Keyword Guide · study-guide
Chapter 4 deepens the novel’s conflict by showing how fear and power begin to replace cooperation. This guide explains the key events, characters, and ideas you need for tests and essays. Use it to review quickly or prepare for discussion.
The chapter focuses on the younger boys, often called the littluns, and their growing fear. Daily life on the island becomes less organized, and tensions rise between Ralph and Jack. A missed rescue opportunity highlights how priorities are shifting away from survival toward control and hunting.
Ralph represents order and responsibility, while Jack becomes more obsessed with hunting and authority. Their argument shows how leadership styles clash. The littluns suffer most, as they are frightened and ignored, revealing how the group’s breakdown affects the weakest members.
Fear is a central theme, especially fear of the unknown. The chapter also explores the loss of civilization, as rules matter less over time. Power and shame appear when characters are humiliated or act cruelly, showing early signs of moral decline.
The signal fire represents hope of rescue and connection to civilization; its failure is a turning point. Face paint begins to symbolize anonymity and freedom from rules. The island itself reflects how isolation allows human instincts to surface.
It marks a shift from cooperation to conflict, showing how fear and power start to dominate the boys’ behavior.
Jack becomes more focused on hunting and control, caring less about rules and shared goals like rescue.
Focus on the missed rescue signal, the treatment of the littluns, and how fear and leadership conflict drive the plot.
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