Foreshadowing In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

William Golding’s writing “lays a solid foundation for the horrors to come,” as novelist E.M. Forster suggests in his introduction to the novel. In the earlier chapters of Lord of the Flies, Golding foreshadows the deaths of Piggy and Simon in many ways. For example, in chapter 1, the reader is introduced to Ralph as he walks through the jungle. “He 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, and this cry was echoed by another,” (pg.7) Golding writes. The bird is an example of foreshadowing, its cries following one another representing how Simon dies and then Piggy follows, and its colors symbolizing the painted savages that had killed both of those

93). This is predicting what happens in chapter 11, when Piggy is killed. Piggy knew that without Ralph there, Jack could easily get rid of him, and that finally occurs in chapter 11, when Ralph is so weak and powerless that he is basically out of Jack’s way. Simon’s death, which marks the official turning point from civil boys to savages, is also foreshadowed in many ways. In the beginning of the book, when the choir is introduced in chapter 1, Simon faints. This is indicating that Simon is weak from the very beginning and is a sign that he will be one of the first to fall, which he is with his death in chapter 9. Also, in chapter 3, Ralph, Simon, and Jack are talking about the condition of the island. Simon recommends making shelters to calm the little ones at night. Ralph and Piggy have a conversation, and when they return Simon is gone, even though in the past he had always been around. Simon was the voice of reason on the island, and this foreshadows his death because one minute he is there, and then he is absent, along with his logic and helpfulness, just like in his death; he is alive and well, and then he has a seizure and is killed, and all of the reason he possesses is