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"But they'll be painted! You know how it is." The others nodded. They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.
Here, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric plan to visit Jack's tribe and retrieve Piggy's glasses. Ralph suggests that everyone tidy themselves up as much as possible beforehand, but Eric reminds them that Jack's crew will be painted. It's clear that the boys believe the paint gives Jack's tribe an advantage; it not only makes them look intimidating, it also seems to lend them power. Ralph replies, "Well, we won't be painted, because we aren't savages," revealing that he is fighting desperately to keep law and order alive on the island. He is terrified that all the boys will become their worst, most primal selves, and he is doing anything he can to retain even the slightest tie to civilization.
Read more about the theme of Civilization vs Savagery.
The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went… Piggy fell forty feel and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea… Then the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone.
In this scene, Roger, standing above Piggy and Ralph, deliberately lets go of a large rock with the intention of injuring or killing one of the two boys; it strikes Piggy, sending him hurtling to his death on the rocks below, and breaks the conch. The destruction of the conch, the object that represents order and civilization on the island, symbolizes the end of law and morality among the boys. Additionally, Ralph has now lost his closest friend and ally, and is forced to face Jack's mob alone.
Read a summary and analysis of Chapter 11.
Roger edged past the chief, only just avoiding pushing him with his shoulder. The yelling ceased, and Samneric lay looking up in quiet terror. Roger advanced upon them as one wielding a nameless authority.
At the end of Chapter 11, Roger has established himself as a murderer, having already killed Piggy by deliberately dropping a large rock on him, which resulted in Piggy falling forty feet to the rocks below. Roger is now seen as Jack’s brutal enforcer of savagery. In this moment, Roger uses violence to terrify and coerce Samneric joining Jack’s tribe. Roger fully embodies the savagery unleashed on the island that shows humanity’s capacity for evil.
