Question

What reminder does the ship serve? Lord of the flies chapter 4

Answer 1

In Chapter 4 of "Lord of the Flies," the ship serves as a reminder of the boys' isolation and their separation from civilization. When the boys first spot the ship on the horizon, they are excited and hopeful, believing that they will finally be rescued and returned to their homes. However, as time goes on and the ship does not approach the island, the boys begin to feel increasingly hopeless and desperate.

The ship also serves as a symbol of the outside world and the rules and order that the boys have left behind. When they first arrived on the island, the boys attempted to maintain some semblance of their former way of life, but as time goes on, they become increasingly savage and anarchic. The sight of the ship reminds them of the civilization they have left behind and the need to maintain order and discipline if they are to be rescued and return to that world.

Overall, the ship serves as a stark reminder of the boys' isolation and the need to maintain some connection to the outside world if they are to survive and eventually be rescued.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

A ship on the horizon represents hope, rescue, and a return to a lawful and civilized world. Readers see this hope very early on in the story.

"And sooner or later a ship will put in here. It might even be Daddy's ship. So you see, sooner or later, we shall be rescued."

This dedication to the idea that seeing a ship and being able to signal it means certain rescue is what causes the boys on the island to so adamantly defend the necessity of a signal fire. At one point in the story, the boys on the island do actually see a ship on the distant horizon. They see the smoke and what could possible be a smokestack. The boys try to quickly get a signal of some kind going because they know that this is the closest that they have gotten—or might ever get— to rescue. Unfortunately, the boys are unable to signal the ship, and it disappears beyond the horizon. The boys are completely deflated.

Step-by-step explanation:

It's as if the ship has sailed away with all of their hope for a return to normal, civilized life.