Irony - Chapter 10-12 (Themes/Symbols)

There seems to be an overwhelming amount of ironic situations within this book. The most obvious one in the last chapter of the book is that the fire that finally gets them rescued by the naval officer was made in the first place to try to kill Ralph. It seems so paradoxical that after all this time of Ralph nagging on all the other boys to get the fire going and to keep it lit that in the end the reason they get saved is not because of Ralph’s efforts to make the fire but because the rest of the boys are trying to kill Ralph, and an officer sees the "smoke" (Golding 224). As well I think it is ironic how the reader doesn’t truly understand how important piggy who seems so insignificant really is the one keeping the peace of the island. We see as the book progressed how much piggy grew in his confidence and his courage. He was always the one who believed most strongly in the conch and its power to unify the boys and to keep them working together in a collective democracy. When Piggy is killed though the last hopes of democracy are shattered, "there [is] no Piggy to talk sense" (218). It was evident that Piggy as well as the conch were the only things that kept some kind of democracy alive. Lastly another ironic event to me is how these boys who at the beginning seemed so well mannered and well bred turned into such savages. Initially Jack and his “choir” seemed so uptight and well mannered. They seemed very prim and proper and it is very ironic how in the end they ended up turning into such savages. It demonstrates how living on a desolate island for an extended period of time can change a person and in some cases drive them to do things they would never normally have done. In general I believe this book emphasized the unexpected. It demonstrated how we cannot be quick to judge a situation because we never know how one will react. Irony seemed to be a very common theme within the story.