1. Why does Ralph want to talk about Simon’s death?

- Ralph sits in front of the chief’s log rather than on it and contemplates the horror of what

they’ve done. Ralph recalls the parachuted figure drifting off the night before and

Simon’s shouting about a dead man on the mountain and comes to a realization that what

they had feared was a dead paratrooper rather than an actual beast. He says, "I'm

frightened. Of us." He has suddenly realized that they are becoming more like savage

beasts as each day passes. Ralph realizes the extent of savagery on the island and is

horrified that he participated in Simon's murder.

- Even Piggy, who is used to always being right, finds it impossible to accept any guilt for

what happened. Piggy goes on to make excuses, attempting to justify the logic of their

actions. He is in complete denial of his and Ralph's responsibility in Simon's murder,

unable to process the death without blaming Simon. Piggy says that Simon had put

himself in that position and that was how he got killed.

2. Is Ralph still the chief at this point? Explain.

- Jack’s power over the island has grown past any of them could have imagined, and Ralph

is an outcast, subject to Jack’s impulses. As the power of civilization has disappeared

among the boys, so has Ralph’s power and influence, to the extent that none of the boys

protests when Jack declares him an enemy of the tribe.

- He tries to keep the boys focused on domestic order and the rules of civilization but loses

his authority and almost his life to Jack’s seizure of power.

- Many of the boys had pledged their allegiance and loyalty to Jack, seeing that he could

"protect them." We also remember Piggy's statement about the boys in earlier chapters

when Jack was trying to gain more power, but Ralph still had the upper hand. Piggy states

that the boys were easily "emotionally appealed" by Jack's fake acts. They saw his

meaningless apology as an act of courage, without knowing that it was all just a front.
 - Ralph is only effective as a leader as long as the boys voluntarily follow his commands.

He once had power over the boys with the conch shell in hand, but the boys have greater

interests which Jack provides. Jack allows them to descend into savagery and allows

them to do as their flesh desires.

- As Jack's power grows stronger, Ralph's grows weaker.

3. Does Ralph say that Simon’s death was an accident? Explain.

- Ralph takes a moment to reflect on Simon's death. He refuses to accept Piggy’s easy

explanation that Simon’s death was merely accidental, they were all caught up in the heat

of the moment. He is overcome with guilt and insists that the death was a murder.

- The word murder serves as a harsh reminder of just how far the boys have come in their

moral beliefs since the beginning when they first came to the island.

- Ralph realizes that at times, the boys gradually become more and more savage, as they

adapt to living away from civilization for long periods of time. As the novel progresses,

they suddenly turn dramatically savage, usually when confronted by their fears about the

beast.

- There is an implication that he is frightened of what just happened, and what they have

become. They have unwinded into a group of savage beasts. He says, "I'm frightened. Of

us. I want to go home. O God I want to go home"

- Ralph takes responsibility by acknowledging his participation, even if he may have not

killed Simon with bare hands and teeth, he was encouraged the acts of killing this "beast."

- Ralph becomes hysterical and frightened and has nightmares.

- In the beginning, Ralph is simply unable to understand why the other boys would give in

to the savage instincts of bloodlust and barbarism. But now, it has all dawned on Ralph.

Though he hopes that there is still humanity and civilization within them all, Simon's
 death plunges him into listless despair in the knowledge of the evil that exists in

everybody.

4. Whose fault does Piggy say Simon’s death is?

- Piggy is in full-fledged denial of anyone’s responsibility, unable to process the death

without blaming Simon for his seemingly odd behaviour.

- Piggy is all for the idea of forgetting about the event and moving on. But he cannot

escape the conversation when Ralph brings up the issue of Simon’s death at their hands.

Though their involvement was somewhat limited, Piggy and Ralph were still involved in

the chanting and accusations of Simon's mistaken identity as the beast.

- Piggy attempts to devote his knowledge to rationalizing the series of events. He cannot

bear to live or rather, contemplate the guilt of someone's murder.

- Piggy tries to keep life scientific and intellectual, finding the facts and the rational

reasoning for everything. Even despite the previous night’s incident, emotionally

motivated by their fear of the beast, he searches for a formula to explain the death. He

blames Simon's murder as justifiable because Simon asked for it by crawling out of the

woods. Piggy tries to find excuses to blame the death on the boys' fear and calls it an

accident.

