What is the physical setting in chapter 4 of Lord of the Flies?

The setting of chapter four is the area of the beach where the boys have basically established a home base. There are the crude shelters that they have pieced together amidst the palm trees, and Golding spends some time describing the beauty of the island. He describes the coral reef and the glittering ocean and the power of the sun to create mirages that would flicker and disappear.

There is also the emerging darkness inside of the boys as Golding describes the scene with Henry and Roger. Henry is playing in the tidal pool and Roger throws rocks at him, just missing as he isn't quite ready to forget all the bonds of civilization.

Chapter four also includes a moment where the boys are staring out to sea and see the smudge of smoke on the horizon from a passing ship. When they rush to the top of the mountain to figure out where there was no signal fire, they are joined by Jack and his hunters who triumphantly return with a pig they killed.

What phrases describe the scenery in Lord of the Flies?

From the start, some of the phrases with describe the scenery of flora and fauna on the island sound ominous. For instance, in chapter 1, a boy

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 ...

Creepers, broken, and witch-like are descriptive words which create an unsettling tone. In fact, the word "creeper" is used 38 times in the novel to describe the thick jungle vines, as in

I can’t hardly move with all these creeper things.

In chapter 4, too, the scenery is described in terms of a mirage:

Strange things happened at midday. The glittering sea rose up, moved apart in planes of blatant impossibility; the coral reef and the few stunted palms that clung to the more elevated parts would float up into the sky, would quiver, be plucked apart, run like raindrops on a wire or be repeated as in an odd succession of mirrors.

Words like "strange," "stunted," "plucked apart," and "odd" add to sense of the setting as eery or off-kilter. It also contains "snapping sharks," while the sun is likened to an "angry eye."

In chapter 9, the scenery continues to be ominous and oppressive. For example:

revolving masses of gas piled up the static until the air was ready to explode.

We learn, too, of a "brassy glare" and that nothing "prospered" but flies. There is a sense of foreboding in this description of setting:

Colors drained from water and trees and pink surfaces of rock, and the white and brown clouds brooded.

By the end of the novel, after the huge fire:

the island was scorched up like dead wood

There is much sense of desolation and foreboding in this setting, which reinforces the theme that evil will explode and destroy in a natural, untamed setting.

In the opening chapter, Golding uses descriptive language to give us some idea of what the island looks like but also to foreshadow how the boys will use certain features of the natural landscape for both good and ill.

For example, we're told that the plan trees form "a criss-cross pattern of trunks, very convenient to sit on." The palms also "made a green roof, covered on the underside with a quivering tangle of reflections from the lagoon," thus providing the boys with a natural canopy to shield them from the harshness of the noonday sun.

Golding also refers to the existence of a mountain on the island. Straight away, we start to think how it can be used for a handy look-out to spot rescue ships or plains.

It would seem, then, that everything is set up nicely for the boys to make a pretty decent home for themselves while they wait to be rescued. It's such a pity, then, that they choose instead to degenerate into savagery.

Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies describes the increasing tribalism and violence of a group of British boys who have become stranded on an uninhabited island. Though the text is dialog-heavy, from an early point in the story Golding nonetheless helps the reader visualize the boys' predicament by painting mental images of the land in which they find themselves marooned.

A few examples of phrases which describe the scenery of the island follow.

In chapter 1, Golding offers readers the following image of the island's scenery:

The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air.

In chapter 3, Golding describes the flora of the island thus:

Tall trunks bore unexpected pale flowers all the way up to the dark canopy where life went on clamorously.

Chapter 8 finds Golding using an adjective-filled sentence to offer further mental imagery of the boys' surroundings:

Much of it was damply rotten and and full of insects that scurried; logs had to be lifted from the soil with care or they crumbled into sodden powder.

Which lines in Lord of the Flies describe the setting?

The entire book takes place on the unnamed island in Lord of the Flies. There are two different sides to the island itself. When Chapter One first opens, the reader sees the island immediately after all of the boys crash land upon it. The previous night's storm has carried the wreckage of the plane out to sea and it has left a "scar" on the island in its wake. Chapter One begins in the island's jungle, but the boys quickly make their way out to shore. 

