Thursday, March 15, 2012

In chapter 2 of "Lord of the Flies", how do the boys start the fire?

The boys go to the top of mountain. They gather dried wood and make a huge pile. For kindling, the twins Sam and Eric find dried leaves and pile them on top of the wood. Once this is accomplished, they are unsure of how to start the fire. Jack suggests rubbing two sticks together, and Roger says something about making a bow and spinning the arrow. Finally, when Piggy makes it up the mountain, Ralph asks him if he has any matches. Jack is suddenly struck with the ideas to use Piggy's glasses to make a fire. Jack takes the glasses from Piggy's face and kneels. Ralph takes the glasses and tries to start a fire.

Ralph moved the lenses back and forth...till a glossy white image of the declining sun lay on a peice of rotten wood. Almost at once a thin trickle of smoke rose...and a tiny flame appeared...[it] enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with color...[and] the flame flapped higher.

This is significant because if the fire goes out, Piggy is the only person who has the ability to relight it.

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