About Flying in Fear
Post 1130:
“He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet, rushing through the forest toward the open beach.”
This is a little piece of the climax of The Lord of the Flies. Since I’m writing of the climax, I hope it’s signal enough that this is full of spoilers. I figure most everyone had to read the book in school anyway.
What a story to reread as a grownup. This is a terrifying depiction of the darkness the human heart can sink into in just a short time. It’s vividly written and perhaps the symbolism is a bit on the nose, but all in all very worthy of its appellation of classic.
The description above is that of Ralph, the primary protagonist of this chilling little story. He’s no longer the cautious thinker that he’s been throughout, cool and calculating. It’s all churning muscles and instinct and sensory overload. Golding describes him as having hopeless fear, though I don’t believe he means hopeless exactly the way we might. Ralph has been reduced to pure survival, an end unto itself. This is the thing he’s been trying to avoid during his time on the island. Before the point was to plan, work together, live well, and eventually be rescued.
Well, that all goes to shiz. A couple of his buddies get killed by the hunters. This freaks me out. They transition from being normal boys to losing all humanity in a very short period of time. When they do their evil deeds it’s almost like they are incapable of realizing it. They chant and repeat and continue on and on in a sort of religious manner, or at least spiritual. Gives me the creeps.
A couple of real smart writing moves. A little kid goes missing at the beginning and no one seems to know what to do about it. Most are barely concerned, some barely at all. This sort of casts a shadow that hangs over the entire story. You think about it every couple pages. There’s a pall is what I’m saying.
Another thing. Jack and the hunters use fire to literally smoke out Ralph. This is the fire that ultimately gets them rescued. And funny enough, it was Ralph who was the main advocate for keeping a fire burning at all times. It’s a tense ending. The second they see the ship and the officer, they revert back to boys bred from civilization. But can they ever go back? Seriously, I don’t know. My time stranded on islands is limited at best.
Anyway, a great book. Some pretty standard themes explored masterfully. Keep the fire burning. Cheers and see you after.
