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A Probe into the Role of Onomatopoeia in Shaping the Environment in Lord of the Flies
Abstract
This thesis is a literary research from the perspective of the New Criticism theory. It chooses the Nobel Prize-winning novel Lord of the Flies as the research object. Based on previous studies, this thesis digs into the onomatopoeias in the novel and analyzes their role in shaping the environment.
The New Criticism theory originated in Britain in the 1920s, and its idea of “text-based semantic analysis” has exerted a profound influence on today’s literary criticism. Rooted in the New Criticism, this thesis explores the importance of onomatopoeia in environment shaping in Lord of the Flies. Through a line-by-line analysis of the two different environmental images, “paradise” and “abattoir”, paying close attention to the use of onomatopoeia, this thesis has uncovered links between the phonetic features of the onomatopoeic words and the general characteristics of the environment. When Golding describes the island in the state of “paradise”, the onomatopoeic words contain more consonants, fricatives and nasals, and words related to “laughter” can be seen everywhere, whereas in descriptions of the island in the “abattoir” state, long vowels, diphthongs, voiced consonants and explosives are more common, and words related to “whine” and “cry” are in dominance. Finally, this thesis comes to the conclusion that when the island is a paradise at the beginning, the onomatopoeic words chosen by Golding also possess a soft and soothing pronunciation; however, when the island is finally reduced to an abattoir, the onomatopoeic words in environmental descriptions are correspondingly tinged with misery and violence.
This thesis is composed of five themed chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, which contextualizes the study by reviewing previous literature and laying out the theoretical framework. The second chapter leads us into William Golding’s life and offers information of the historical and cultural background. The third chapter goes to a general analysis of the natural and social environment. The fourth chapter is concerned with onomatopoeia in environmental descriptions. And the final chapter gives a brief summary of previous findings. This study is significant in the following two aspects. For one thing, it interprets the environment from a micro point of view: the use of onomatopoeia, where previous studies on Lord of the Flies have not given enough room for discussion. For another, it demonstrates the artistic value of English onomatopoeia with the support of concrete textual evidence, which existing literature on English onomatopoeia fails to achieve. Therefore, the present study fills a gap in the research on Lord of the Flies and English onomatopoeia.
Key Words: Lord of the Flies; Environment Shaping; Onomatopoeia
摘 要
本文是新批评理论视角下的文学研究，以诺贝尔奖经典作品《蝇王》为研究对象，从小说中的拟声手法切入，在前人研究的基础上探讨拟声手法对该小说环境塑造的作用。
新批评理论于二十世纪二十年代在英国发端，其所倡导的“立足文本进行语义分析”对当今的文学批评产生着深远的影响。在新批评理论的指导下，本研究通过文本细读，分析戈尔丁对“天堂”与“屠宰场”两个不同环境意象的塑造，关注拟声手法的使用，探究其中拟声词的语音特征与小说环境特征的联系，发现描写“天堂”状态下的小岛时，拟声词中含有较多的清辅音、摩擦音与鼻音，且有关“笑声”的拟声词随处可见。而描写“屠宰场”状态下的小岛时，拟声词中的长元音、双元音、浊辅音以及爆破音多了起来，且有关“哀嚎声”“哭喊声”的词语占据了大多数。从而得出结论：当小岛最初还是“天堂”的时候，戈尔丁所使用的拟声词也呈现出舒适、柔和的语音特征，而当小岛沦落为“屠宰场”之后，环境描写中的拟声词则含有更多的暴力与悲剧色彩。
本文共分五章进行论述。第一章是绪论部分，主要包括研究目的、研究意义、文献综述与理论基础。第二章介绍作家生平，并补充相关历史文化背景。第三章分析小说整体环境，从自然环境和人文环境两个角度解读小岛从“天堂”到“屠宰场”的沦落。第四章着重分析环境描写中的拟声手法，从拟声词的语音特征上找到小岛沦落的蛛丝马迹。第五章是结论部分，简明扼要地指出了拟声手法在《蝇王》小说中对于环境塑造的作用。本研究在以下两个方面具有重要意义：一方面，它从“拟声词的使用”这一微观角度来解读小说环境，而以往对《蝇王》的研究并没有在这一点上给予足够的讨论。另一方面，本研究以具体的文本证据为支撑，展示了英语拟声词的艺术价值，这是现有关于英语拟声词文献所未能达到的。因此，本研究从某种程度上填补了前人对于《蝇王》与英语拟声词研究的空白。
关键词：《蝇王》； 环境塑造； 拟声
Contents
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 The Statement of the Study
1.2 Literature Review
1.3 Theoretical Basis
Chapter 2 William Golding and Lord of the Flies
2.1 The Study of William Golding
2.2 The Study of Lord of the Flies
Chapter 3 The Environment in Lord of the Flies
3.1 Natural Environment: From Paradise to Abattoir
3.2 Social Environment: From Civilization to Barbarism
