masculinity

• “He looked critically at Ralph’s golden body” -piggy thoughts on ralph


  -Ralph as a symbol of idealised masculinity—associated with perfection, strength, and even a god-like purity. The adjective “golden” connotes value and admiration, immediately placing Ralph in a position of physical superiority.

  • piggys feelings reveals discomfort and self-consciousness. By shifting focus from Ralph’s body to his own clothing, Golding highlights asense of inadequacy and internalised judgment, suggesting that masculinity, even at a young age, is tied to physical appearance and comparison.
  • foreshadows the deeper power dynamics and identity struggles that will emerge among the boys, rooted in physical dominance and social perception
• “Piggy was a bore; his fat, his ass-mar and his matter-of-fact ideas were dull; there was always a little pleasure to be got out of pulling his leg…” 


  -The listing of Piggy’s perceived flaws dehumanises him, reducing his identity to physical and intellectual traits that set him apart from the other boys.

  -The final clause, “there was always a little pleasure to be got out of pulling his leg…” reveals the boys' growing enjoyment in cruelty.normalises the humiliation of Piggy as entertainment.

  • This foreshadows the group's descent into savagery
• “The Chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him. The newly beaten and untied Wilfred was sniffling noisily in the background.”


  -Jack has abandoned his individual self in favour of a tribal, authoritarian role.

  -the war paint becomes a mask that both conceals his identity and enables brutality without guilt.colours white and red may symbolise death, violence, and moral emptiness

  • structure of the sentence places Jack in a position of dominance, with “the tribe” submissively gathered “in a semicircle before him.” This imagery mirrors tribal or even religious ceremonies
  • image of “the newly beaten and untied Wilfred” introduces casual violence as a norm.
• “The officer,turned away to give them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance.”


  -expressions of vulnerability are uncomfortable within the framework of stoic masculinity.

  -men are conditioned to avoid emotional intimacy or expressions of weakness. His embarrassment reflects a cultural expectation of men

  • Golding juxtaposes the raw emotion of the boys with the officer’s focus on the “trim” connotes neatness and order, symbolising the polished surface of civilisation and military discipline— uphold traditional masculine ideals Yet, this stands in sharp contrast to the chaos and emotional collapse in front of him