LOTF-Ch4-Summary

="Painted Faces and Long Hair"=

This chapter is in part an exploration of the "civility" of the boys. As time passes on the island the boys "become used to... the slow swing from dawn to dusk. They accepted the pleasures of the morning, the bright sun, the whelming sea and sweet air, as a time when play was good and life so full that **hope was not necessary** **and therefore forgotten**." pg 58

As the boys begin to lose hope of rescue, exchanging it for the pleasures of the island, the author gives us several snapshots of life on the island which chronicle the "de-evolution" of the boys in a slow descent from civility to savagery.

These snapshots include:
 * (pg 59) "The undoubted littluns, those aged about six,... ate most of the day,... were used now to... chronic diarrhoea. They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort."
 * (pg. 60) "Roger led the way straight through the castles, kicking them over, burying the flowers, scattering the chosen stones. Maurice followed, laughing, and added to the destruction."
 * (pg. 60) "Johnny watched [Percival] with china-blue eyes; then began to fling up sand... and presently Percival was crying again."
 * (pg. 62) "Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry."
 * (pg. 64) "[Jack] began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling."
 * (pg. 68) "The fire was dead. They saw that straight away...the fire was out, smokeless and dead."
 * (pg. 69) "'There was lashings of blood,' said Jack, laughing and shuddering, 'you should have seen it!'"

Finally, after a confrontation with Jack in which Ralph re-asserts his authority, the signal fire is lit, this time by Ralph who borrows Piggy's glasses. This act, along with the argument over the fire causes a permanent rift between Ralph and Jack.