C H A P T E R 5
Chapter 5: Beast from the Water
"He says the beast comes out of the sea."
Plot of Chapter
Vocabulary
LAMENTATION (93): the act of expressing grief
("...At first he was a silent effigy of sorrow; but then the lamentation rose out of him, loud and sustained as the conch.")
DECORUM (96): dignified property out of behaviour, speech, dress, etc.
("...That was from Piggy, shocked out of decorum.")
DISCURSIVE (99): passing aimlessly from one subject to another
("The assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter...")
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Ralph hosted a serious meeting to talk about the important issues of being mature and helping out
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Ralph wanted an assembly to have a more organized system
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Jack criticized the littluns about being scared and all they do is cry
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Simon was the "beast" Phil was scared of, roaming around at night
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Percival said the beast comes out of the sea at night
Literary Device
"What I mean is... maybe it's only us." (Simon-96)
Simon seemed to know more than the other boys. He stated that the beast might just be them but the boys laugh it off. Is is something internally, such as the good and evil side to mankind or something more than that?
"'If only they could get a message to us,' cried Ralph desperately. If only they could send us something grown-up... a sign or something.'" (Ralph-102)
FORESHADOWING the beast from the air the boys will recieve in the following chapter.
Passage Study
"'The thing is-fear can't hurt you any more than a dream. There aren't any beasts to be afraid of on this island.' He looked along the row of whimpering littluns. 'Serve you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies! But there is no animal-'"(Jack-89)
I interpreted this passage as Jack, being Satan, convincing the littluns that fear is nothing unless you make it so it influences you. Jack reminds me of satan in a way beacause of the whole notion of Satan being angry and mad, like how Jack gets at the yougins for being so scared. As the doctrines in the bible state that the devil will not affect you unless you let him to do so.
"A flurry of wind made the palms talk and the noise seemed very loud now that darkness and silence made it so noticeable'" (Narrator-96/97) PERSONIFICATION
Reader's Response
It was really intriging to see the different reactions the boys had concerning the beast. I believe it was one way of revealing their true internal thoughts (civil or savage). To be more specific, the beast to Jack is just another thing he is hungry to hunt. It brings out the savagery in him because he has become a bully to the littluns, making fun of them for being scared and his craving for a murderous kill increases. It makes me excited to read about the thrilling events that will occur now Ralph may step down as leader.
