Chapter 4

Summary

Here we focus on a day in island life for the stranded boys. Morning is cool and the island is fresh and the boys play happily swimming and exploring the island.  However, this is soon replaced by the heat of the day when the boys snooze fitfully troubled by bad dreams.

In the evening the cool returns, but darkness falls all too quickly and sleep is disturbed particularly among the littluns who have recurring nightmares, perhaps partly due to their diet of fresh fruit. They dream of monsters and beasts in the jungle that are preying on them.

The older boys bully the littluns; one in particular is Roger, a cruel boy who has an accomplice called Maurice.  Three of the littluns have built a sandcastle and Roger destroys it.  He also throws stones at the littluns aiming just to miss them.

Jack decides to paint himself to aid in his hunting. He uses clay and charcoal to form a camouflage.

A ship is spotted on the horizon and Ralph and Piggy see that the fire has gone out on the hill.  By the time they reach the top the ship has gone. It is Jack and the hunter’s responsibility to keep the fire lit. Ralph is furious. He finds Jack to have it out with him, but he has caught a pig, which deflates Ralph’s anger.

Jack and the hunters chant a primitive song and Piggy tries to ridicule the hunters for acting immaturely and for his trouble gets slapped by Jack, breaking a lens of his glasses.  A renewed anger takes over Ralph and he lunges at Jack who admits he was at fault in letting the fire go out.

The boys eat roasted pig and have a wild dance afterwards around the fire.

Jack’s shortsightedness has cost the boys a rescue, while at the same time he has had a successful hunt.

Interpretation

The conflict between Ralph and Jack, which began at the election for a leader, is increasing. Ralph is constantly thinking about the overall good of the group. He is primarily involved with the building of huts, which is particularly important for the littluns who are troubled with bad dreams.  Next is to maintain a fire on the hill so as to alert any passing ships or planes, and the least important matter is hunting which he regards as frivolous as they do have abundant supplies of fruit.

Jack is only interested in hunting and the bloodlust has overtaken him, which will lead to a desire for power.

The reader must appreciate, however, that these are just children and are, therefore, not able to articulate their feelings clearly.

When Jack’s irresponsibility ruins the signal fire and wrecks their first chance of being rescued, Ralph is enraged, but the fact that Jack has killed a pig means he is too excited to worry about the missed chance of escaping the island.

Most of the boys have had a tendency to bully the weaker individuals, in particular the intellectual Piggy, especially when they need to feel in control and important. This harassment intensifies and Jack slaps him openly.  The civilized Ralph cannot let this incident pass without a reaction, but this makes it clear that there is a growing gulf between the two oldest boys.