William Rohner’s Reviews > Lord of the Flies > Status Update

"He rubbed his rump ruefully."

"Johnny, yawning still, burst into noisy tears and was slapped by Bill till he choked on them."

"The two older boys flinched when they heard the shameful syllable. Snakes were not mentioned now, were not mentionable."

My favorite -- or second favorite -- reread every year! Every time I seize on new sentences that are super-cool, like the second one above.

"Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take place in this demented but partly secure society."

"At this moment the boys who were cooking at the fire suddenly hauled
off a great chunk of meat and ran with it toward the grass. They bumped
Piggy, who was burnt, and yelled and danced. Immediately, Ralph and
the crowd of boys were united and relieved by a storm of laughter. Piggy
once more was the center of social derision so that everyone felt cheerful
and normal."

"For a moment or two Simon was happy to be accepted and then he ceased to think about himself. When he bashed into a tree Ralph looked sideways impatiently and Robert sniggered. Simon reeled and a white spot on his forehead turned red and trickled. Ralph dismissed Simon and returned to his personal hell."

Here's Ralph, to Jack, after Jack has been out hunting and Ralph has been busy building huts with no one to help him but Simon:

"'And I work all day with nothing but Simon and you come back and don't even notice the huts!'"

Ha! Ralph is totally the overworked, underappreciated house-spouse in their relationship.

"They liked and now respected him. Spontaneously they began to clap and presently the platform was loud with applause. Ralph flushed, looking sideways at Piggy's open admiration, and then the other way at Jack who was smirking and showing that he too knew how to clap."

"Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red."

"He began to pound the mouth below him, using his clenched fist as a hammer; he hit with more and more passionate hysteria as the face became slippery."

"...as the face became slippery"! So good!

Notably also, this is the seventh (and final) reference to Ralph's "clenched" fists in the novel, and Ralph is the only clencher among the boys. Golding is so meticulous with diction and characterization.