Monday, September 3, 2012

In Chapter 5 of Lord of the Flies what is Ralph discovering that he dislikes about the way he is living?

Ralph notices how all the boys have let themselves go, leaving civilization and all its trappings behind. This includes hygiene, especially the ability to wash & be clean. Some of this was lost in the beginning of the novel: the simple fact of being on an island changes their routines. Indeed, Ralph grows to hate the dull weariness of life on the island as well, but it's compounded by the sheer uncleanliness he finds everywhere:



This wind pressed his grey shirt against his chest so that he noticed—in this new mood of comprehension—how the folds were stiff like cardboard, and unpleasant; noticed too how the frayed edges of his shorts were making an uncomfortable, pink area on the front of his thighs. With a convulsion of the mind, Ralph discovered dirt and decay, understood how much he disliked perpetually flicking the tangled hair out of his eyes, and at last, when the sun was gone, rolling noisily to rest among dry leaves.



Ralph is sick of the savagery he sees around him, but this savagery is characterized by accumulated dirt. The physical filth on the surface becomes a symbol of the metaphorical filth of evil residing in each boy, that itself will soon struggle to be unleashed on the island.

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