On his way down from the top of the mountain where he had been frantically trying to flag down the ship to no avail, and where he had reprimanded the hunters, Ralph plans out his serious speech. He vows that this meeting will be serious, not like other meetings. When all the boys are at the meeting spot, Ralph addresses them; he says that they need to take their duties of running the island and keeping it functional more seriously. He says that, above all, they need to keep the fire going to make smoke as their only chance of being rescued. He goes through a long list of all the things that need to happen, that have not been. He says,"We've all got to use the rocks [for going to the bathroom] again. This place is getting really dirty" (80). He also says, "The fire is the most important thing. How can we ever be rescued...if we don't keep a fire going?" (80). He also points out that their feeble shelters were built by only a few people, and as a result, are liable to fall down any minute. However, they are needed to keep them safe from the rains (80). He implores them to see that the shelters, along with the other items he mentioned, are far more important that hunting. As Ralph is reiterating the importance of the fire and smoke, imploring them to see his reasoning, voices start calling out to him that there are "too many things" being talked about and worried about, and other voices murmur their agreement (81). Ralph tries to shush them but, as he goes on to talk about the specific places the fire can be made so as not to start another forest fire, the underlying current of boys' voices murmuring their disagreement with him becomes shouting. They ask what they will do about cooking their meat. Ralph tells them to quiet down, saying, "I have the conch." The boys reluctantly quiet down, but not for long. As Ralph continues, Jack says to him, "But you've talked and talked!" (81). Ralph and Jack get into a brief argument over authority. The conch seems to be losing importance here. In this sequence, the breakdown in authority and rules become apparent when all the boys are unwilling to listen to Ralph being parent-like. Also, in this part of the chapter, the conch, which symbolizes authority, order, laws and rules, is insufficient to squelch the boys' protests of hunting being important too, and their anger at more boring matters being looked upon as top priorities by Ralph. They start to rebel against Ralph's authority, even though they elected him chief at the beginning. This part is significant in that it is almost a foreshadow of the disasters to come because of the breakdown in society and government.
Another significant event in chapter five is the last matter to be discussed on Ralph's itinerary: the matter of the "beast". Ralph says to the assembly that he's noticed people getting scared and fearful. He says, "We've got to talk about this fear and decide there's nothing in it...[this is] nonsense!" (82). However, as the beast discussion progresses, is becomes clear to Ralph that there are some amongst them that faintly believe in a beast-like figure. Jack says that he's been all over the island and hasn't discovered anything, but the littleuns, who first brought up the idea of a beast, and some of the biguns, thing there may be a beast that comes out of the water. Piggy then pipes up and says that life is scientific; there can't be a beast and there can't be fear either, unless, he says, "...we get frightened of people" (82). Piggy's statement meets with jeers, but it accurately represents that the beast is really just a figure of their imaginations, and also, that the beast is really their fear, yet they don't realize this. This message that Piggy brings up in the chapter, of the only fear being fear of each other and essentially their fear itself being the beast, is supported by Simon's thoughts which he shares at the assembly. Despite not liking to speak in public, Simon gets the conch and says that maybe there is a beast. This is met with a chorus of "shut ups" and "sod yous" (89). Even though he has the conch, because it is losing power, Simon is jumped upon by all the no-beast believers. The boys don't care about speaking in turn or letting others speak, they just shush everyone they don't agree with and get all boisterous. Also, as we find out later, Simon's idea of the beast is a human. When ever he pictures a beast, he sees a human being. That is the same message being conveyed through Piggy's words when he says that the only fear that exists is of each other...fellow humans. Simon, at that assembly, doesn't voice why he thinks there is a beast, but we find out why later on what is backing this belief, when we discover what he pictures as a beast.
Chapter five: where the break down in society and the fear are brought to the surface. The whole chapter foreshadows the events to come that will be on a much larger scale, the destruction that is possible, and the damage these boys are capable of physically and mentally. Chapter five is only a taste of what will happen and the chaos that will eventually ensue when order breaks down. It will only get worse on this island that was once so happy and care free. The freedom given to these boys has lost its glamor and its appeal from the first few days. Ralph realizes, at the end of the chapter, that what they really need are adults.
