The author's choice to have Piggy "searching out safe lodgments for his feet" has several effects. It shows that Piggy naturally thinks before he acts and is careful. Also, the fact that William Golding decided to make this less apparent than his physical appearance foreshadows that his knowledge and capability may be ignored because he looks different than the others. Therefore needed leadership, help, and ideas might not be gained because of the close-mindedness and immaturity of the boys. The effect of this was to cause fights and rebellion and an overall deterioration of group-mindedness and achievements.
The choice of weather also had a big impact on the book. The fact that in the first page the author includes the quote "a multitude of raindrops fell pattering" (1) affects many aspects of the story. This shows there is a high amount of precipitation on the island which causes it to rain during key points in the book. It rains the night Simon was killed which is foreshadowed by the quote from page one. Rain can be dreary and uncomfortable, especially when the boys are living in the wilderness. This creates an atmosphere of unease and restlessness for the boys to leave the island, especially when bad situations such as Simon's death are associated with it. The rain has an impact on the mood in the book.
I think you have done a nice job of addressing the mood. It certainly does get established in the first pages of the book.
ReplyDeleteStart thinking about why our author does these things right from the first page.