At the beginning of the book, the boys set up a fire at the highest point on the island. This fire is to be a signal to flag down any ships that might be passing by and then could rescue the lost children. This fire burns strongly for a while, but as the boys pass to being more and more savage, they let the fire burn down and eventually burn itself out, leaving little to no chance to be found by adults and be brought back to society and civilization.
The fire is started using Piggy's glasses, and Piggy is the other symbol for civility. The fire burns bright at the start of the novel, and all the boys help keep it going in hopes of being rescued and brought back to their normal lives.
The book moves on, and the boys fall deeper into their savagery, and the signal fire is left to die out. For a while, the fire is given up, and even though the four boys try and keep it going, they know they cannot do it. The fire is given up on, and survival is their main focus.
The end of the book arrives, and there hasn't been good signal fire in a while. Ralphy is the only member of his own tribe left, and he's being hunted by the others. All hope seems lost, and civilization seems gone forever. Jack, the leader of the savages starts a fire to get Ralphy out of his hiding spot, and unknowingly creates a huge fire, better than any before it, nearly consuming the whole island. Out of this act of savagery comes a twist, because the fire turns from being a horrible, destructive thing to a signal fire, and it attracts a ship, and they are saved.
The signal fire burned bright when the kids had hope, and went dark when all hope was lost. In the end, all the boys' attempts at making a signal fire for rescue fail, and their saving comes, ironically, from an act of savagery.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Ralph is forced to concede, but he insists on making a signal fire so when his father comes to rescue them on a ship, the men on board will see the smoke and know where to find…
- 614 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
When the boys let the signal fire, their only hope of rescue, out bad things happen. Golding uses the twins seeing the “beastie” when the fire goes out and how “flames blew fifteen yards away from them came the flapping of fabric blown open.” to display that when the fire goes out. A second example is when Golding has a boy report a ship passed by when the signal smoke goes out in chapter 4, to exhibit that the boy’s need to keep the fire, their life, alive if they want to get rescued. A third example is when Golding utilizes the boys building the signal fire too big when it goes out and the little boy with the mulberry birthmark going missing, at the end of chapter two, to manifest chaos when the boys start doing tasks without guidance.…
- 459 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
After snatching Piggy's glasses, the boys created a fire using the wood and leaves that they collected in a pile. At first, the fire was meant to create smoke so that the boys could signal a ship for help. Then it started to become a wildfire once the boys could not control the fire and were excited "at the power set free below them." (44) At first, the fire was meant for a good purpose but grew into something the boys did not plan for in the beginning. Destruction. I say beginning because when near the end of the book, Jack and his hunters decide to use the fire as a way of getting Ralph out of the forest so that they could basically kill him. "The fire was a big one and the drum-roll that he thought was left so far behind was nearer." (197) Ralph thought the destruction that the fire would cause would be over, but it ended up making a reappearance near the end of the…
- 450 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
In the beginning, the fire represents survival for them to get rescued. William Golding states, ¨...But you can even build huts-then you go off hunting and let out the fire-...¨ (Golding 71). They all set up a plan to have a signal fire and to keep it going at all times just in case a ship comes by so they could see the signal fire and get rescued but when it came time for the hunters to watch the fire they could care less of the fire and let it go out while they went hunting but came back with their first kill and was so excited that didn't really care that they let the fire out. Furthermore, Piggy goes quiet then expresses: ¨You didn't ought to have let that fire out. You said you'd keep the smoke going-¨ (Golding 71). One more time, the…
- 202 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Light and darkness also helps develop theme. In the book there is the theme of fire as protection and fire as destruction and loss. “One time, as a child, in a power failure, his mother had found and lit a last candle and there had been a brief hour of rediscovery, of such illumination that space lost its vast dimensions and drew comfortably around them, and they, mother and son, alone, transformed, hoping that the power might not come on again too soon. . . .” This shows how fire can protect them from the dark. The second example is at the very beginning when the narrator says “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.” This shows how obsession the firemen can get involved in, in their daily routines and jobs. It is a really evil, dark, and destructive way of life but it was best described through the use of darkness.…
- 344 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
First is the theme of the book, not stopping at anything to reach your goals. Ralph who was voted the leader of all the boys, wanted to be rescued most of all. So Ralph on page 81 banned the use of fire anywere other than the mountain top. He was sacrificing the convenience of everybody so they could be…
- 459 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Beginning the plot, fire always ascribed itself an image of both physical assistance and mental aid. The blazing campfires the dramatic duo of the boy and his father create offer warmth and an atmosphere of a sanguine tone, and is essentially what endorses the positivity in the characters. Almost the entirety of the plot affords optimistic association to fire, as in order to persevere and endure, the duo…
- 567 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The first event that proves that the boys’ society is changing for the worst is when the hunters let the signal fire burn out. When Jack decides that he needs all his hunters’ help in catching the pig, no one is left to watch the fire. This is very significant because during this time, a ship passes the island. First of all, the fire represents the connection that the boys have with civilization; as long as the fire is burning, there is hope for rescue. Therefore, the hope for rescue and the connection to civilization are both lost when the fire dies. With both of these things gone, the society that the boys first strive for begins to slowly slip away. Secondly, when the hunters fail to do their job of keeping the fire going, this makes Ralph very upset. Ralph knows how important the fire is in terms of getting rescued and he yells at Jack, “There was…
