Tension In Lord Of The Flies Chapter 6 Essay

In chapter nine of the dystopian novel "Lord Of The Flies", William Golding creates tension in many ways. Golding illuminates the triumph of disorder throughout the chapter and shows a Darwinian view of humans. This essay will analyse how he does so, paying strong attention to: the use of pathetic fallacy; the use of repulsive language; the conflict between the boys; the way Simon's death is described and a few other topics relating to the climax of violence and tensions.

One way Golding builds tension in the climaxing chapter of the book is by using pathetic fallacy. Golding starts this thrilling chapter by describing the storm. He foreshadows the huge event of Simon's death by describing the build up to the storm as "revolving masses of
Pathetic fallacy is used to aid this calm atmosphere, Golding shows this when he describes the storm dying down by stating that the ‘midnight rain ceased’ after Simon's death. It had raged on as the climax of the chapter approached but now there wasn't a manic atmosphere and it has suddenly stopped. Golding also suggests that now was finally at peace as he describes that the water ‘dressed Simon’s coarse hair with brightness’. The noun ‘brightness’ gives the impression that Simon no longer has to be the gloomy boy who was isolated from the group. Another way Golding shows calm at the end of the chapter is when he says the shoulder of Simon’s broken body ‘became marble’ and almost glorified Simon as if he was drifting away to a better place. The noun ‘marble’ makes you think of an honoured statue which is almost the symbol Simon was going to become to Ralph and Piggy. The last point Golding suggested that I am going to cover is that Simon is surrounded by a legacy of his calm and sensible attitude to the situation. Golding describes Simon’s body as being “softly surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures” which could symbolise the fact that when a reader thinks about Simon they think he was bright boy who surrounded himself with sensible thoughts and kept his morals in distressing