In William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, nobody starts a signal fire by rubbing two sticks together. After the boys amass a pile of wood, Ralph and Jack realize they don't actually know how to start the fire. Ralph asks Jack to light it, at which time Jack says "you rub two sticks together." Ralph then foolishly asks for matches, and the boys slowly begin to realize that they have no hope of lighting the fire. However, when Piggy approaches, Jack points suddenly and says "His specs—use them as burning glasses!" Piggy is reluctant to give up his glasses, but the boys take them and
Ralph moved the lenses back and forth, this way and that, till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a piece of rotten wood. 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 color and reached up to a branch which exploded with a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer.
The lighting of the fire essentially comes down to the three principle characters of the text. It is Ralph's initial idea, it is Jack's suggestion of how to make it happen, Piggy provides the means, and Ralph and Jack execute.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Who starts the signal fire by rubbing two sticks together?
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