wgolding.lordoftheflies-第4部分

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lizes　in　the　only　form　he　can　possibly　assume；　the　very　image　of　his　creator；　and　once　he　is　visible；　projected　（once　the　hunted　has　bee　the　hunter）；　the　circle　closes　in　an　agony　of　relief。　Simon；　call　him　prophet；　seer　or　saint；　is　blessed　and　cursed　by　those　intuitions　which　threaten　the　ritual　of　the　tribe。　In　whatever　culture　the　saint　appears；　he　is　doomed　by　his　unique　insights。　There　is　a　vital；　if　obvious；　irony　to　be　observed　in　the　fact　that　the　lost　children　of　Golding's　fable　are　of　Christian　heritage；　but　when　they　blindly　kill　their　savior　they　re…enact　an　ancient　tragedy；　universal　because　it　has　its　true　source　in　the　defects　of　the　species。
　The　beast；　too；　is　as　old　as　his　maker　and　has　assumed　many　names；　though　of　course　his　character　must　remain　quite　consistent　The　particular　beast　who　speaks　to　Simon　is　much　like　his　namesake；　Beelzebub。　A　prince　of　demons　of　Assyrian　or　Hebrew　descent；　but　later　appropriated　by　Christians；　he　is　a　lord　of　the　flies；　an　idol　for　unclean　beings。　He　is　what　all　devils　are：　an　embodiment　of　the　lusts　and　cruelties　which　possess　his　worshipers　and　of　peculiar　power　among　the　Philistines；　the　unenlightened；　fearful　herd。　He　shares　some　kinship　with　Dionysus；　for　his　powers　and　effects　are　much　the　same。　In　The　Bacchae　Dionysus　is　shown　〃as　the　source　of　ecstasies　and　disasters；　as　the　enemy　of　intellect　and　the　defense　of　man　against　his　isolation；　as　a　power　that　can　make　him　feel　like　a　god　while　acting　like　a　beast。　。。。〃　As　such；　he　is　〃a　god　whom　all　can　recognize。〃　14
　Nor　is　it　difficult　to　recognize　the　island　on　which　Golding's　innocents　are　set　down　as　a　natural　paradise；　an　un…corrupted　Eden　offering　all　the　lush　abundance　of　the　primal　earth。　But　it　is　lost　with　the　first　rumors　of　the　〃snake…thing；〃　because　he　is　the　ancient；　inescapable　presence　who　insures　a　repetition　of　the　fall。　If　this　fall　from　grace　is　indeed　the　〃perennial　myth〃　that　Golding　explores　in　all　his　work；15　it　does　not　seem　that　he　has　found　in　Genesis　a　metaphor　capable　of　illuminating　the　full　range　of　his　theme。　In　The　Bacchae　Golding　the　classicist　found　another　version　of　the　fall　of　man；　and　it　is　clearly　more　useful　to　him　than　its　Biblical　counterpart。　For　one　thing；　it　makes　it　possible　to　avoid　the　paratively　narrow　moral　connotations　most　of　us　are　inclined　to　read　into　the　warfare　between　Satan　（unqualifiedly　evil）　and　God　（unqualifiedly　good）。　Satan　is　a　fallen　angel　seeking　vengeance　on　the　godhead；　and　we　therefore　think　of　him　as　an　autonomous　entity；　a　being　in　his　own　right　and　prince　of　his　own　domain。　Dionysus；　on　the　other　hand；　is　a　son　of　God　（Zeus）　and　thus　a　manifestation　or　agent　of　the　godhead　or　mystery　with　whom　man　seeks　munion；　or；　perverse　in　his　pride；　denies　at　his　own　peril。　To　resist　Dionysus　is　to　resist　nature　itself；　and　this　attempt　to　transcend　the　laws　of　creation　brings　down　upon　us　the　punishment　of　the　god。　Further；　the　ritual…hunt　of　The　Bacchae　provides　something　else　not　found　in　the　Biblical　account。　The　hunt　on　Golding's　island　emerges　spontaneously　out　of　childish　play；　but　it　es　to　serve　as　a　key　to　psychology　underlying　human　conflict　and；　of　course；　an　effective　symbol　for　the　bloody　game　we　have　played　throughout　our　history。　This　is　not　to　say　that　Biblical　metaphor　is　unimportant　in　Lord　of　the　Flies；　or　in　the　later　works；　but　it　forms　only　a　part　of　the　larger　mythic　frame　in　which　Golding　sees　the　nature　and　destiny　of　man。
