"Towards midnight the rain ceased and the clouds drifted away, so that the sky was scattered once more with the incredible lamps of stars. Then the breeze died too and there was no noise save the drip and tickle of water that ran out of clefts and spilled down, leaf by leaf, to the brown earth of the island. The air was cool, moist, and clear; and presently even the sound of the water was still. The beast lay huddled on the pale beach and the stains spread, inch by inch.
The edge of the lagoon became a streak of phosphorescence which advanced minutely, as the great wave of the tide flowed. The clear water mirrored the clear sky and the angular bright constellations. The line of phosphorescence bulged about the sand grains and little pebbles; it held them each in a dimple of tension, then suddenly accepted them with an inaudible syllable and moved on.
Along the shoreward edge of the shallows the advancing clearness was full of strange, moonbeam-bodied creatures with fiery eyes. Here and there a larger pebble clung to its own air and was covered with a coat of pearls. The tide swelled in over the rain-pitted sand and smoothed everything with a layer of silver. Now it touched the first of the stains that seeped from the broken body and the creatures made a moving patch of light as they gathered at the edge. The water rose further and dressed Simon's coarse hair with brightness. The line of his cheek silvered and the turn of his shoulder became sculptured marble. The strange, attendant creatures, with their fiery eyes and trailing vapours busied themselves round his head. The body lifted a fraction of an inch from the sand and a bubble of air escaped from the mouth with a wet plop. Then it turned gently in the water.
Somewhere over the darkened curve of the world the sun and moon were pulling; and the film of water on the earth planet was held, bulging slightly on one side while the solid core turned. The great wave of the tide moved further along the island and the water lifted. Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out towards the open sea.”
2 comments:
Golding's word choice creates a serene atmosphere after the violent actions that led to Simon's death. He uses phrases such as, "rain ceased," and, "clouds drifted away," to indicate a stillness of sorts. "Then the breeze died too and there was no noise..." This completes the peaceful setting by making it calm and quiet. With Golding's vivid word choice, the peaceful nature of this scene is made clear. Simon, the misunderstood and sympathetic islander, with his broken body and coarse hair, is finally free. He is free from the boys who presented a threat to him, free from fainting spells, and most importantly, free from the hardships of surviving on the unforgiving island. Through his use of words, Golding creates a calm and gentle scene that relieves Simon of pain and suffering while sending him off.
Quite honestly, the first time that I read this, I thought that Golding overdid Simon's death with overly descriptive paragraphs. Rereading this, however, I have changed my outlook on the selection. These passages are beautiful, and they convey not just the mood but rather a deep and personal feeling towards Simon's funeral ceremony.
After the harsh description of the previous night (storms and violence), Golding is now able to come to a sort of resolution through these paragraphs. The first words that show a resolution are the ones showing celestial or magical bodies, like the phrases "incredible lamps of stars," "moon-beam bodied creatures," and "the pulling of the moon and the sun." These signal that the events are now in the hands of a higher order. Golding is also able to create a cathartic mood through his choice of glowing colors, most prevalently silver. Simon is coated in a silver glow from the water and many of the objects in the lagoon around him are described as glowing. "The edge of the lagoon became a streak of phosphorescence...smoothed everything with a layer of silver...his shoulder became sculptured marble..."
Upon first reading of Simon's death, I was outraged because I knew that there was no way for anyone to save Simon from the unknowing savages. Another little twist to the stab was the fact that he could have saved them from their fears of the beast. I was only able to find my own inner peace with Simon's death after reading these paragraphs. If that does not show that a writer's power to create a mood and evoke emotion is found in his diction, I am not sure what can.
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