Chapter 4 Onomatopoeia in Lord of the Flies
4.1 Basics of Onomatopoeia
4.2 Onomatopoeia in Descriptions of Natural Environment
4.3 Onomatopoeia in Descriptions of Social Environment
Chapter 5 Conclusion
Works Cited
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 The Statement of the Study
Lord of the Flies is the representative work of William Golding, the 1983 Nobel Laureate in Literature. In the novel, Golding leads readers deep into the human nature with ingenious wording and phrasing. As the emergence of human evil, the island was ultimately reduced to a brutal abattoir from a tranquil paradise. To reinforce this sharp contrast, onomatopoeia is employed to strengthen the oppressive atmosphere in the “abattoir” as well as to lament on the “paradise” which has gone for ever. Meanwhile, the strong sound effect brought about by onomatopoeia has aroused an immersive and impressive feeling among readers.
The overall aim of this study to explore the role of onomatopoeia in shaping the environment in Lord of the Flies. Through a line-by-line analysis of the two different environmental images,“paradise” and “abattoir”, paying close attention to the use of onomatopoeia, the thesis sets out to uncover links between the phonetic features of Golding’s language and the general characteristics of the environment, and thus enriches the study of Lord of the Flies from the perspective of English stylistics.
This study is significant in the following two aspects. For one thing, it interprets the environment from a micro point of view: the use of onomatopoeia, where previous studies on Lord of the Flies have not given enough room for discussion. For another, it demonstrates the artistic value of English onomatopoeia with the support of concrete textual evidence, which existing literature on English onomatopoeia fails to achieve. Therefore, the present study fills a gap in the research on Lord of the Flies and English onomatopoeia.
This thesis is composed of five themed chapters. The first chapter is the introduction to the thesis. This chapter contextualizes the study by reviewing previous literature and laying out the theoretical framework. The second chapter leads us into William Golding and his Lord of the Flies by presenting details of Golding’s life as well as some background knowledge about Lord of the Flies. The third chapter goes to a general analysis of the environment in the novel. It makes a contrast between the “paradise” scene and the “abattoir” scene from the natural and social point of view. The fourth chapter is concerned with onomatopoeia in Golding’s language. It digs for the phonetic features of the environmental descriptions through a line-by-line analysis and links those with the environmental characteristics figured out in chapter three. The final chapter gives a brief summary and critique of the findings in the role of onomatopoeia in shaping the environment in Lord of the Flies.
1.2 Literature Review
1.2.1 The Previous Study on Lord of the Flies
As one of the most distinctive novels in the 20th century, Lord of the Flies is open to interpretations of different levels and has been the focus of criticism since its publication. So far, domestic and foreign scholars have studied this novel from three major aspects: theme, characterization and background. In terms of theme, the scholars focus on human evil, arriving at the conclusion that without law and order, the society will degenerate into barbarism (Fu 61). As to characterization, researchers such as Chang Wenge pay close attention to the children’s behaviours on the island and attach corresponding labels (277-278). Concerning background, academicians like Chen Yanxu reveal traces of social reality beyond the lines, which has something to do with Britain’s difficulty in maintaining the world’s dominant colonial empire after World War II (102). There is a relatively small body of literature that is concerned with the language of this novel, and this thesis fills the gap by probing into the onomatopoeic effect between the lines.