　
　14。　R。　P。　Winnington…Ingram；　Euripides　and　Dionysus：　An　Interpretation　of　the　Bacchae　（Cambridge；　England：　Cambridge　University　Press；　1948）；　pp。　9…10。
　15。　See　Ian　Gregor　and　Mark　Kinkead…Weekes；　〃The　Strange　Case　of　Mr。　Golding　and　his　Critics；〃　Twentieth　Century。　167　（February；　1960）；　118。
　
　Unfortunately；　the　critics　have　concentrated　all　too　much　on　Golding's　debt　to　Christian　sources；　with　the　result　that　he　is　popularly　regarded　as　a　rigid　Christian　moralist　Yet　the　fact　is　that　he　does　not　reject　one　orthodoxy　only　to　fall　into　another。　The　emphasis　of　his　critics　has　obscured　Gold…ing's　fundamental　realism　and　made　it　difficult　to　recognize　that　he　satirizes　the　Christian　as　well　as　the　rationalist　point　of　view。　In　Lord　of　the　Flies；　for　example；　the　much　discussed　last　chapter　offers　none　of　the　traditional　forts。　A　fable；　by　virtue　of　its　far…reaching　suggestions；　touches　upon　a　dimension　that　most　fiction　does　not…the　dimension　of　prophecy。　With　the　appearance　of　the　naval　officer　it　is　no　longer　possible　to　accept　the　evolution　of　the　island　society　as　an　isolated　failure。　The　events　we　have　witnessed　constitute　a　picture　of　realities　which　obtain　in　the　world　at　large。　There；　too；　a　legendary　beast　has　emerged　from　the　dark　wood；　e　from　the　sea；　or　fallen　from　the　sky；　and　men　have　gathered　for　the　munion　of　the　hunt。　In　retrospect；　the　entire　fable　suggests　a　grim　parallel　with　the　prophecies　of　the　Biblical　Apocalypse。　According　to　that　vision　the　weary　repetition　of　human　failure　is　assured　by　the　birth　of　new　devils　for　each　generation　of　men。　The　first　demon；　who　fathers　all　the　others；　falls　from　the　heavens；　the　second　is　summoned　from　the　sea　to　make　war　upon　the　saints　and　overe　them；　the　third；　emerging　from　the　earth　itself；　induces　man　to　make　and　worship　an　image　of　the　beast。　It　also　decrees　that　this　image　〃should　both　speak　and　cause　that　as　many　as　should　not　worship〃　the　beast　should　be　killed。　Each　devil　in　turn　lords　over　the　earth　for　an　era；　and　then　the　long　nightmare　of　history　is　broken　by　the　second　ing　and　the　divine　millennium。　In　Lord　of　the　Flies　（note　some　of　the　chapter　tides）　we　see　much　the　same　sequence；　but　it　occurs　in　a　highly　accelerated　evolution。　The　parallel　ends；　however；　with　the　irony　of　Golding's　climactic　revelation。　The　childish　hope　of　rescue　perishes　as　the　beast…man　es　to　the　shore；　for　he　bears　in　his　nature　the　bitter　promise　that　things　will　remain　as　they　are；　and　as　they　have　been　since　his　first　appearance　ages　and　ages　ago。
