Blogging Lord of the Flies, Chapter 6: Beast from Air

"Beast from Water" earned its title from hapless Percival's suggestion that the monster comes out of the ocean. What terrifying revelations will "Beast from Air" hold? Pterodactyls? No, but read on anyway!

Speaking of Percival, at no point in this novel has the kid been doing too well, but he's getting worse. The last chapter ended with him prone in the grass, wailing hopelessly, and that's where this one picks up. What he really needs is a therapist or his mom or something, but all he's got is Ralph and Piggy, who are not even nearly therapists or moms. They heft Percival up like a sack of potatoes and dump him in a shelter, then go to sleep. (This is, admittedly, far preferable to what Jack or Roger would likely have done.)

The narrator explains that after a dogfight high above the island, a pilot parachutes down toward land. It's evidently not his lucky day: first off, he is no longer alive, and second, even his dead self is about to create a bunch of a problems for this whole island full of kids.

Sam and Eric, who have spent the night "tending the fire" by going to sleep and not doing that, wake up and relight it while finishing each other's sentences like stereotypical twins. But soon, oh no, what's that floating down into the trees? In Scooby Doo fashion, the twins cling to each other, aghast, and go fleeing down the mountain, unaware that the monster is just Old Man Dead Pilot. The silhouette of his parachute and its accompanying billowy noises are monstrous enough for them.

Ralph has been having a happy dream during all of this, so he has something of a rude awakening.

Sam and Eric breathlessly stumble through an account of their Actual Beast-Seeing Experience, and as the sun finally dawns, Ralph sends them out to quietly rouse everyone. In the jungle around them, everything seems terrifying. Trees rustling? That's the beast. A bird squawking? That's the beast. No sound whatsoever? Oh, that's definitely the beast.

With the boys all gathered around the platform, the twins launch into a predictably wild-eyed and exaggerated description of events ("OMG YOUR FACE IS SCRATCHED, WAS THAT THE BEAST??" "YES PROBABLY"). Also predictable is that the meeting erupts into Round One Million of Ralph vs. Jack, with Ralph advocating caution and Jack advocating hasty, disorganized monster-stabbing. But Ralph will not be dissuaded; he woke up from a dream full of happiness and ponies to an island full of stinky maniacs, and all he's thinking about right now is getting rescued. He wants to take care of the fire, but first he's obligated to visit the last place on the island Jack hasn't been. It's a rare instance of some 12-year-olds deciding, "Hey, where is there most likely to be a monster? We should go there."

The hunters, led by Ralph and Jack, embark on an expedition to the as-yet unvisited Mystery Spot, leaving half-blind Piggy and the terrified littluns behind as a stalwart vanguard that will do its best not to get eaten. Simon, who is the most insightful kid on…well, any island, anywhere, doesn't quite buy this monster business. He seems to want to talk to Ralph about it, but instead walks smack into a tree. Ralph barely even notices; he's busy preparing to be devoured.

Well, okay, Ralph is not 100% certain that he is about to die, but he's definitely afraid. And all snarkiness aside, once the boys arrive at the mysterious outcropping, we get 13 of the most important words in the book. Everyone's standing around, frozen in place, Ralph and Jack are looking at each other, and then: "Something deep in Ralph spoke for him. 'I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue.'"

Keep in mind that Ralph was voted chief primarily because he found a conch shell in a lagoon and because he's attractive. He's been a decent leader, and he's done as well as can be expected for someone so young, but this moment right here is huge. For all his prowess and violence, Jack doesn't choose to go first. Ralph does. Something in him compels him to volunteer. He says goodbye to the others and walks grimly across the outcropping, passing over the wild ocean and turning the corner to face the unknown, where he finds…

You're bright readers. You know he doesn't find anything. There's no monster clinging to the side of the cliff. The only person in the story who knows that for sure, though, is the parachute guy, who is presently too busy being dead to tell anybody. But with Ralph apparently unharmed, Jack quietly joins him, and then so does everyone else. Now feeling out of danger, the kids burst into a shoving-rocks-off-the-cliff party.

A furious Ralph barely manages to get them back under control, reminding them of the importance of the signal fire, but it's clear that they're far more interested in goofing off than in following Ralph at this point.  As a matter of fact, it's Jack who leads the way back, which does not bode well for the upcoming night in Chapter Seven: Shadows and Tall Trees. Having found no monster, will the kids keep their cool when it's dark out? Have we seen the last of the dead pilot? Will everyone go even more ridiculously insane than they already are? The answer to one of these questions is "yes."