Ralph makes it clear that the boys need to build a fire for rescue. What they do not understand is that without certain control of the fire, it can be unmanageable. After building the fire, they witness that “beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame” (44). Initially, the boys create the fire for rescue. Instead, they burn down half the island and kill one of the boys. The fire that is being used as a signal for rescue turns into a symbol for destruction and savagery. After splitting from the group, Jack attempts to hunt and kill Ralph so that Jack can be the real chief. To do this, Jack “smoked him out and set the island on fire” (197). Ironically, it is the fire intended to kill Ralph that got the boys rescued by the naval officer. In reality, the boys are not being rescued at all. The island is a mirror image of what is going on in the real world: a war. The boys are just being transported into another version of the island. Thus, rescue and destruction are represented as the same
Ralph makes it clear that the boys need to build a fire for rescue. What they do not understand is that without certain control of the fire, it can be unmanageable. After building the fire, they witness that “beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame” (44). Initially, the boys create the fire for rescue. Instead, they burn down half the island and kill one of the boys. The fire that is being used as a signal for rescue turns into a symbol for destruction and savagery. After splitting from the group, Jack attempts to hunt and kill Ralph so that Jack can be the real chief. To do this, Jack “smoked him out and set the island on fire” (197). Ironically, it is the fire intended to kill Ralph that got the boys rescued by the naval officer. In reality, the boys are not being rescued at all. The island is a mirror image of what is going on in the real world: a war. The boys are just being transported into another version of the island. Thus, rescue and destruction are represented as the same