Lord of the Flies – Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is the technique of arranging events and information in a narrative in such a way that later events are prepared for, or foretold in anticipation. For example, a well-constructed novel will imply at the very beginning what the outcome may be. The end is contained in the beginning and this gives structural and thematic unity. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author presents many examples of foreshadowing and this presentation will display where they occurred and how they impacted the rest of the book.
During chapter two when Roger and a few of the other kids start rolling boulders down the side of the mountain and early in the novel when there is talk about killing pigs for food, meat and other various reasons, the reader interprets this as foreshadowing to Piggy’s death. Reasons this is accounted as foreshadowing is because piggy represents weakness to the other boys on the island, as do pigs to the animal society. They both share similar attributes such as defenselessness and physical repulsion. Not to mention they have the same name.
In the book Piggy symbolizes not only weakness but also intellect. The author foreshadowed Piggy’s death many times and many different ways. He was really foreshadowing the loss of smarts on the island and hope of being rescued. All that would be left would be savages lost in their own childhood with no desire, or even knowledge of how to get rescued. It was of a high likelihood that they would never have been rescued if they had not of lit the whole island on fire, hence creating a signal like Ralph had wanted to do right from the start. Where did Ralph get the idea of a signal and rescue? He was told from Piggy of course.
Through out the beginning chapters of the story the author foreshadows actions that take place later in the book during chapter eleven and twelve. He foreshadows some of these things by introducing conflicts between characters and between nature. A few examples are Ralph representing good versus Jack representing evil and Jack portrayed as strong versus Piggy portrayed as weak. These foretell such actions as Piggy’s death once again Jack taking over as leader.
The use of the literary device for the example above affects the entire novel greatly because it gives the author a lot to work around. This is due to it really being a conflict, and conflict is one of the major themes since almost every event or action in this book revolves around it.
After Jack fails at his first attempt to kill the pig, he quotes “next time…” This is foreshadowing future slaying, pig hunts and his savage killing. The consistent pig runs and tribal dance shows the groups change into savagery and the loss of civilization on the island.
This impacts the novel because in any situation where one is stranded and needs help and to be rescued, it is most important the people stranded remain civilized and work to achieve the group’s goal, which is obviously rescue. With the ruin of civilization all order on the island goes completely down the drain and no longer exists and it now becomes a struggle to survive and later pursue the intent of being rescued.
Coming to conclusion, foreshadowing is one of the key elements in this book and is used very effectively by the author. In this story particularly the foreshadowing gives that tension and excitement that leaves the reader striving for more.