1.2.2 The Previous Study on English Onomatopoeia
In the domestic, existing literature on English Onomatopoeia is extensive and focuses particularly on three sides：the introduction of English onomatopoeic words to learners, the comparative study of English and Chinese onomatopoeic words, and the English-Chinese translation of onomatopoeic words. A few papers have generally mentioned the functions of onomatopoeia in several lines; however, there are still relatively few historical studies on the detailed analysis of onomatopoeia in literary contexts. Among foreign scholars, the research into onomatopoeia in English starts from linguist Stephen Ullmann, who put forward the “onomatopoeic motivation” of words and categorized onomatopoeic words into “primary onomatopoeia” and “secondary onomatopoeia” according to the tightness of sound-sense connection (84). It is litterateurs of the New Criticism school who first looked into the phonetic features of onomatopoeic words in a literary context. By liking the sound with the actual feelings of readers, they dug out the immense charm of the sound effect created by onomatopoeic words. The New Criticism school has conducted many meaningful practices in the field of poetry, whereas in novel, onomatopoeia is usually ignored, for few people “bother” to pick it out from a ponderous paper book.
In this thesis, I apply the New Criticism approach to analyzing the role of onomatopoeia in shaping the environment in Lord of the Flies, hoping to enrich people’s understanding of the artistic value of onomatopoeia.
1.3 Theoretical Basis
The study draws on the New Criticism as the theoretical framework.
In the 19th century, literary criticism was dominated by positivism and romanticism. The positivism approach only focused on the influence of social, historical and political factors on literature, while romanticism only emphasized that literature is the expression of the writer’s own emotion. The two forms of criticism both ignored the study of literature itself, which is a fatal flaw of traditional literary criticism. To countervail this weak link, some other critics, like T. S. Eliot and I. A. Richards, began voicing new ideas about the central task of literary criticism. By splitting criticism from social and personal concerns, they focused on “the analysis of the text rather paying attention to external elements” (Chang 279) such as its historical background, its author’s attention and political standpoint, and its impact on society. In 1941, John Crowe Ransom regarded Eliot, Richards, Winters, etc. as “the new critics” in one publication, hence the name “New Criticism” (1).
The New Criticism has exhibited at the very start salient features of its own. For one thing, it sees a literary work as an “organic entity” (Chang 279) and places emphasis on the “close reading” of the text, meaning that everything that is required to understand a literary work is present within itself. Therefore, literature is socially, historically as well as politically isolated from the outside world; no external sources is needed to fully understand a text. For another, the New Criticism explores “the artistic structure of the work rather than its author’s frame of mind or its readers’ responses” (Chang 279). Based on the form-content unity of literary texts, the New Criticism appreciates the content from the form. This linguistic perspective into literature has given birth to more detailed, logical and convincing interpretations of classical literary works.
The New Criticism is one of the most influential literary criticism schools in the 20th century. Abandoning the time-honoured “Old Criticism”, which focuses on the theme in ignorance of the form, the New Criticism looks into the micro aspects of literary language such as lexical diction, syntactic structure and rhetorical device, uncovering layer after layer of the unexplained beauty in unspectacular lines. Through an in-depth textual analysis, the New Criticism shows readers how varied and inventive writers are, and thus washes out many misreadings and rekindles people’s enthusiasm in literature.
Rooted in the New Criticism theory, this thesis narrows the “form-content unity” down to the “sound-sense echo” (Wang and Ding 10), and probes into the role of onomatopoeia in shaping the environment in Lord of the Flies.
Chapter 2 William Golding and Lord of the Flies
2.1 The Study of William Golding
William Golding (1911-1993) was a British novelist, poet and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate best known for his novel Lord of the Flies.
Golding grew up in a scholarly family. His father, Alec Golding, was a science master at Marlborough Grammar School as well as a socialist with a strong commitment to scientific rationalism. His mother, Mildred, was a feminist who struggled for woman suffrage all her life. In 1930, Golding went to Oxford University to read Natural Sciences following the will of his father. But after two years of studies, Golding, lie those rebellious souls, transferred his major to English Literature. The year of 1934 witnessed the release his debut, a collection of 29 poems, by Macmillan Publishers. The slim volume was a remarkable start for a 23-year-old student writer, though it had not been widely acclaimed among literary critics at that time.
Golding graduated from Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1935. After that, he served as a director and actor in a small troupe in London. The experience was quite an ordeal, and Golding claimed that the 4 years in London had been wasted. In fact, the challenges and difficulties he encountered during that period enriched his life as a writer to a great extent. In 1939, Golding got married and ultimately decided to become a school teacher, working with boys. And this is what gave him the inside inspiration for Lord of the Flies in the first place.
