SUMMARY: Lord of the Flies, Chapter 4 and 5
Chapter Four
Time enough has passed since the crash that a new culture, with its own language
and slang, is developing on the island. Older boys are "biguns" while the younger
children are called "littluns." As Chapter 4 begins, Maurice and Roger torment a
few littluns by tearing down their sand castle. But as Maurice feels ashamed and
leaves, Roger goes further. Roger throws stones from a hiding place in the jungle
at a young boy, although he can't make himself hit him; he feels the littlun is
surrounded by an "invisible yet strong . . . protection of parents and school and
policemen and the law."
Ralph and Piggy see a ship on the horizon. However, they notice that their signal
fire on top of the mountain has gone out; the hunters have abandoned their duty
in order to successfully kill a pig for the first time. Their chance at rescue slips
away. Ralph and Piggy angrily confront Jack, and in the resulting fight, "one side"
of Piggy's glasses gets "broken" when Jack "struck a fist into Piggy's stomach" and
"smacked Piggy's head." Afterward, Jack grumbles an apology.
Later that day, they have a feast of pig meat. The hunters recreate the hunt in a
tribal-like dance, with the chant: "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in." At first
Jack doesn't let Piggy have any meat because he didn't help in the hunt, but
Simon offers Piggy his portion.
Ralph, fretting about the state of things, decides to call a late afternoon assembly.
Chapter Five
Ralph walks the beach before the assembly, worried. He feels the pressure to
articulate the boys' problems: "There must be no mistake about this assembly . . .
this meeting must not be fun, but business."
At the meeting, Ralph chastises the others. There is no fresh water in the
coconuts because no one fetches any, shelters need to be built better and by all
of them (instead of a few), people need to use the bathroom in the proper place,
and last but not least, "fire is the most important thing on the island." Ralph
again tries to remind the others that rescue is the most important priority.
However, fear of the "beastie" creeps into the discussion. Jack shows his
manipulation of the group's fear by not trying to disprove the beast, but instead
telling the boys the hunters will protect them from it. Simon -- who hates to talk
in a large group -- puts a different perspective on the reality of the beast: "Maybe
it's only us." It seems the true enemy of the group isn't an outside creature but
an internal fear and paranoia that is rapidly spreading among the boys. Although
Piggy tries to be logical and points out how much they have travelled through the
jungle without meeting such a creature, a littlun points out a frightening
possibility: maybe "the beast comes out of the sea." Although only the person
holding the conch is supposed to be the one allowed to speak, Jack and others
talk anyway as the tension mounts over where the beast could hide.
The meeting breaks up abruptly, with Ralph accusing Jack of "breaking the rules,"
and Jack replying, "Who cares?" As the rest leave, only Ralph, Piggy, and Simon
remain on the beach. Piggy wants Ralph to blow the conch again to bring
everyone back, but he doesn't do it. "If I blow the conch and they don't come
back," Ralph says, "then we've had it."
First, remember what different things the signal fire, Piggy's glasses, and the
conch symbolizes. Now consider what happens in these two chapters: the signal
fire going out, Piggy's glasses getting half-broken, and Ralph fearing the conch is
losing its significance. Symbolically, how do these things show a turning point in
the novel?
Now read Chapter 6, answering the study guide questions.