Just like the saying it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, the boys begin by playing around, not working, and eventually harming. On page 114 and 115 it describes how the boys “play fight” Robert as if he were a pig. Robert plays along but soon the boys start hitting a bit too hard, Robert squeals in mock terror, then in real pain (Golding, pg.114), and they grab him. Then the most astonishing thing happens when Golding writes, “Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it… Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.” It wasn’t just a game. It was grabby, grimy, grimacing hunters who longed for more than a pig’s death. The pig’s death earlier that gave Ralph the knowledge that they outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink (Golding, pg. 70). Their satisfaction must have been in Simon’s murder, or Piggy’s death, or the hunt for Ralph. The night that Simon died was full of frenzy and fear. Everyone joined in the dance, the chant, the cold-blooded murder. The next day Ralph realizes the damage they’ve done and what they’ve become. Piggy constantly says it was an accident, or defense but Ralph replies with, “That was Simon ... that was murder.” Then he whimpers, “I’m frightened. Of
Just like the saying it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, the boys begin by playing around, not working, and eventually harming. On page 114 and 115 it describes how the boys “play fight” Robert as if he were a pig. Robert plays along but soon the boys start hitting a bit too hard, Robert squeals in mock terror, then in real pain (Golding, pg.114), and they grab him. Then the most astonishing thing happens when Golding writes, “Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it… Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.” It wasn’t just a game. It was grabby, grimy, grimacing hunters who longed for more than a pig’s death. The pig’s death earlier that gave Ralph the knowledge that they outwitted a living thing, imposed their will upon it, taken away its life like a long satisfying drink (Golding, pg. 70). Their satisfaction must have been in Simon’s murder, or Piggy’s death, or the hunt for Ralph. The night that Simon died was full of frenzy and fear. Everyone joined in the dance, the chant, the cold-blooded murder. The next day Ralph realizes the damage they’ve done and what they’ve become. Piggy constantly says it was an accident, or defense but Ralph replies with, “That was Simon ... that was murder.” Then he whimpers, “I’m frightened. Of