Golding enlisted in the royal navy in 1940 after the outbreak of World War II, during which he saw action against battleships (at the sinking of the Bismarck), submarines and aircraft and was present off the French coast for the D-Day invasion. The war left an indelible mark of cruelty on him and thus set him pondering over human nature. As he wrote in his essay collection The Hot Gates, “I must say that anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wrong in the head” (87). Based on the idea that men are born evil, his novels “strips away the mask [of human civilization] to show the ugly truth, which modern man tends to ignore, that human heart still very much needs to change in order to avoid the pitfall of violence that continues to plague the world”.
In 1983, William Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today”. Among Golding’s works, Lord of the Flies is undoubtedly the most essential and influential masterpiece.
2.2 The Study of Lord of the Flies
In September 1953, after many rejections from other publishers, Golding sent a manuscript to Faber & Faber and was initially rejected by their reader. His book, however, was championed by Charles Monteith, a new editor at the firm. Monteith asked for some changes to the text and the novel was published in September 1954 as Lord of the Flies. Before long, it was well received, listed on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels.
Lord of the Flies is “an allegory about the tragedy of human nature” (Liu 432). The story took place at the dawn of an imagined World War III. A group of young boys were stranded on an island due to an air crash. At first, they could govern themselves with the civilized code of conduct they had learned in the outside world; however, later on, as the evil nature of human beings rose to the surface, the children gradually indulged in hunting, and even began killing each other, which brought the story to an disastrous end.
The book title “Lord of the Flies” has its origin in the Hebrew word “Beelzebub”, which is associated with the Canaanite god Baal. In The Bible, “Baal” is regarded as “root of all evils”. In English, the phrase “Lord of the Flies” refers to the most revolting feces and filth, synonymous with “ugliness”. The naming of this novel has something to do with Simon’s experience. In the novel, Simon is a prophet and mystic. When the group argued over whether there was a beast, Simon was the first to point out that “maybe it [the beast] is only us” (89). To figure out the truth, he ventured up the mountain alone to see what was going on. When he rested in a glade halfway through, the head of a dead pig, stung by swarms of flies, appeared in sight. It was a tribute to the “beast” from Jack and his hunters. Then, in a deep trance caused by epilepsy, Simon felt that the pig’s head surrounded by flies had turned into one gigantic fly, which could be called “lord of the flies”, and it seemed to be saying something. At this moment, author William Golding personified the lord, using its “mouth” to bring out the theme—that “beast” is part of human nature, echoing with Simon’s instinct.
There was actually no beast, because after further exploration, it turned out that the “beast” seen by littluns was nothing but the dead pilot moved back and forth by wind. Nonetheless, there is a beast, invisible and unperceivable. It is the beastly nature of human beings that finally turns the paradisaical island into an abattoir.
Chapter 3 The Environment in Lord of the Flies
The environment in Lord of the Flies has undergone earthshaking changes, naturally and socially. On the natural level, the pure and untainted island has been reduced to a ravished and brutal abattoir. On the social level, the group of children has lost their identity as “British” and turned into beasts. This chapter makes a contrastive analysis of the environment before and after the exposure of human evil.
3.1 Natural Environment: From Paradise to Abattoir
The natural environment of this novel is based on the island. At first, when the boys sought to operate their society in accordance with law and order, the island seemed “friendly” as well; however, as they abandoned civilization and turned into savages killing each other, the island was also “infuriated”. Broadly speaking, the degeneration of the island from paradise to abattoir can be sensed from three aspects: sight, hearing and feeling.
From the visual aspect, the colouration of the whole island becomes dim as the story unfolds. Upon the children’s arrival at the island, things were bright and riot with colours. There was “white surf flinking on a coral reef” (10), “palms standing to make a green roof” (12) and “pink granite thrusting up uncompromisingly through forest” (12), which added to the vividness and vitality of this island. But later on, when the boys started to cut one another’s throats, “colors drained from water and trees and pink surfaces of rock” (145), as if to cast disappointment on their behaviours.
From the auditory aspect, the atmosphere of the island becomes clamorous as the plot flows. In the first three chapters, everything appeared peaceful and tranquil. So much so that “the deep sea breaking miles away on the reef made an undertone less perceptible than the susurration of the blood” (57). In the last several chapters, the boys turned into savages and the soothing voices of nature were gone. Instead, “roars”, “bursts”, “explosions” and “ululations” went on all the day, driving the protagonists annoyed and perplexed.
