![]() ![]() ![]() Before the fire, the boys take time for play, a luxury available only to those protected by a civilization, not for those engaged in a fight for survival. Later, with the probable deaths of some of the little boys, Ralph begins to realize that the group's disregard for his authority can and will have grim consequences. The fire becomes more like serious work when they make plans for specific teams to tend it. This first bonfire is an act of communal play for all the boys, topped off with Ralph standing on his head to mark their triumph. The fire expresses another duality as well, a before and after for Ralph's perception of their situation and his role. The boys' fire shows that one entity can contain hot and cold, good and evil, civility and savagery. In some individuals, the savage side runs closer to the surface, as with Jack, but it exists in everyone. Just as the beach platform and the untamed jungle represent the duality in humanity's behavior, the fire, also, represents both savagery (evil) and hope: "On one side the air was cool, but on the other the fire thrust out a savage arm of heat." Golding could be describing here how societies and individuals contain these conflicting yet complementary forces. First, it represents hope and aspirations for the future, a gift from the gods, a tool that separates humankind from the animals. The fire on the mountain has tremendous symbolic meaning. ![]()
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