Tuesday 30 December 2014

Why does Ralph's talk of rescue sound naive or innocent?

At the second assembly, while Ralph is still getting used to his role as chief, he tries to set a positive tone with the boys. He says, "We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued." Putting those two goals side by side in this way makes his talk of rescue sound like a boyish game. He goes on to say, "And of course we shall be rescued." This statement has no proof...

At the second assembly, while Ralph is still getting used to his role as chief, he tries to set a positive tone with the boys. He says, "We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued." Putting those two goals side by side in this way makes his talk of rescue sound like a boyish game. He goes on to say, "And of course we shall be rescued." This statement has no proof behind it, only Ralph's word as the new chief, yet it brings "light and happiness" to the boys. Ralph then goes on to explain that his father is in the Navy and has told him about the Queen's room full of charts and maps. The thought of their island being on a map in the Queen's "big room" seems comforting, but it is really of no practical use. Just because their island is on a map somewhere does not make it any easier for the boys to be located since no one knows what island they have crashed on. More bothersome still, if the boys had taken time to think it through, is the knowledge that the Queen's room and all the maps may have been destroyed in the atomic bomb that Piggy heard the pilot of their plane talking about. Ralph has heard that news from Piggy, but here he chooses not to consider it, through his innocence or naivete.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Is there any personification in "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

Personification is a literary device in which the author attributes human characteristics and features to inanimate objects, ideas, or anima...