From the tactile aspect, the skin sensation of the island becomes course as time goes by. In the first half of the novel, the boys could always sense the breeze blowing cool on their surfaces (30). Afterwards, in the ninth chapter, “the air that pushed in from the sea was hot and held no refreshment” (145). The initially cozy and cool air turned harsh and stinging, which seemed to punish the boys for their deviation from civilization.
3.2 Social Environment: From Civilization to Barbarism
The social environment of this novel is formed by the group of British boys. Their society started out as “a democracy with an elected leader—Ralph”. But when Jack used verbal and physical violence to get what he wanted and eventually formed a breakaway tribe electing himself as the chief, the civilized society collapsed and the proper English schoolboys backslid into savages. This deterioration can be traced from the changes in their appearance, the growing brutality in their action and the collapse of sanity in their mind.
The change in appearance starts the transition from civilization to savagery. In the opening scene, the boys were still fully clothed in uniform attire. As for the choir, “each boy wore a square black cap with a silver badge on it. Their bodies, from throat to ankle, were hidden by black cloak which bore a long silver cross on the left breast and each neck was finished off with a hambone frill” (19). By the end of the novel, almost every one of them (except Ralph) fell into barbarism. Not only did they smear clay over their faces, but they also lost their names, Jack being “the Chief”, the other children “savages” and their group “the tribe”. The small society returned to the primitive state of human beings.
“Rather quickly their appearance begins to reflect their situation, and as [. . .] they begin to paint their bodies, to look more and more like the animals, [. . .] they are beginning to resemble in their actions as well,” said educator Kapokkid. In chapter one, Jack faltered in killing a pig because of “the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh”; because of “the unbearable blood” (31). But after he managed to kill one, Jack made it a practice to kill the pigs and eat them as a treat. As the novel progresses, Jack’s ruthless to pigs gradually spreads to human lives. In chapter eleven, Jack “hurled his spear at Ralph” (181), the same manner as his hunt for a pig in chapter three: He swung back his right arm and hurled the spear with all his strength (49). At that moment, his beastly nature was thoroughly exposed.
Action is usually the reflection of mind. The growing brutality in the boys’ actions mirrors the loss of sanity in their mind. In the beginning, they were rational enough to strive for “law” and “rescue”. Then the small democratic society was established with Ralph at its centre. When Ralph proposed making a fire in order for rescue ships to notice them, most children responded positively, working out together to seek for as much wood as needed. But gradually, lured by natural urges for hunting, they indulged themselves with chasing pigs and toasting meat, no longer thinking of being rescued. Before long, the signal fire became the cooking fire, which made no smoke to serve as a hint for rescue ships. As the expansion of animalistic instincts, the children finally broke up the rules they had agreed before, Jack being the first to smash the authoritativeness of the conch. In chapter eleven, “with Piggy’s death, the conch was shattered, signifying that order had left the island”. Having fallen prey to their innermost desires, the boys lost their sanity. Instead of pursuing “law” and “rescue”, they hunt and broke things up.
Chapter Four Onomatopoeia in Lord of the Flies
Onomatopoeia is defined as a word which imitates the sounds of a thing. Onomatopoeic words consist of only a small part of English vocabulary, nonetheless, by creating a sound that mimics the things described, they always make the description more vivid and interesting. The previous chapter has interpreted the contrast between the “paradise” scene and the “abattoir” scene from a macro perspective, and this chapter aims to exam microscopically how onomatopoeia works in shaping both images.
4.1 Basics of Onomatopoeia
According to the English linguist Stephen Ullmann, onomatopoeic words can be divided into two categories: primary onomatopoeia and secondary onomatopoeia (84). Primary onomatopoeia means the imitation of sound by sound. Here, the sound is truly “an echo to the sense”. In this category, words can be subdivided into three types: imitation of an animal sound (e.g. woof, quack), imitation of a human sound (e.g. wow, aha) and imitation of a natural sound (e.g. whir, babble). Secondary onomatopoeia means that certain sounds and sound sequences are associated with certain senses in an expressive relationship. For example, the long vowel sound /i:/ and fricative /z/ in the word “breeze” impress people with continuity and gentleness, though “breeze” itself doesn’t directly imitate the sound of a gentle wind.
