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No Fear Translations of Shakespeare’s plays (along with audio!) and other classic works
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He lost himself in a maze of thoughts that were rendered vague by his lack of words to express them. Frowning, he tried again. This meeting must not be fun, but business.
Ralph thinks this to himself after he calls a meeting in an attempt to re-establish order among the boys, and the fact that he struggles to put his worries into words illustrates how difficult it is for a boy his age to understand and explain the concept of law and order. "Fun" is his childhood world, where someone else was in charge, and "business" is his world on the island, where he is forced to play the role of leader, a job that becomes harder and harder as the group slowly loses their grasp on civilization.
Read more about Ralph as the novel's protagonist.
“Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can’t keep a fire going to make smoke. Don’t you understand? Can’t you see we ought to – out to die before we let the fire out?” There was a self-conscious giggling among the hunters.
In this scene, Ralph desperately reminds the boys that keeping the signal fire going is their only hope of rescue, even suggesting it would be better to die than let it burn out. His plea demonstrates how seriously he takes his role as leader; in his mind, the burden of the boys' survival rests at least partially on his shoulders. The hunters’ nervous laughter, however, reveals their immaturity and their apathy about being rescued, foreshadowing the collapse of order on the island.
Read more about the use of foreshadowing in the novel.
“Life… is scientific, that’s what it is. In a year or two when the war’s over they’ll be traveling to Mars and back. I know there isn’t no beast – not with claws and all that, I mean – but I know there isn’t no fear either… Unless… Unless we get frightened of people.”
Here, Piggy argues that fear of a “beast” is irrational, insisting the real danger isn’t an external monster but the boys themselves. Piggy is rational and science-minded, but the other boys dismiss him as annoying and stupid because of his physical weaknesses.
Read an A+ essay about whether Piggy would have made a good leader.
“Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat - !”
Jack openly rejects Ralph’s authority and the idea of rules, instead promoting strength and violence as the most effective tools for survival. His aggressive language shows how he channels the boys’ fear of the beast into an excuse for savagery. This moment marks Jack’s shift from a boy who respects order to a hunter who embraces brutality.
