Dialectical Journal For Lord Of The Flies Chapter 1 Essay

Passage 1:
“Where’s the man with the megaphone?”

The fair boy shook his head.

“This is an island. At least I think it’s an island. That’s a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren’t any grownups anywhere.”

This is a passage from the very first chapter of the novel. The man with the megaphone is the man who was the leader of the boys up until the plane crashed and the fact that he isn’t there anymore means than the boys don’t have a leader anymore. Ralph says the there might not be any grownups anywhere and that they, the boys, are on their own. This symbolises the end of the structured society as they know it, they have to be their own authority now and there will be no adults to stop them. This really lays down a base for all the stupid and horrible things the boys will commit later on in the novel.

Passage 2:
“The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away.”

This quote from chapter 5 shows that the world as they were used to, understandable and organised with laws, is slowly disappearing for the boys. This could be seen as a turning point in the book from which everything starts becoming more chaotic and the boys lose the order in their little civilization.

Passage 3:
“What I mean is . . . maybe it’s only us”

This one is relevant because Simon starts questioning the true nature of the beast and wondering if the beast is maybe within themselves. The beast was in the beginning of the novel just something made up by the littluns, the youngest boys, who were afraid of what was happening and because they were stranded on an island. They say that is a beast that comes from the ocean and then all the boys start arguing about the existence of the beast. Simon then comes to, the very philosophical for someone his age, conclusion that maybe the beast was themselves and not something outside of them. This is very similar to what Ralph thinks in passage 4 where it is shown that there is darkness in a man’s