Generally, words are used to tell us what is happening. Onomatopoeia, on the other hand, helps readers to hear the sounds of the words they reflect. Hence, the reader cannot help but enter the world created by the author with the aid of these words. The beauty of onomatopoeic words lies in the fact that they are bound to have an effect on readers’ senses, whether that effect is understood or not. Moreover, a simple plain expression does not have the same emphatic effect that conveys an idea powerfully to the readers. The use of onomatopoeic words helps create emphasis.
4.2 Onomatopoeia in Descriptions of Natural Environment
In the initial phase, the island was a kind of tropical paradise. Correspondingly, Golding’s diction was idyllic. But as the small democratic society collapsed, the pastoral peace on the island was overwhelmed by tormenting chaos. This reversal can be further read from the onomatopoeias.
In the first several chapters, the sea came into sight with the impression of “shimmering” and “glittering”. These onomatopoeic adjectives not only present a pleasant natural image, but also process a soothing pronunciation. In “shimmering”, the voiceless fricative // is articulated through a narrow channel formed in the mouth. The mild airflow reminds people of a gentle breeze creeping over the surface of the sea. Meanwhile, the nasal /m/ adds to the softness and continuity of the breeze (Wang and Ding 10). In “glittering”, the consonant cluster /ɡl/ suggests traces of light (Cushman et al. 975). The consonants //, /m/ and /ɡl/ altogether merge the breeze, sea water as well as sunlight into one idyllic picture. As to the vowels, // and // are on the one hand as gentle as the breeze, for they are short and their opening is narrow. On the other hand, they supplement the brightness of the sunshine, for they as vowels are intrinsically bright in pronunciation. In describing the wind, Golding said, “A sudden breeze shook the fringe of palm trees, so that the fronds tossed and fluttered.” Here, “toss” and “flutter” are two onomatopoeic verbs. The voiceless consonants /t/, /s/, and /f/ alongside with the short vowels //, // and // depict the scene where a flurry of wind goes through leaves. The tender feature of these sounds brings out the cool and comfortable feeling of the wind. In general, the island was so quiet and peaceful primarily that any other sound was “less perceptible than the susurration of the blood” (57).
In contrast to the picturesque scene at the outset, the natural environment appeared no so “friendly” in the latter half of the novel, and the soothing onomatopoeic words were substituted by rough and violent ones. In chapter seven, the shimmering and glittering sea started to “boil” and “gurgle”. At the same time, the soft and tender wind began to “roar”. In these three onomatopoeic verbs “boil”, “gurgle” and “roar”, the phonetic elements are not so comfortable to the ear. The diphthong // and long vowels /:/ and /:/ are tinged with misery and depression. The consonants /b/ and /ɡ/ are voiced explosives, the abrupt airflow of which creates a furious tone. Besides, the animals on the island took on an restless state. “A herd of pigs came squealing out of the greenery behind the savage and rushed away into the forest. Birds were screaming, mice shrieking, and a little hopping thing came under the mat and cowered” (198). The long vowel sound /i:/ appears three times, in “squeal”, “scream” and “shriek” respectively, arousing a piercing feeling. It is also worth noting that in the original sentence, the three onomatopoeic verbs are in their present participle form. The short // contained in the suffix “-ing” strengthens the effect of the long /i:/ in shaping a land of wailing and despair. Judging by the phonetic traits of the onomatopoeic words above, the paradisaical island in the first several chapters has been completely shattered.
4.3 Onomatopoeia in Descriptions of Social Environment
The society of British boys on the island has undergone a retrogression from civilization to barbarism, and a trail of clues can be found in the onomatopoeias.
Even a casual reader is struck by the recurrent first onomatopoeias in the former half of the novel. “Sche-aa-ow” was th joke Ralph played on his newly acquainted friend Piggy. “Whizzoh” was the exclamation of Ralph upon seeing the spectacular scenery of the island. “Wacoo” “wizard” and “smashing” were the curiosity of three boys on the way of their first island exploration. “Whee-oh” “bong” and “doink” were the passion expressed when the group of boys worked collaboratively to build up a fire. Brisk in tone and continuous in articulation, these first onomatopoeias directly reveal the boys’ delight and happiness, and thus form the cheerful atmosphere of their small society. Aside from the first onomatopoeias, there are also a variety of laugh-related second onomatopoeias. From chapter one to three, “smile” “giggle” “smirk” “grin” and “snigger” are scattered everywhere. In these five words, the most frequently-occurring vowel is //. Pronounced with a wide mouth, this sound shapes a smiling face. As it is with the consonants /s/ /m/ and /n/. In the meantime, the moderate airflow produced by /ɡ/ and the lingering effect created by /l/ resemble the sound of a slight repeated laugh. After a probe into the phonetic elements of these onomatopoeic words, people can envision a group of boys talking and smiling on the paradisaical island.
