Lady of the Flies

Mary Anne Bell, a dynamic character, is a clear example of how the war changes people. She went through a complete change from the beginning of the chapter to the end; Mary Anne's metamorphosis is depicted by the diction used in Rat Kiley's story.

She starts out in innocence; "an attractive girl," "bubbly personality," "happy smile" with a "good quick mind" (page 91). Eddie Diamond supposedly said, "I promise you, this girl will most definitely learn," foreshadowing the change she's about to go through. It was her intuitive nature that lead her to the complete opposite end of the spectrum towards the end: "her face took on a sudden new composure" (page 93), "the bubbliness was gone [as was] the nervous giggling" (page 95), "she carried an M-16 automatic assault rifle" (page 98). Her eyes were no longer intelligent and blue, but had "a haunted look" to them, "a bright glowing jungle green." She's portrayed as wild, especially when we are told she had a string of human tongues around her throat" (page 105). This whole description reminds me of the weird, inhumane ways humans act in the strangest, costliest situations like in The Lord of the Flies. The boys in that story turned crazy and against each other; Mary Anne Bell is like the Lady of the Flies!