Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

yazbeth
yazbeth
Student
High School - 9th Grade

In Lord of the Flies, Golding wrote: "Like a myriad of tiny teeth in a saw,the transparencies came scavenging over the beach." What does he mean?

Rate question:

Posted by yazbeth on Monday April 20, 2009 at 1:21 PM and tagged with chapter 4, lord of the flies.

Answers:

  1. mshurn
    mshurn Teacher
    College - Freshman

    eNotes Editor

    This passage is found in Chapter 4 in a description of the beach where Henry, one of the littluns, plays at the water's edge. The "transparencies" are the tiny water creatures that come in with the tide and are left behind on the sand where they search for any bits of food that might be found. The simile comparing them to the teeth in a saw suggests an image of their "scavenging" much as one might draw a fine-toothed saw through the sand encountering anything in its path. The tiny creatures were efficient with their "impalpable organs of sense" as they "examined" the sandy beach.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/chapter-4-summary-analysis

    Rate answer:

    Posted by mshurn on Friday April 24, 2009 at 9:32 PM