Wednesday, March 19, 2014

In Lord of the Flies, how can the narrator be mature?

One of the ways that the narrator can be mature is in their diction. A child or immature person would never use phrases like the following sentence: “The fair boy said this solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him.” Just as a child would never say “the delight of a realized ambition,” an immature narrator also could not do so.


This same phrasing implies an ability to understand the boys better than they understand themselves. The narrator can understand and recognize the emotions and thoughts of the boys in a way that would be impossible for someone at their same level.


The narrator also describes the actions of the boys and the developments on the island in a very mature, thoughtful way. For example when describing Bill at the end of the story, he says “this was a savage whose image refused to blend with that ancient picture of a boy in shorts and shirt.” There is an understanding of the changes that have taken place that only a mature and wise narrator could understand and describe.

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