| What is Ralph’s opinion of his appearance as the chapter begins? What does his feeling indicate? | He thinks he looks sloppy, and it bothers him to realize that he is becoming accustomed to the dirt. The passage confirms his desire to return to a civilized state. In the other boys, however, Ralph sees the same signs of decay and with a heavy heart realizes, “that he did not mind;” it was “normal” (110). |
| What does Ralph long for? | About how dirty his clothes are, how torn they are, how long his hair is, etc. He really wants to take a bath. |
| What distracts the boys from the search for the Beast? | “Castle Rock” |
| What does Ralph daydream about? | About going home to a nice warm, clean bed, with books to read. |
| When the boar charges, what does Ralph do? | Hits it with his spear. |
| What do Ralph, Jack and Roger find when they get to the top of the mountain? | They find the dead body of the pilot. His parachute lines are tangled around rocks, which causes it to move when the wind blows. They believe it’s the beastie. |
| Who volunteers to go alone through the jungle to tell Piggy the boys will return after dark? | Simon |
| When Ralph gets caught up in the pig hunt, what does his reaction tell you about him? | That he has lost his innocence and become like the rest; a savage. |
| Simon says twice to Ralph, “You’ll get back all right.” Is there a reason he singles Ralph out, rather than saying: “We’ll all get back all right”? | He may be singling Ralph out because Ralph is especially tense at this point. On the other hand, it may be something else. Quite possibly, Golding is giving the reader some more foreshadowing. |
| At this point, what contrast is presented by Ralph’s daydream? | It serves to contrast the warmth and security of what was with his present predicament: innocence of his past confronts the ugliness of his present. |
| How does Ralph get caught up in the irrational desire to injure and kill? | After Ralph hits the pig with a spear, he decided that hunting is good and feels like it made him more of a man. The game, begun innocently by Robert and Ralph, turns vicious as the boys including Ralph get caught up in the bloodlust and desire to kill and hurt. With their ritual chanting of “kill the pig” a crowd hysteria erupts. Robert has been slightly injured but badly frightened. On can be assured that Robert will not play the pig again. |
| Why is it especially horrific and savage when Robert says, “You want a real pig… because you’ve got to kill him” and Jack replies, “Use a littleun”? | Although said as a joke at which everyone laughs, the idea is very primitive, reminiscent of a human sacrifice. One can imagine the boys killing a littlun at some point, either deliberately or driven by mob mentality. After all, even in Ralph, the best most responsible of them, the lust to to hurt and kill overtakes him. |
| Later, Ralph asks Jack why Jack hates him. Why does he? | Jack resents that Ralph is the leader because he wants to be. The rest of the boys do not show obvious hatred, but a leader who cannot solve the dilemma they are in is not much of one. |
| Why do you suppose the author lets the reader know at the outset that it is the pilot and his parachute, not a beast that the boys find? Would there not have been greater suspense if the reader knew no more than the boys? | The chapter might have been more suspenseful if the reader did not know: in knowing, however, the reader focuses attention on the boys’ reactions. Apparently the author wanted us not to get involved in the suspense, but rather to concentrate on the boys as they get involved. Readers can see the futility (uselessness) of intelligence trying to conquer fear. Even if the boys knew the beast was a dead pilot, it be too grotesque a thing for them to deal with, albeit not quite so frightening as an imaginary beast. |
| Who called the first assembly in this chapter? | Jack |
| How does Jack respond when Ralph calls his hunters “boys armed with sticks?” | Jack becomes very offended and returns to his friends to twist Ralph’s words, claiming that he called the hunters cowards. Jack also believes Ralph is not a proper chief. |
| During the assembly, how many voted that Ralph shouldn’t be chief? Why? | No one. They still feel Ralph is best and safest choice for chief. |
| What did Jack say when no one voted against Ralph? | “I’m not going to play any longer. Not with you.” and then he leaves |
| The Hunters get a new name. What is it? How/why? | Savages- breaking away, strip down, painting faces and bodies, kill, torture. |
| What did Piggy suggest? | That they build the fire on the beach/platform |
| Who started the fire? | Piggy |
| What happened to Ralph’s fingers? | They began to bleed from him biting them |
| What do Piggy and the twins bring Ralph? | A feast of fruit |
| What happens to most of the biguns while Ralph and Piggy are busy? | They left to join Jack’s group while Ralph’s group is busy building the fire. |
| How do the hunters find the sow? | By the blood drops from her wound |
| Who kills the sow? | Jack (cuts its throat) |
| Who plays the sow in the reenactment? | Maurice |
| Who plays the killer in the reenactment? | Roger |
| Who does Jack send to get the fire? | Roger, Henry, Robert, Maurice |
| What gift does Jack offer to help pacify the Beast? | Jack offers the sow’s head, him and and his hunters had killed. |
| What does Jack ask Roger to do to a stick? | He tells him to “sharpen a stick at both ends.” |
| What is “The Lord of the Flies?” | The pig’s head |
| What happens when Simon goes back into the woods? | He sees Jacks group kill/behead a pig to give to the beastHallucinates that the head is mocking him |
| Who communicates with the Lord of the Flies? | Simon |
| What threat does the Lord of the Flies make to Simon? | That Jack, Ralph, and the other boys may eventually hurt him |
| What does the Lord of the Flies call Simon? | Silly |
| Who said, “I’d like to put on war-paint and be a savage. But we must keep the fire burning.” | Ralph- speaking after the raid. He wants them to focus on keeping the fire lit. |
| What reason does Ralph gives for the boys’ defection to Jack? | The are hungry and need food. They want to be part of a group. |
| Where does Simon go after he leaves “the Lord of the Flies”? | He goes to the body on the mountain. |
| Where does Simon go after that? What does he discover about the beast? | He goes to tell the other boys that the beast is not real. The beast is a decaying body. |
| What kind of leader is Jack? | He rules through terror and offering protection from the beast. |
| How does Jack propose to rule without the conch? | He promises to provide food and fun. |
| Why do Ralph and Piggy decide to attend Jack’s feast? | They want to keep some control over the events. |
| Why does Ralph remind Jack’s followers that they don’t have shelters? | It begins to rain and they are scared of lightning. |
| What happens when Jack asks Ralph’s followers to join with him? | Ralph’s followers join and Jack. Ralph and Jack get into an argument about who should be chief. |
| What tragic mistake is made in the frenzy and excitement of the hunting dance? | They kill Simon. |
| Do you think the boys are aware of what they have done when they kill Simon? | The boys think that they are killing the beast. |
| What seems to have been Simon’s function in the novel? | Simon is a religious figure. |
| What happens to the figure on the mountain? | It is blown into the ocean. |
| Why does the tide wash away the tragic mistake? | It symbolizes the death of the human spirit. |
| How did Ralph organize his group? | He organized his group by getting them to work together and focus on shelter and getting rescued. |
| How did Jack organize his group? | He uses the beast to manipulate the others into becoming violent savages. |
| Was Simon interfering when he was killed or was he simply trying to save them from the REAL beast? | He was trying to let everyone know that the beast did not exist. |
| What is the REAL beast? | The savagery that exists inside all human beings. |
| What is the significance of the title of this chapter being “A View to a Death”? | The death of the pig and the death of the pilot have been the views that will lead to Simon’s own death. |
Lord of the Flies – Chapters 7-9
February 11, 2020