Golding’s description of fire/smoke helps develop it as a symbol to reinforce the idea that fire/smoke establishes a source of hope. When Ralph and Piggy first land on the island, they meet up with the other boys. They choose Ralph to be their leader, in which he decides that the only way to be rescued is by making fire/smoke. Golding’s words describe how Jack starts the fire: “Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose up and made him cough. Jack knelt too and blew gently, so that the smoke drifted away, thickening, and a tiny flame appeared. The flame, nearly invisible at first in that bright sunlight, enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with colour and reached up to a branch which exploded with a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer” (40).
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They wouldn’t be able to survive on the island forever. After being on the island for a while, Jack and his hunters lost interest in watching the fire. They thought that hunting prioritizes over watching the fire, building shelters, etc. As a result of this: “The fire was dead. They saw that straight away; saw what they had really known down on the beach when the smoke of home had beckoned. The fire was right out, smokeless and dead; the watchers were gone. A pile of unused fuel lay ready” (71). Because Jack and his hunters left the fire and went hunting instead, it completely burned out. The brighter the fire burns, the more hope the boys have left in them. As the fire slowly dies and turns into nothing but burnt wood, ashes, and leaves, it shows how the boys’ hope and interest starts to decrease; any signs of civilization are hard to see at this point. Although fire itself may be dangerous and destructive, Golding develops this symbol to represent the opposite of savagery:
They wouldn’t be able to survive on the island forever. After being on the island for a while, Jack and his hunters lost interest in watching the fire. They thought that hunting prioritizes over watching the fire, building shelters, etc. As a result of this: “The fire was dead. They saw that straight away; saw what they had really known down on the beach when the smoke of home had beckoned. The fire was right out, smokeless and dead; the watchers were gone. A pile of unused fuel lay ready” (71). Because Jack and his hunters left the fire and went hunting instead, it completely burned out. The brighter the fire burns, the more hope the boys have left in them. As the fire slowly dies and turns into nothing but burnt wood, ashes, and leaves, it shows how the boys’ hope and interest starts to decrease; any signs of civilization are hard to see at this point. Although fire itself may be dangerous and destructive, Golding develops this symbol to represent the opposite of savagery: