wgolding.lordoftheflies-第49章

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〃mon　identity〃　18　but　also　to　share　a　〃mon　responsibility〃　for　the　deed。　By　this　means　the　children　assuage　the　enormity　of　having　killed　a　living　thing。　None　of　the　boys　is　excluded　from　the　feast。　The　later　ritual；　in　which　Simon；　as　a　human　substitute　identified　with　the　totem；　is　killed；　is　in　this　novel　not　an　unconscious　attempt　to　share　the　responsibility　for　the　killing　of　a　primal　father　in　prehistoric　times；　as　Freud　states；　rather；　it　is　here　a　social　act　in　which　the　participants　celebrate　their　new　society　by　memorating　their　severance　from　the　authority　or　the　civilized　state。　Because　of　the　juxtaposition　of　Piggy　and　pig；　the　eating　of　pig　at　the　munal　feast　might　be　regarded　as　the　symbolic　cannibalism　by　which　the　children　physically　partake　of　the　qualities　of　the　slain　and　share　responsibility　for　their　crime。　（It　must　be　remembered　that；　although　Piggy　on　a　symbolic　level　represents　the　light　of　reason　and　the　authority　of　the　father；　as　a　human　being　he　shares　that　bestiality　and　irrationality　which　to　Golding　dominate　all　men；　even　the　most　rational　or　civilized。）
　In　the　final　action；　Ralph　is　outlawed　by　the　children　and　hunted　like　an　animal。　One　boy；　Roger；　sharpens　a　stick　at
　
　16。　Totem　and　Taboo；　p。　878。
　17。　Ibid。；　p。　808；　
　18。　Ibid。；　p。　914。
　
　both　ends　so　that　it　will　be　ready　to　receive　the　severed　head　of　the　boy　as　if　he　were　a　pig。　Jack　keeps　his　society　together　because　it；　like　the　brother　horde　of　William　Robertson　Smith19　and　Freud；　〃is　based　on　plicity　in　the　mon　crimes。〃20　All　share　the　guilt　of　having　killed　Simon；　of　hunting　Ralph　down。　In　his　flight　Ralph；　seeing　the　grinning　skull　of　a　pig；　thinks　of　it　as　a　toy　and　remembers　the　early　days　on　the　island　when　all　were　united　in　play。　In　the　play　world；　the　world　of　day；　the　world　of　the　novel's　opening；　he　has　bee　a　〃spoilsport〃　like　Piggy；　in　the　world　based　upon　primitive　rites　and　taboos；　the　night　world　where　fears　bee　demons　and　sleep　is　like　death；　he　is　the　heretic　or　outcast；　the　rejected　god。　This　final　hunt；　after　the　conch　is　broken；　is　the　pursuit　of　the　figure　representing　civilized　law　and　order；　it　is　the　law　and　order　of　a　primitive　culture。　Finally；　Jack；　through　misuse　of　the　dead　Piggy's　glasses；　accidentally　sets　the　island　on　fire。　A　passing　cruiser；　seeing　the　fire；　lands　to　find　only　a　dirty　group　of　sobbing　little　boys。　〃　'Fun　and　games；'　said　the　officer。　。　。　。　'What　have　you　been　doing？　Having　a　war　or　something？'　〃　（185）。
　But　are　all　the　meanings　of　the　novel　as　clear　as　they　seem？　To　restrict　it　to　an　imaginative　re…creation　of　Freud's　theory　that　children　are　little　savages；　that　no　child　is　innocent　whatever　popular　Christian　theology　would　have　us　believe；　is　to　limit　its　significance　for　the　adult　world。　To　say　that　the　〃beasts〃　we　fear　are　within；　that　man　is　essentially　irrational…or；　to　place　a　moral　judgment　on　the　irrational；　that　man　is　evil…that；　again；　is　too　easy。　In　this　forced　isolation　of　a　group　of　children；　Golding　is　making　a　statement　about　the　world　they　have　left…a　world　that　we　are　told　is　〃in　ruins。〃　According　to　Huizinga's　theory　of　play；　war　is　a　game；　a　contest　for　prestige　which；　like　the　games　of　primitives　or　of　classical　athletes；　may　be　fatal。　It；　too；　has　its　rules；　although　the　modern　concept　of　total　war　tends　to　obscure　both　its　ritualistic　and　its　ennobling　character。　It；　too；　has　its　spatial　and　temporal　limitations；　as　the　rash　of　〃limited〃　wars　makes　very　clear。　More　than　once　the　children's　acts　are　pared　to　those　of　the　outside
　
　19。William　Robertson　Smith；　Lectures　on　the　Religion　of　the　Semites；　3rd　ed。；　with　an　introduction　by　Stanley　A。　Cook　（New　York：　Macmillan；　1927）。
　20。Totem　and　Taboo；　p。　916。
　
　world。　When　Jack　first　blackens　his　face　like　a　savage；　he　gives　his　explanation：　〃　'For　hunting。　Like　in　the　war。　You　know…dazzle　paint。　Like　things　trying　to　look　like　something　else'　〃　（57）。　Appalled　by　one　of　the　ritual　dances；　Piggy　and　Ralph　discuss　the　authority　and　rationality　of　the　apparently　secure　world　they　have　left：
　
　〃Grownups　know　things；〃　said　Piggy。　〃They　ain't　afraid　of　the　dark。　They'd　meet　and　have　tea　and　discuss。　Then　things　'ud　be　all　right…〃
　〃They　wouldn't　set　fire　to　the　island。　Or　lose…〃
　〃They'd　build　a　ship…〃
　The　three　boys　stood　in　the　darkness；　striving　unsuccessfully　to　convey　the　majesty　of　adult　life。
　〃They　wouldn't　quarrel…〃
　〃Or　break　my　specs…〃
　〃Or　talk　about　a　beast…〃
　〃If　only　they　could　get　a　message　to　us；〃　cried　Ralph　desperately。　〃If　only　they　could　send　us　something　grown…up　。　。　。　a　sign　or　something〃　（86…87）。
　
　The　sign　does　e　that　night；　unknown　to　them；　in　the　form　of　the　parachute　and　its　attached　corpse。　The　pilot　is　the　analogue　in　the　adult　world　to　the　ritual　killing　of　the　child　Simon　on　the　island；　he；　like　Simon；　is　the　victim　and　scapegoat　of　his　society；　which　has　unleashed　its　instincts　in　war。　Both　he　and　Simon　are　associated　by　a　cluster　of　visual　images。　Both　are　identified　with　beasts　by　the　children；　who　do　see　the　truth…that　all　men　are　bestial…but　do　not　understand　it。　Both　he　and　Simon　attract　the　flies　from　the　Lord　of　the　Flies；　the　pig's　head　symbolic　of　the　demonic；　both　he　and　Simon　are　washed　away　by　a　cleansing　but　not　reviving　sea。　His　position　on　the　mountain　recalls　the　hanged　or　sacrificed　god　of　Sir　James　Frazer's　The　Golden　Bough；　in　which　an　effigy　of　the　　god　is　buried　or　thrown　into　the　sea　to　insure　fertility　among　many　primitives；　here；　however；　we　have　a　parody　of　fertility。　He　is　dead　proof　that　Piggy's　exaggerated　respect　for　adults　is　itself　irrational。　When　the　officer　at　the　rescue　jokingly　says；　〃What　have　you　been　doing？　Having　a　war　or　something？〃　this　representative　of　the　grown…up　world　does　not　understand　that　the　games　of　the　children；　which　result　in　two　deaths；　are　a　moral　mentary　upon　the　primitive　nature　of　his　own　culture。　The　ultimate　irrationality　is　war。　Paradoxically；　the　children　not　only　regress　to　a　primitive　and　infantile　morality；　but　they　also　degenerate　into　adults。　They　prove　that；　indeed；　〃children　are　but　men　of　a　smaller　growth〃
　
　Notes　on　Lord　of　the　Flies1
　E。　L。　EPSTEIN
　
　IN　answer　to　a　publicity　questionnaire　from　the　American　publishers　of　Lord　of　the　Flies；　William　Golding　（born　Cornwall；　1911）　declared　that　he　was　brought　up　to　be　a　scientist；　and　revolted；　after　two　years　of　Oxford　he　changed　his　educational　emphasis　from　science　to　English　literature；　and　became　devoted　to　Anglo…Saxon。　After　publishing　a　volume　of　poetry　he　〃wasted　the　next　four　years；〃　and　when　World　War　II　broke　out　he　joined　the　Royal　Navy。　For　the　next　five　years　he　was　involved　in　naval　matters　except　for　a　few　months　in　New　York　and　six　months　with　Lord　Cherwell　in　a　〃research　establishment。〃　He　finished　his　naval　career　as　a　lieutenant　in　mand　of　a　rocket　ship；　he　had　seen　action　against　battleships；　submarines　and　aircraft；　and　had　participated　in　the　Walcheren　and　D…Day　operations。　After　the　war　he　began　teaching　and　writing。　Today；　his　novels　include　Lord　of　the　Flies　（Coward…McCann）；　The　Inheritors　（which　may　loosely　be　described　as　a　novel　of　prehistory　but　is；　like　all　of　Golding's　work；　much　more）；　and　Pincher　Martin　（published　in　this　country　by　Harcourt　Brace　as　The　Two　Deaths　of　Christopher　Martin）。　He　lists　his　Hobbies　as　thinking；　classical　Greek；　sailing　and　archaeology；　and　his　Literary　Influences　as　Euripides　and　the　anonymous　Anglo…Saxon　author　of　The　Battle　of　Maldon。
　The　theme　of　Lord　of　the　Flies　is　described　by　Golding　as　follows　（in　the　same　publicity　questionnaire）：　〃The　theme　is　an　attempt　to　trace　the　defects　of　society　back
　
　1。This　article　appeared　in　the　original　Capricorn　edition　of　Lord　of　the　Flies　（New　York：　Putnam's；　1959）；　249…55。
　
　to　the　defects　of　human　nature。　The　moral　is　that　the　shape　of　a　society　must　depend　on　the　ethical　nature　of　the　individual　and　not　on　any　political　system　however　apparently　logical　or　respectable。　The　whole　book　is　symbolic　in　nature　except　the　rescue　in　the　end　where　adult　life　appears；　dignified　and　capable；　but　in　reality　enmeshed　in　the　same　evil　as　the　symbolic　life　of　the　children　on　the　island。　The　officer；　having　interrupted　a　man…hunt；　prepares　to　take　the　children　off　the　island　in　a　cruiser　which　will　presently　be　hunting　its　enemy　in　the　same　implacable　way。　And　who　will　rescue　the　adult　and　his　cruiser？〃
　This　is；　of　course；　merely　a　casual　summing…up　on　Mr。　Golding's　part　of　his　extremely　plex　and　beautifully　woven　symbolic　web　which　bees　apparent　as　we　follow　through　the　book；　but　it　does　indicate　that　Lord　of　the　Flies　is　not；　to　say　the　least；　a　simple　adventure　story　of　boys　on　a　desert　island。　In　fact；　the　implications　of　the　story　go　far　beyond　the　degeneration　of　a　few　children。　What　is　unique　about　the　work　of　Golding　is　the　way　he　has　bined　and　synthesized　all　of　the　characteristically　twentieth…century　methods　of　analysis　of　the　human　being　and　human　society　and　used　this　unified　knowledge　to　ment　on　a　〃test　situation。〃　In　this　book；　as　in　few　others　at　the　present　time；　are　findings　of　psychoanalysts　of　all　schools；　anthropologists；　social　psychologists　and　philosophical　historians　mobilized　into　an　attack　upon　the　central　problem　of　modern　thought：　the　nature　of　the　human　personality　and　the　reflection　of　personality　on　society。2
　
　2。Epstein　perhaps　overstates　here。　The　novel　cannot　be　taken　as　a　final　synthesis　of　modern　thought　or　as　the　ultimate　ment　on　the　〃nature　of　the　human　personality。〃　The　boys　are　not　pletely　free　agents；　they　have　been　molded　by　British　civilization　for　some　years　before　being　deposited　on　the　island。　They　attempt　to　establish　a　government　that　imitates　democracy；　they　retain　confidence　in　adults；　they；　at　least　for　a　while；　behave　in　accord　with　prior　training；　as　when　Roger　throws　the　stones　near　but　not　at　Henry；　pp。　56…57。　Some　events　that　occur　depend　on　circumstance　rather　than　cause　and　effect。　For　example；　when　the　boys　ask　for　a　sign　from　the　adult　world　（p。　87）；　the　sign　conveniently　appears　（pp。　88…89）。　The　fortuitous　arrival　of　the　cruiser　at　the　climactic　moment　is　also　a　result　of　obvious　manipulation　on　the　part　of　Golding。　These　maneuvers　militate　against　the　authenticity　of　the　theme。　They　are　not　good　〃evidence。〃…Eds。
　
　Another　feature　of　Golding's　work　is　the　superb　use　of　symbolism；　a　symbolism　that　〃works。〃　The　central　symbol　itself；　〃the　lord　of　the　flies；〃'　is；　like　any　true　symbol；　much　more　than　the　sum　of　its　parts；　but　some　elements　of　it　may　be　isolated。　〃The　lord　of　the　flies〃　is；　of　course；　a　translation　of　the　Hebrew　Ba‘alzevuv　（Beelzebub　in　Greek）　which　means　literally　'lord　of　insects。〃　It　has　been　suggested　that　it　was　a　mistranslation　of　a　mistransliterated　word　which　gave　us　this　pungent　and　suggestive　name　for　the　Devil；　a　devil　whose　name　suggests　that　he　is　devoted　to　decay；　destruction；　demoralization；　hysteria　and　panic　and　who　therefore　fits　in　very　well　with　Golding's　theme。　He　does　not；　of　course；　suggest　that　the　Devil　is　present　in　any　traditional　religious　sense；　Golding's　Beelzebub　is　the　modern　equivalent；　the　anarchic；　amoral；　driving　Id　whose　only　function　seems　to　be　to　insure　the　survival　of　the　host　in　which　it　is　embed