In Chapter 8 the reader sees the build up of Jack’s conflict with Ralph. Jack and Ralph have seen what they believe is a beast. Ralph tries to explain that only armed with spears and sticks that Jack and the hunters could not kill the best. Jack takes the conch and calls a meeting. He is trying to take over as the leader of the group. He begins to start the other boys looking at Ralph as a coward.
Jack separates his "tribe" from Ralph's group. Some of the older boys have gone with him leaving behind Ralph and most of the littleuns. Jack tells the boys they will hunt and that he is their chief. He tells them to forget about the best.
"They agreed passionately out of the depths of their tormented private lives." ((133)
The statement can be viewed to mean several different things. The boys all came from different homes. There was an apocalyptic event that led to them being transported to safety. In the back of their minds they must have been worried about what had happened to their families. In this manner they were tortured.
Another message that the statement supports is that the boys have been living on the island in fear. They have no adult to guide them or help them to meet their basic needs. They are dependent on the ideas of Jack and up till now Ralph. Each boy has experienced his own internal torture as they cope with the fear of the beast. They do not know yet that the beast is within them and they have chosen the path that will lead them to become the beast with Jack.
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