Lord of the Flies Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Ralph goes to the beach and thinks about what he has to say. He blows the conch. Everyone comes and sits there, listening carefully to Ralph. Ralph starts by scolding everyone for being childish and not taking things seriously. He says that he called the meeting to get things straight and make rules and regulations to be followed. He criticizes everyone for not doing anything they agreed upon, including storing water, building shelters, and keeping the fire alive. He orders them to keep the signal fire alive, mentioning that fire is the most important thing on this island. Jack tries to take the conch to speak, but Ralph refuses to let him speak. Then, Ralph starts discussing the rising fear among the younger boys. He thinks that they should express their fears to end it. Jack starts speaking and says that the younger boys think of nothing but fearing and crying. He thinks that they are useless, as they do not assist in building shelters, hunting, or any other tasks because they are afraid. He reassures them that there is no beast, as he has been to every corner of the forest. Piggy supports Jack's argument. The biguns try to convince the littluns in every possible way, but they stick to their belief. One of the littluns tells everyone that he saw a beast the previous night. Simon tells everyone that he was in the jungle the previous night and the younger boy would have seen him. Another younger boy stands up and tries to give his telephone number but cannot remember it. He starts crying, and he tells everyone that the beast comes from the sea every night. This terrifies everyone, including the biguns. Ralph takes a vote on whether or not they believe in ghosts. The majority raise their hands. Piggy tells everyone that ghosts do not exist. He also mentions the hunters letting the signal fire go out, which makes Jack furious, and he rips the conch from Piggy. Ralph criticizes Jack for breaking the rule. Jack says that he does not care about any rules; he just wants to hunt pigs. He says that he does see not Ralph as a leader and starts chanting on the beach. Everyone except Ralph, Piggy, and Simon joins him. Ralph wants to step down from being chief, but Piggy protests. They wish that adults were around to control this situation.
