CHAPTER 4
Chapter 4: Painted Faces and Long Hair
The fight to stay civilized takes a toll on the boys
Plot of Chapter
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The boys go by their days, doing what they're told and playing around
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Littluns continue to have nightmares about the beastie
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Roger and Maurice torments and bullies the littluns (Roger throws stones at a littlun but does not quite hit him)
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Ralph and Piggy spots a ship but signal fire dies out
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Ralph is furious with Jack being so careless and Piggy humilulates Jack for his immature decision to go hunting
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Jack punches Piggy, breaks one of his lense but apologizes about the fire but not to Piggy
Vocabulary
BELLIGERENCE (62): a warlike or aggressively hostile nature or attitude
("...Percival was mouse-coloured and had not been very attractive even to his mother; Johnny was well built, with fair hair and a natural belligerence."
SOMBRE (74): gloomy dark, depressing
("...He noticed Ralph's scarred nakedness, and the sombre silence of all four of them.")
SNUB (77): an act of snubbing (to check or reject with a sharp remark or rebuke)
("Jack was loud and active. He gave orders, sang,whisled, threw remarks at the silent Ralph- remarks that did not need an answer, and therefore could not invite a snub...")
Literary Device
Passage Study
"Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. Round the squatting child was the protection of parents and school and policemen and the law. Roger's arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins." (Narrator-65)
""He capered towards Bill and the mask was a things on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. The face of red and white and black, swung through the air and jigged towards Bill." (Narrator-66)
This passage was very unique. It talked about how the boys grew accustomed to the mysteries and didn't bother to explore them and learn about them even if it was a good thing. For instance, they kept shutting down Piggy when he had a bright suggestion about survival on the island. Is this Golding's way to tell us, we, as a society do that also? Do we ignore the mysteries that can help us grow but we just don't do them because we failed once or we want the easy way out?
" ...and since no boy could reach even the reef over the stretch of water where the snapped sharks waited, they grew accustomed to these mysteries and ignored them, just as they ignored the miraculous throbbing stars." (Narrator-60)
"When Roger opened his eyes and saw him, a darker shadow crept beneath the swarthiness of his skin; but Jack noticed nothing." (Narrator-65)
FLASHBACK: This shows the story behind Roger. He grew up in a strict environment and as a result he felt restrained he couldn't throw the rocks. It was like he was borderline struggling with staying civilized but slowly turning a savage.
SYBOLISM: The colours Jack used to paint his face represent more than just camouflage. Red, white and black are also the colours of the Nazis so when Jack painted his face, it coud have been a mask of evil. Perhaps he felt superior and immoral.
The narrator described Roger seeing a darker shadow cast near Jack but Jack didn't seem to see anything. Was this darker shadow Jack's evil side? Is Golding telling us that there's an evil side to all of us but it is just hidden from us? Are we oblivious to our bad side?
Reader's Response
In this chapter as the conflict between Ralph and Jack progressed, it was really neat to see how the boys were adjusting to life on the island, how things were more organized in a sense of the conch being powerful over the boys. But the power of the conch slowly diminished and so did the civiliztion in the boys. Jack apologizing for leaving the fire but not about violently reacting to Piggy said something a lot of his character. It showed that he no didn't cared for the other boys but himself.
