C H A P T E R 7
C H A P T E R 7
Chapter 7: Shadows and Tall Trees
The imagination grew as the boys see shawdows of the unkown beast tucked away in the trees
Plot of Chapter
Vocabulary
BATTY (121): insane or crazy
("...When Simon was still silent Ralph said curtly, 'You're batty.'"
BRANDISHING (125): to shake or wave as a weapon
("...Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife.")
BROODING (130): preoccupied with depressing or painful memories or thoughts
("Jack brought up the rear, displaced and brooding.")
IMPERVIOUS (133): incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected
("So they sat, the rocking, tapping, impervious Roger and Ralph, fuming..."
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Simon and Ralph reassure each other that they'll get saved
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Boys continue to find the beast while also hunting pigs, including Ralph
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Ralph for the first time, tries to kill a boar but Jack brushes it off as nothing
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Boys still excited and adrenaline rushing through their veins, they pretend Robert was a boar and as like they are killing him as a game
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Ralph, Roger and Jack climb up the mountain to see a big shadow in between the rocks
Passage Study
"When Simon was still silent Ralph said curtly, 'You're batty.' Simon shook his head violently... 'No, I'm not. I just think you'll get back all right-.'"
Ralph called Simon batty, I was confused to why he did. Simon at the time wasn't doing anything in particular but just reassuring him that they'll get rescued. I sensed a hint of foreshawdowing when Ralph called him crazy.
Literary Device
"They were bitten down to the quick...'Be sucking my thumb next-'" (Narrator/Ralph-1119)
EXAGGERATION
"...there was confusion in the darkness." (Narrator-135) PERSONIFICATION
"'You want a real pig,' said Robert, still caressing his rump 'because you've got to kill him.''Use a littlun,' said Jack, and everybody laughed." (Roger/Jack-126)
FORESHADOWING the event that will occur later on in the novel with Simon
"All at once, Robert was screaming and struggling with the strength of frenzy. Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife...The chant rose ritually, as the last moment of dance or a hunt. 'Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!' Ralph too was fighting to get near... The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering."
This passage was too exciting not to choose. I loved it because there was so much excitment in it between the savage boys and Robert. It scared me because I actually thought they would kill Robert and the killing spree would continue on from there. I found it odd that Golding described the chanting as a ritual, especially because it was so gruesome. Is he saying that we blindly and naturally follow the notion? Is it like in some religions where people abide the rules because they have to? In a way, I feel like Golding is telling us we're like zombies without even knowing it.
Reader's Response
As I continue to read the chpaters, it has been getting really interesting. I think perhaps in the next chapter or so, big and important events will happen because of the amount of foreshadowing in this chapter. For instance, the game they boys played on Robert and Ralph getting wrapped into it. It's all falling into place now.