The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. (10)

Although the island is described as being relatively small, there is a mountain, which allows a person standing on its highest peak to see the entire island. From that vantage point the island is described as: 

It was roughly boat-shaped: humped near this end with behind them the jumbled descent to the shore. on either side rocks, cliffs, treetops, and a steep slope: forward there, the length of the boat, a tamer descent, tree-clad, with hints of pink: and then the jungly flat of the island, dense green, but drawn at the end to a pink tail. There, where the island petered out in water, was another island; a rock, almost detached, standing like a fort, facing them across the green with one bold, pink bastion. (29)

The island is also described as having two sides. One side is welcoming, warm, and contains a jungle with fruit trees. The boys live on that side of the island during the first half of the book. There is a tiny lagoon with warm water that they use for relaxation and swimming and a sandy beach on that side. The other side of the island is harsher and almost feral. The rocks on that side of the island have formed a peninsula that the boys refer to as a castle. They view it as a fortress of sorts, since it's only approachable from one side. 

He was surrounded on all sides by chasms of empty air. There was nowhere to hide, even if one did not have to go on. He paused on the narrow neck and looked down. Soon, in a matter of centuries, the sea would make an island of the castle. On the right hand was the lagoon, troubled by the open sea; and on the left - (105)

The island, much like the boys themselves, possesses two natures: a civilized, kinder side, and a harsher and savage side. 

What is the setting and its description in Lord of the Flies?

The setting of William Golding's classic novel Lord of the Flies takes place during the 1950s on an unspecified and uninhabited tropical island in the Pacific. The story is also set in the midst of a world war involving Great Britain. After the boys' plane is shot out of the sky by enemy fighters, they crash-land onto an uninhabited tropical island.

When the boys initially climb the mountain located at one end of the island on their first expedition, they discover that the island is "boat-shaped." There is also a large hump near their end, which gradually descends across the length of the island. On the opposite end of the island, there is a massive rock formation jutting out of the ocean attached to the main island by a narrow strip of land. This "pink bastion" is where Jack establishes his headquarters after leaving Ralph's group later in the novel.

The landscape of the island is rather forgiving with plentiful fruit everywhere and a thick jungle makes up the topography of its surface. There is also a visible "scar" that runs through the forest, which was caused by the plane crash. Along the beach, there is a great platform of pink granite that forms a terrace over the lagoon, which is where the boys hold their assemblies. In addition to the plentiful fruit, there are also pigs that inhabit the island.

The setting plays a major role in this novel. The boys are basically stranded on an uninhabited tropical island, presumably somewhere in the Pacific in the 1950s. It is an environment which is completely alien to them, and after initial boyish enthusiasm the grim reality of a life devoid of adult supervision in a strange, threatening world begins to set in.

The island contains thick jungle and dense undergrowth with plentiful food on offer through wild fruit and pigs which roam. Most of of the story centres around the white beach at the lagoon area on the island,

...the white surf flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of the lagoon was still as a mountain lake....  (p.14)

In their initial exploration, the boys gain a good understanding of the geography by climbing to the top of a mountain. In the distance they see a part of the island that later Jack and his breakaway group will use,

There, where the island petered out in water, was another island; a rock, almost detached, standing like a fort.... (p. 38)

They are also able to look back at the point where they all met at the beach (fringed with palm trees) and note that the entire side of the island there is enclosed by a coral reef.

The boys are initially wildly enthusiastic about being in a place which no doubt is the stuff of their adventure storybooks. Slowly however the setting begins to tear them apart and in the absence of adult supervision, bring them down to a primeval state. The isolation, the tropical heat, the need to hunt wild animals and the inability to make logical sense of what seem like phantom occurrences all take their toll on the formerly 'civilized' British boys.

Golding has chosen a perfect setting for a tale which points out that man's savage inner being lurks not far beneath the surface.

How does figurative language describe the setting in Lord of the Flies?

It is not surprising that Lord of the Flies has long been considered an allegorical tale of the Fall of Man, as the description of the island on which the boys find themselves castaways is Eden-like.

• Symbolism

When Ralph and Piggy first encounter each other, it is after their plane has crashed. With flames coming from the ruin, there is the suggestion of symbolism to the boys' being born of fire on this strange place. Then, when Ralph and Piggy strip and immerse themselves in water, this act can symbolize a baptism into their new world. Indeed, there is a certain foreshadowing of the less-than-perfect world in the "scar" that the plane has made when it skidded in its crash, the original sin of war.

