Chapter 10
Summary
The next day, only Ralph, Piggy, Samneric plus some littluns remain in
Ralph’s camp. The rest are with Jack at Castle Rock. Ralph feels remorse saying that they have murdered Simon, but Piggy says it was an accident, and he doesn’t want Samneric to know they were involved
in the ritual dance.
Jack revels in his role as a despot, ordering one of the boys to be tied up
and beaten for annoying him. In order to have another pig-roast, he plans a raid on Ralph’s camp. He tells his followers that the beast came to them in disguise last night and was not defeated.
There is utter denial that they have killed one of their group.
Ralph decides to let the fire die out as no one wishes to gather more wood
in the dark.
Jack attacks Ralph’s camp and because there are no burning branches to
steal, they take Piggy’s glasses instead.
Interpretation
Jack has total power over the boys in his camp, and he uses the beast as his
authority. They must all stay together to stand against this threat and Jack will protect them against the beast, which is not just an animal, but also a mythical creature.
Jack says that they way they behave will appease the beast, so if they
become more primitive and evil, this will protect them.
The Lord of the Flies is a symbol of the tribe’s dark nature and the members
are quite resigned to accepting this because Jack now does all the thinking for them.
They do not have to worry about what’s right and what’s wrong, but only whether it pleases Jack and to a lesser degree, Roger who has become second in line to the leader.
Jack’s power will be complete when he obtains Piggy’s glasses.
The tribe’s idol is the Lord of the Flies while Ralph’s symbol of hope is
the conch shell which he clutches for comfort, once a potent symbol of his authority it is now only an empty vessel.
We now have an image of total transformation from choirboys in starched
ruffs and surpluses reduced to servants of a tyrant whose symbol is a rotting pig’s head on a stake, and they wear masks of charcoal and clay.
The boys are released from following the rules of adults and can now let
vent to their primitive instincts.
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