cuppa mossy tea

#1: the fall from grace

the boys are faced with the undeniable fact that they have disappointed the adults who they tried to imitate

we see this through the naval officer's telling them off, with him saying "i should have thought that a pack of british boys - you're all british, aren't you?- would be able to put up a better show than that"

the fact the naval officer even questions their british heritage highlights the depravity of their appearances and actions, as in the 50s englishness was percieved as the peak of civility, seen in the fact jack merridew himself says "we're english" as a means to correlate good behaviour with nationality

ralph and the other boys begin to cry, instantly this makes the naval officer feel awkward and embarrassed as he turns away. this also highlights the fact they have lost "decorum" - to cry as a boy in 50s stiff upper lip society really emphasises the fact they have lost all they have to be prideful of

especially with the hunters, considering they were originally choirboys, a universal sign of innocence and gentleness, covered in lots of heavy robes and stiff posture now they stand as "savages", holding spears and covered in paint and naked, this serves to create a dissonance between where they started versus where they ended up

#2: the bitter irony

there is something so satisfyingly ironic about the fact that ralph has spent the entire novel stressing and worrying about the signal fire, only for the fire that alerts rescue to be the one that is intended to smoke him out

it also makes an interesting suggestion, that even the civilised savagery (war, naval officers..) are attracted to primitive violence on the island.

the irony of course also lies in the innocence of the choirboys and the depravity of the hunters in jack's tribe, almost juxtaposing where they have ended up, possibly suggesting that despite as many neat little restrictions and rules you give, even the most innocent and appeasing of roles in society will give way to their innate evil within if prompted

there is also a very tragic irony in the fact that a naval officer rescues ralph, who has been dreaming of and thinking about his own father for the entirety of the novel, who is also a naval officer. linking back to the fall from grace, it is plausible ralph must feel genuine embarrassment being seen in such a state by a man who he correlates with his father