How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #19
“You're a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!” (11.187)
Interesting! Ralph calls Jack both “a beast” and “a swine.” Lord of the Flies seems to argue that the boys are indeed both.
Quote #20
The booing rose and died again as Piggy lifted the white, magic shell.
“Which is better –to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?”
A great clamor rose among the savages. Piggy shouted again.
“Which is better –to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
Again the clamor and again – “Zup!”
Ralph shouted against the noise.
“Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”
Now Jack was yelling too and Ralph could no longer make himself heard. Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid mass of menace that bristled with spears. (11.200-207)
The description of the shell as “white, magic” seems to be the way Piggy sees it. The passage that follows proves that the shell is in fact no such thing; it can’t even get the boys to quiet down and listen.
Quote #21
The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went […]. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed. (11.209)
The conch explodes, marking the end of law and order on the island. As the law ceases to exist, so does Piggy.