In Chapter Three, the emergence of the savage nature of
Jack becomes apparent. As Jack sniffs the undergrowth and humid earth, he seeks like an
animal the feral pigs that roam the island. When a roused bird screams, he shrinks at
the cry "with a hiss of indrawn breath." He crounches and becomes little more than "a
furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees." Clearly, Jack is reverting in his
behavior to a primitive creature as he pushes his way through the forest and nears the
lagoon where Ralph stands by a shakily-built shelter, the other is
dilapidated.
When Ralph remarks that the other hunters
have already returned, Jack tries to explain his compulsion to track down and kill, a
compulsion "that was swallowing him up." And, there is a "madness" in his eyes as he
speaks. "I thought I might kill." Clearly Jack has become consumed with the primitive
excitement of hunting and killing; he is quickly regressing into a savage, rather than
the civilized boy that he was back home. He talks of putting a barb on his spear to more
easily snare the pig when he casts his spear. However, when Ralph tells him that the
lill'uns are frightened at night and, therefore, shelters need to be built, Jack
confesses his uneasiness in the forest, saying that he sometimes feels as though
something is behind him in the jungle. "Of course there's nothing to it," he adds when
Ralph looks at him. "Only I know how they feel. See? That's all," he excuses his
weakness. Then, when Ralph mentions getting rescued, Jack "had to think for a moment
before he could remember what rescue was" because he has regressed so far in his mind
from civilization.
No comments:
Post a Comment