By contrast, when civilization on the island has given way to barbarism, such pleasant onomatopoeias are nowhere to be found. With the emergence of words such as “snatch” “slam” “dash” “smack” “hack” “slash” “bash” “slap” and “stab”, cruelty and heartlessness started to saturate the society of boys. Noticeably, the onomatopoeic verbs listed above are all monosyllabic words sharing the common vowel //. This short vowel sound mimics a quick and sharp noise. In the description “Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife” (135), the fierceness and maliciousness in Jack’s action is thoroughly exposed and a sudden fit of pig squeals seems to linger around the ear thanks to the // in “stabbing”. Even worse, the cruel treatment to pigs finally occurred inside the community of children as “Jack made a rush and stabbed at Ralph’s chest with his spear” (177). Since then, civilization became extinct and previous laughters turned into “roars” “whirls” “squeaks” “wails” “screams” “howls” “snarls” “moans” “squeals” and “ululations”, the long and loud vowel sounds of which suggest the grief and misery of the boys and thus toll the knell of innocence and humanity.
Chapter Five Conclusion
Lord of the Flies is a portrait of mankind’s inherent savagery. In the novel, the utopia-like island has been reduced to a bloody abattoir due to the exposure of human evil. Such degeneration can be interpreted not only from the plot in general, but also from the language in detail. This study has dug down deep into the onomatopoeic words chosen by William Golding and examined the role of onomatopoeia in shaping the natural and social environment.
In descriptions of the natural environment at the beginning, onomatopoeic adjectives like “shimmering” and “glittering”, verbs like “toss” and “flutter” limn a soothing natural image, where the honey-coloured sunlight shines on the sea, and sometimes a soft breeze creeps through a tree. In these words, the voiceless consonants // /t/ /s/ and /f/ alongside with the nasal /m/ add to the softness and continuity of the breeze (Wang and Ding 10). The consonant cluster /ɡl/ suggests traces of light (Cushman et al. 975). And the vowels // and // supplement the gentleness of the breeze and the brightness of the sunshine. Later on, the soothing onomatopoeic words were substituted by rough and violent ones. The shimmering and glittering sea started to “boil” and “gurgle”, and the soft and tender wind began to “roar”. The diphthong // and long vowels /:/ and /:/ are tinged with misery and depression; the explosives /b/ and /ɡ/ creates a furious tone. Judging by the phonetic traits of the onomatopoeic words above, the paradisaical island has been completely shattered.
In descriptions of the social environment at the opening of the novel, several first onomatopoeias, directly reveal the boys’ delight and happiness, and thus form the cheerful atmosphere of their small society. Aside from the first onomatopoeias, there are also a variety of laugh-related second onomatopoeias like “smile” “giggle” “smirk” “grin” and “snigger”. The consonants /s/ /m/ and /n/, and the most frequently-occurring vowel // shape a smiling face. The moderate airflow produced by /ɡ/ and the lingering effect created by /l/ resemble the sound of a slight repeated laugh. By contrast, with the emergence of words such as “snatch” “slam” and “stab”, cruelty and heartlessness started to saturate the society of boys. These onomatopoeic verbs share the common vowel //, which mimics a quick and sharp noise, and reveals the maliciousness in the boys’ treatment to pigs. Even worse, such cruel treatment finally occurred inside their own community. Since then, previous laughters turned into “roars” “whirls” and “squeaks”, the long and loud vowel sounds of which toll the knell of innocence and humanity.
Since previous studies on Lord of the Flies are restricted in theme, characterization and background, this study focuses on Golding’s wording and phrasing by exploring the role of onomatopoeia in environment shaping. Overall, it uncovers links between the phonetic features of Golding’s language and the general characteristics of the environment, and thus enriches the study of Lord of the Flies from the perspective of English stylistics.
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