　The　rebirth　of　evil　is　made　certain　by　the　fatal　defects　inherent　in　human　nature；　and　the　haunted　island　we　occupy　must　always　be　a　fortress　on　which　enchanted　hunters　pursue　the　beast。　There　is　no　rescue。　The　making　of　history　and　the　making　of　myth　are　finally　the　selfsame　process…an　old　process　in　which　the　soul　makes　its　own　place；　its　own　reality。
　In　spite　of　its　rich　and　varied　metaphor　Lord　of　the　Flies　is　not　a　bookish　fable；　and　Golding　has　warned　that　he　will　concede　little　or　nothing　to　The　Golden　Bough。16　There　are　real　dangers　in　ignoring　this　disclaimer。　To　do　so　obscures　the　contemporary　relevance　of　his　art　and　its　experiential　sources。　During　the　period　of　World　War　II　he　observed　first　hand　the　expenditure　of　human　ingenuity　in　the　old　ritual　of　war。　As　the　illusions　of　his　early　rationalism　and　humanism　fell　away；　new　images　emerged；　and；　as　for　Simon；　a　picture　of　〃a　human　at　once　heroic　and　sick〃　formed　in　his　mind。　When　the　war　ended；　Golding　was　ready　to　write　（as　he　had　not　been　before）；　and　it　was　natural　to　find　in　the　traditions　he　knew　the　metaphors　which　could　define　the　continuity　of　the　soul's　flaws。　In　one　sense；　the　〃fable〃　was　already　written。　One　had　but　to　trace　over　the　words　upon　the　scroll17　and　so　collaborate　with　history。
　
　16。See　Golding's　reply　to　Professor　Kermode　in　〃The　Meaning　of　It　All；〃　p。　199　in　this　volume。
　17。In　a　letter　to　me　（September；　1962）　Professor　Frank　Kermode　recalls　Golding's　remark　to　the　effect　that　he　was　〃tracing　words　already　on　the　paper〃　during　the　writing　of　Lord　of　the　Flies。
　
　For　my　mother　and　father
　CHAPTER　ONE
　The　Sound　of　the　Shell
　
　The　boy　with　fair　hair　lowered　himself　down　the　last　few　feet　of　rock　and　began　to　pick　his　way　toward　the　lagoon。　Though　he　had　taken　off　his　school　sweater　and　trailed　it　now　from　one　hand；　his　grey　shirt　stuck　to　him　and　his　hair　was　plastered　to　his　forehead。　All　round　him　the　long　scar　smashed　into　the　jungle　was　a　bath　of　heat。　He　was　clambering　heavily　among　the　creepers　and　broken　trunks　when　a　bird；　a　vision　of　red　and　yellow；　flashed　upwards　with　a　witch…like　cry；　and　this　cry　was　echoed　by　another。
　〃Hi！〃　it　said。　〃Wait　a　minute！〃
　The　undergrowth　at　the　side　of　the　scar　was　shaken　and　a　multitude　of　raindrops　fell　pattering。
　〃Wait　a　minute；〃　the　voice　said。　'　I　got　caught　up。〃
　The　fair　boy　stopped　and　jerked　his　stockings　with　an　automatic　gesture　that　made　the　jungle　seem　for　a　moment　like　the　Home　Counties。
　The　voice　spoke　again。
　〃I　can't　hardly　move　with　all　these　creeper　things。〃
　The　owner　of　the　voice　came　backing　out　of　the　undergrowth　so　that　twigs　scratched　on　a　greasy　wind…breaker。　The　naked　crooks　of　his　knees　were　plump；　caught　and　scratched　by　thorns。　He　bent　down；　removed　the　thorns　carefully；　and　turned　round。　He　was　shorter　than　the　fair　boy　and　very　fat。　He　came　forward；　searching　out　safe　lodgments　for　his　feet；　and　then　looked　up　through　thick　spectacles。
　〃Where's　the　man　with　the　megaphone？〃
　The　fair　boy　shook　his　head。
　〃This　is　an　island。　At　least　I　think　it's　an　island。　That's　a　reef　out　in　the　sea。　Perhaps　there　aren't　any　grownups　anywhere。〃
　The　fat　boy　looked　startled。
　'There　was　that　pilot。　But　he　wasn't　in　the　p