE 'LIFE QUOTE' WITH DISCRETION. In the paperback copy it can be located on page 84 as well.