• Other Figurative Language (metaphor, personification, and simile)

As Ralph looks around, he sees a shore "fledged with palm trees" that stand or lean or recline as if they are men (personification). Described in metaphoric terms, "their green feathers" [the leaves] are high in the air. The ground and grass beneath them are "torn," an implied comparison of them to a fabric of life (metaphor). Also, there is a simile, a comparison using the word as: "the lagoon is as still as a mountain lake."

Amidst this beauty Ralph tears off his shirt and shoes, exposing his "golden body," and stands among the "skull-like coconuts" (personification).

He patted the palm trunk softly, and forced at last to believe in the reality of the island laughed delightedly again and stood on his head. Then he sat back and looked at the water with bright, excited eyes.

A tropical island immeasurably colorful, with light and shadow, and ominous "skull-like" coconuts, suggests an island of primitive beauty, yet a beauty that can change to other conditions.

How is the setting presented in Lord of the Flies's first chapter?

In the first chapter of the novel, Golding describes the uninhabited island. Golding writes,

"The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar...Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flinked on a coral reef, beyond that the open sea was dark blue" (10).

Although Golding depicts a beautiful island, the description of the "dark forest" and "scar" provide an ominous tone. The vast ocean also illustrates that the boys are completely alone on the island away from civilization. Golding then describes the meeting platform and natural bathing pool. As Ralph, Simon, and Jack explore the island, they discover that it is boat shaped and notice a detached peninsula of rock that will eventually become Jack's Castle Rock. There are also beautiful flowers, pig trails, and an abundance of fruit. The uninhabited island reflects a type of paradise that symbolically represents Eden. The children's descent into savagery mimics Adam and Eve's temptation and fall. Also, Golding created an island where the boys could easily find raw materials and an abundance of food. Without a continual struggle to provide for themselves, Golding could focus on the social issues within the group.

What is the initial setting in Golding's Lord of the Flies?

Although the setting of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies appears to be a tropical paradise at the start of the novel, there are clues that foreshadow the darker nature of the island. Piggy and Ralph meet up as they are emerging from a steamy jungle onto a beautiful beach facing a warm, blue lagoon. Yet Piggy reveals the truth: their plane was attacked and caught fire, and since the setting is during WWII, we can assume the attacker was a German fighter pilot. They have crashed on an unknown tropical island and no adults have survived. During the crash the boys also experienced a tropical storm severe enough to drag the wreckage of the plane out to sea. Once the boys all find each other, they discover that the island can provide them with food, water, and even entertainment. However, it also overwhelms them with the heat of the midday sun, the frightening sounds and beastly shadows of the jungle at night, and the inevitable stresses of trying to survive in isolation. Therefore, the setting actually functions as an antagonist in the novel.

Speaking of antagonists… Jack’s inability to kill the pig the first time gives us a good snapshot of who he is. He wants to be voted leader, and gets embarrassingly shot down. Although Ralph tries to mollify him by appointing him leader of the choir (a.k.a. hunters), Jack is still humiliated. He believes he is the rightful leader, so he has a point to prove. Providing meat for the boys will give him leverage. Yet Jack has been raised as a proper British school boy, trained in social niceties; he’s never hunted, let alone actually killed an animal. When Jack hesitates and that first pig gets free, he makes excuses that he was just trying to find the best place to stab it. But Golding reveals the true reason: “because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood.” Jack is still civilized at this point, but he instinctively feels the need to break out of this mold on the island. He snarls, “‘Next time—!’ He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy.” And there certainly is not, as Jack evolves into a savage in his attempt to gain control of the island.

With Jack turning his choir into hunters who patrol the jungle with spears and refuse to follow the rules, we clearly see a class system emerging on the island, Jack’s group being the militant class with him as dictator. The littluns would be the lowest social group, keeping to themselves and neither contributing to the group nor affecting it much. They are the lost boys, in a sense. Ralph and Piggy, along with a few boys who stick with them for a while before being recruited by Jack, represent the typical, morally upright citizens. They try to make and maintain rules for the good of all, but are increasingly seen by the rest of the boys as weak and socially unacceptable, especially in the face of Jack’s propaganda. He convinces the boys that his side is full of fun, freedom, and all the food they can eat, while Ralph and Piggy are sissies who aren’t going to survive. One by one he amasses his army. For a while, Samneric are a class of their own—the fence-sitters. They rely on each other and make decisions together. They try to stay with Ralph, since they have been taught to do the civilized thing, but when threatened by the savages, they quickly give in to Jack’s dictatorship. By the very end, there are only two classes left: the murderous savages and the one prey remaining—Ralph.