“Who thinks Ralph oughtn’t to be chief? He looked expectantly at the boy’s ranged round, who had frozen. Under the palms there was deadly silence. Hand up said jack strongly, whoever wants Ralph not to be chief? (Golding 139)
This quote symbolizes a drastic change in the story. It is the beginning of segregation and nearing the point of two opposing enemies on the island. Jacks over confident and head strong personality is starting to get the best of him and his arrogance about his superiority to Ralph is increasing. This quote is very important because it gives the reader the idea of the events to follow. It almost foreshadows that there is going to be segregation between the boys from this point on. While this constant battle for power between Ralph and Jack has been going on consistently throughout the novel, I believe that this is the turning point where things will actually start happening between the two of them instead of just talk. Also when Jack leaves and some of the boys from the choir join him it demonstrates where their loyalty lies. When Jack and the two boys return to the camp and steal part of the fire and as he leaves he says “The chief has spoken” (155) one starts to understand Jacks desire for power which he could never achieve under Ralph. It seems now as though there are two teams, with Ralph leading one and Jack leading the other. While it was surprising that Jack left so abruptly, it also seemed that this event was inevitable. Both Ralph and Jack are very confident and stubborn. They like having things done their way, and with Ralph as chief Jack was forced to abide by what Ralph said even when he did not agree with it. It would only be a matter of time before Jack became fed up and rebelled against Ralph.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Becca, I would agree with you that this is an important quote because it proves a shift in the novel. This quote allows for the reader to notice that Jack and Ralph are character foils of one another. As a result of both boys craving power and their different froms of order on the island, conflict arises. Ralph is supportive of democracy while Jack is the opposite and has the desire to be the superior leader that makes all the decisions. Their differences create obstacles.
It is quite evident that Ralph is losing his power when he has to "[try] for their attention" (125). This occurs when he claims that he hit the pig with his spear, while the other boys don't believe him. Ralph is in need of power and attention. Alongside Rebecca's important quote, I found the quote stating that "nobody understands about the fire" (153). When Ralph is saying this to the other boys, it shows a shift and allows for the reader to think. If Jack takes over power from Ralph, the fire will not be a priority for Jack as the leader. Will they get rescued?
I would agree with Rebecca when she states that Jack has a desire and a need for power. When Jack was disagreeing with Ralph, "the words came from Jack viciously, as though they were a curse" (131). Jack's first concern on this island is to gain power from Ralph, but he is being blinded by the idea that getting rescued should be their priority. "Without the smoke signal we'll die here" (153) are the wise words of Ralph. Jack chooses to ignore Ralph and his intelligence. I would agree with Rebecca that two groups of boys are evidently being formed on the island because of Ralph and Jack's character foils. It will be interesting to see how this book will end.
I completely agree with Rebecca. When I was reading the novel, the same quote stuck out to me. I knew that it wasn’t going to be long before Jack and Ralph decided that they were no longer going to be working together. Jack thinks that he knows more then Ralph and does not understand why Ralph should be in charge of him. Jack is a bossy control freak. While I was reading chapter seven it was evident that Ralph was feeling as if Jack was going take over his position as the chief. Ralph throughout chapters 7, 8 and 9 began to show a sign of weakness. No longer was Ralph confidant that they were going to get rescued or that they were going to survive without food. However, Jack was sure to point out Ralph’s fears to everyone. Jack decided that he was going to start his own tribe; his tribe had food and shelter. Throughout the rest of the chapters it is a constant battle between Ralph’s tribe with Jack’s tribe. Rebecca made some good points about Jack and Ralph’s differences and there ongoing competition.
~Melissa
I agree with Rebecca about this quote, and its significance to the story. It is no doubt showing the reader a rift between the two, and even the segregation between the boys in a whole. The quote “under the palms there was deadly silence” (Golding 139) shows us just how much tension has risen with this power struggle, and how none of the other boys seem to have an opinion, it is as if they have been silenced, and are just spectators of the feud.
I agree that this entire scenario is one of great importance to the story, as it is in this area of the book where the boys actually do become split up into follower of either Ralph or Jack. The old saying “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us” applies a lot to this story, as cheesy as it sounds. Both Ralph and Jack want leadership over the boys, but it’s as if the island is too small for both of their wants, and they just simply cannot both be in power.
I like how Rebecca says this event was inevitable, as it shows human nature in effect. Everyone wants to be a leader, yet it just cannot be. It has always been in life that one is in power and the others follow. So when we see that both Ralph and Jack demand power, we can almost predict that there will be a separation. All in all, I think Rebecca is on the right track here with the idea that this is a drastic change in the story, and would argue with her that this may be one of the most important parts to these 3 chapters.
Rebecca you bring up a really good point with this quotation. It foreshadows the shift in the book. From this quote you can suggest that the story will begin to having a rising conflict between Ralph and Jack which will lead to the separation of the group and show where the boys loyalties lie. In this part of the book we see how similar the boys really are to one another. Ralph and Jack both have very similar characteristics , which shows us how similar the two really are to each other. Although Ralph and Jack both have different views in which their “society” should run, for both of them their weakness is power. We would be led to think that their different views on how a civilization should be run could balance each other out; however in this specific situation they can not get passed the fact they want to be superior to the rest of the group, instead of working together to try and find a proper way to run things. I find it interesting as well, that we see Ralph becoming a bit barbaric almost to gain the loyalty of the group again. This part in the book, as Rebecca as already mentioned, is a key part in the story. This part of the novel is where the two clans are made, and Ralph loses his power over the group. Rebecca also brings up a good point about jack being unable to gain power while Ralph was still chief. This is the point in the novel where Jack rebels against Ralph, and becomes more of a chief in the groups eyes.
Post a Comment