- 676 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The fire also engages the boys, driving them to become pliable to Jack’s leadership and follow his actions. In the light of the fire, the boys chant “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (152) while attacking Simon. This signifies the boys’ energy that, without a proper outlet, leads them to blind violence. As with the boys, the flames behave “as though they were a kind of wild life,” (41) which inspires passion and energy but encourages a chaotic state which the boys revert to. The red colors emitting from the flames entices the boys to make irrational decisions. The scarlet light washes away their humanity, pushing it into the shadows, leaving only the most depraved reactions. This imperious behavior puts the fire into the position of being seen as the master of the island. By stealing Piggy’s glasses, and by extension the womb of the fire, Jack and his tribe effectively shift the power from one end of the island to the other. When he gains possession of the fire, Jack reveals a tyrannical state of fire. Under Jack’s influence, the fire and the boys become insatiable and vicious, as opposed to Ralph’s more domesticated and beneficial fire and group. Ralph realizes the fire’s overwhelming control and…
- 508 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
So he tells the boy to carry the symbolic fire that he possesses within himself. The fire represents human kindness, beliefs, and morals which the man wants the boy to retain as a…
- 1228 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
The main focus of most of the book and of Ralph has been to leave the island and be saved by outside people. All of these boys from ages six to twelve are stranded on the island and will not survive for a long time without rescuers. None of the boys have any idea how to survive because they are all so young and have had parents who provide all that they need. The boys do not realize how much they need to work in order to stay strong and alive. All of the boys need to be rescued because if not they will sink and eventually die. The rescue fire is what they need to obtain the help that will save their lives. Ralph is so focused on the fire throughout the novel that it becomes a huge quest that needs to be managed by lots of people. The fire is the boys’ last hope and needs to be maintained at all times. Even though the fire is the group’s last shot, most of the boys neglect the fire because they do not realize how much the fire could save them. The younger and some older boys are more concerned with food and killing animals than being saved. Almost all of the people are sick of Ralph’s rules about keeping up the fire that they flee to another side of the island with Jack where they do not have to worry about rules and roles in the government Ralph tries to make (Golding). Ralph needs the fire because he is searching for his future and something beyond a life on an island with pigs…
- 1752 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
In the beginning, while the boys were still civilized, their main worry was to keep the fire going. Ralph in particular was always focused on getting the attention of a passing ship; “We’ve got to have special people for looking after the fire. Any day there may be a ship out there... and if we have a signal going they’ll come and take us off” (Golding 42). After a while, Ralph starts to forget the purpose of the fire, and he has to be reminded why it is so important; “Ralph tried indignantly to remember. There was something good about a fire. Something overwhelmingly good... ‘How else are going to be rescued?’” (Golding 163). This shows that Ralph, the most civil person on the island, is also losing himself in savagery. Eventually the boys do end up getting rescued by the fire, however not by the signal fire, but by the wildfire that Jack and his group started while they were going after Ralph; “Behind him, the whole island was shuddering with flame... his voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island” (Golding 201-202). The final fire exemplifies that savagery literally took over and burned down the island. Although they were saved, they’ll never be the same…
- 865 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the beginning, the fire is relatively controlled similarly to their savagery. Also, the fire used in a civil manner to save everyone on the island, “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. We must make a fire” (38). However, towards the end of the boy’s stay on the island, the fire is used in an uncivil manner to harm Ralph. “The fire was a big one and the drum-roll that he had thought was left so far behind was nearer….a great heaviness of smoke lay between the island and the sun. A flame, seemingly detached, swung like an acrobat and licked up the palm heads on the platform” (197). Instead of burning Ralph the rampant fire burns the island. The fire similar to the unleashed savagery in the boy’s becomes uncontrollable and burns the island, just as the savagery in the boy’s kills Piggy and Simon. The boy’s were able to control the fire and their savagery in the beginning of the story because right before they land on the island they were a part of civilization. But, during the boy’s stay on the island the fire, similar to the savagery within the boy’s becomes…
- 1117 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Barely any of the children seem to care, they prefer hunting and lazing in the lagoon. “Cant they understand? Without the smoke signal we’ll die here? Look at that. We can't keep a fire going. And they don’t care(139).” The boys have no idea how important the signal fire is even when Ralph tells them, they can't seem to grasp the concept that they could get off of the island much easier. They ignore the truth to go for hard, almost impossible attempts. He also uses their childishness to change the direction of the story. Ralph and Jack reach a turning point when they get into a fight. “You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home…. But you can’t even build huts-then you go off hunting and let out the fire(70-71).” The boys give up the sad reality that is merely tending to the signal fire and hoping they get saved, to going into a make-believe universe where they can play at being hunters and put on war paint and escape the reality of their situation. And none of the boys want to go back to just tending the signal fire, even when a ship comes by and if they had been at the signal fire they may have been able to be saved. The author uses the hypothetical that maybe they would have been rescued if only they had kept up the signal fire as a basis for Ralph to be mad and for the void between Ralph and Jack start to grow. He also uses the motif of the ship to bring all the boys back around from the make-believe of hunting to the real world that they so do not want to…
- 1434 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
fire” is used in the book to demonstrate that no matter how hungry, powerless, or tired the boy…
- 1756 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays