Sep. 26-30: LOTF Ch. 2-5

This week as we read The Lord of the Flies, Jack is gaining authority in many scenes.  Jack attained meat, the pig, so the people see Jack as a strong hunter who can be admired even through the ignominy of Jack letting the fire go out when a ship was seen in the distance.  He also talks when he does not have the conch during meetings, and bullies Piggy.  Even Piggy realizes this and disobeys Jack.  When Ralph was telling everyone they must leave to go back and light the fire, Golding uses the word, 'mutinously' to describe the non-docile children's thoughts about leaving the fort-like place.  Golding uses this word to show the gradual loss of Ralph's authority. Civilizations still have trouble, such as the one in Egypt, about the authority of leaders and form of government.  According to the article "In Egypt, Concessions by Military on Politics" by David. D. Kirkpatrick, Egypt's military leaders are trying to figure out the leaders of the government by upcoming elections.

Also, when Ralph calls a meeting after missing the ship, but Jack killing the pig, he tries to draw conclusions to the fear of 'the beast' and live in happiness.  He explains how the people say they will do things, such as build shelters, but they didn't help Ralph and Simon.  This shows the concept of how people are able to complain and castigate leaders but can't come to a solution themselves.  People in Egypt argue about rights and laws and about what military leaders will choose for the government of Egypt, such as the people of the island talk about what to do on the island to be productive.  However the difference is that the military leaders of Egypt came to a conclusion, and the people of Egypt have to follow that form of government, no matter the arguments made.  Ralph does this, however it leads to the uneasiness Golding sets of an upcoming rebellion against Ralph, with the growing power of Jack  After the dispersing of the people after Ralph's meeting, Simon, Piggy, and Ralph wish for a sign for the adults, saying the after adults have a cup of tea, adults could solve the problem the children were in.  What Simon, Piggy, and Ralph do not know, is that the situation that they children are in are because of adult's fault, and the adult war that caused the evacuation of the children, which itself led to the plane crash onto the island.  Golding does allow the adults to give the children a sign: a dead man flopping around due to the wind catching the parachute attached to the man.  This is rather ironic because during the meeting, Simon had spoken up saying that the beast might be the people themselves, and the beast was identified as the dead man attached to the parachute.  Golding may have chosen the symbol of an dead man attached to a parachute to bring the fact farther that the adults have caused the children to have to build a civilization on the island.  That the adults have done this by having a war, so Golding uses the dead man in the parachute to bring out the consequences of adult actions further into the reader's mind.