5. Where was Samneric during the time of Simon’s death?

- Samneric outright lie and say that after the feast they ‘got lost in the woods’ and weren’t

even there. Ralph and Piggy tell Samneric that they weren’t there either. Like Ralph and

Piggy, Samneric's involvement is not explicitly specified as the other hunters, but they

were still present when Simon died. All of them are lying to each other. Sameric insists

that they left the dance early, because they were too tired, and the two are too ashamed to
 admit what really happened. The guilt dawns on them all and they cannot bear to face its

consequences.

- Sameric betrays their guilt by touching the parts of their bodies that were injured in the

previous night's chaos. "Sam touched a scratch on his forehead and then hurriedly took

his hand away. Eric fingered his split lip." The cat also spilled out of the bag when the

two recalled Jack's savage dance. "Memory of the dance that none of them had attended

shook all four boys convulsively."

6. Whom is the tribe going to beat? Why?

- Wilfred is going to get beat by the tribe. Jack plans on beating Wilfred, but he does not

specify why. Jack is probably torturing Wilfred to intimidate his followers and

demonstrate his authority. At this point in the story, Jack has fallen to the very bottom of

savagery. He has claimed his true, evil, brutal self, as Chief of the hunters. Fear and

intimidation are Jack's main tactics to gain control, and he does not hesitate to use his

power to showcase his newfound authority over them. Jack demonstrates to the rest of his

tribe that he can execute punishments according to his will and whatever his flesh desires.

7. What are the two reasons for the fire?

- The fire will "send a beckoning column of smoke," and secondly, it will "be a hearth now

and a comfort till they sleep."

- When the twins question the value of keeping the fire lit, Ralph “tried indignantly to

remember. There was something good about a fire.”

- Their hope of being rescued still lies within them, though the menacing, grim, terror of

Jack's new rule weighs heavily in their hearts.

- Jack's new control of the ability to make fire emphasizes his power over the island and

the demise of the boys' hopes of being rescued.

 - I think this fire is also a symbol of hope for the boys. That though they are few in

number, they can still have hope of being rescued and making it out alive.

8. What does the tribe steal from Ralph and the others?

- Jack and several of his tribe come to Ralph's camp and steal Piggy's glasses in order to

make a fire. Ralph has come up with a strategy to keep the fire out for the night so Jack's

tribe would not be able to invade them and steal their fire. But now, Piggy's glasses, are

stolen. Thus, Ralph can no longer start fires, nor can Piggy see.

- Piggy’s glasses are used to make fire by intensifying sunlight with their lenses. Thus,

when Jack’s hunters raid Ralph’s camp and steal the glasses, the savages have taken the

power to make fire, and Ralph’s civilization is left helpless.

- Jack symbolizes an evil Prometheus, stealing fire from the humans to profit the hunters as

opposed to stealing from the gods to benefit humans.

9. In this chapter, Piggy says, “If we don’t get home soon we’ll be barmy.” Do you think he

is right? Explain. *Barmy means “crazy.” (5 marks)

- I do think that Piggy has a fair point. Ralph’s connection with his civilized self fades even

more rapidly now, yet he fights to maintain it and is amazed by the “curtain” that seems

to fall when he tries to stress the importance of the fire. When the twins question the

value of keeping the fire lit, Ralph “tried indignantly to remember. There was something

good about a fire.” Piggy, of course, instantly knows what this good is, as his connection

to civilization remains very strong because it offers him the protection that is lacking on

the island. Piggy knows that little by little before the boys even know it, their brains will

rot from madness and insanity. As the beast has overtaken the other boys, the hunters of

Jack's tribe, soon Piggy and Ralph will succumb to the island's effects as well. It is also

noted that Ralph and Piggy are not immune to the savagery and bloodlust present in the
 other boys. Just like the Lord of the Flies described, it is inescapable, it is something one

can never run away from. As hard as Piggy and Ralph try to contain themselves, swearing

to never conform to the violence and brutality the other boys have fallen into, they are

still exposed to it. For instance, during the chanting and the dancing that took place when

Simon was dying. The boys found themselves in that circle as well.

- As the boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children who hope to be

rescued to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters who have no desire to return to civilization, they

naturally lose the sense of innocence that they once had at the beginning of the novel. The

painted savages Jack and the beast have all turned into are unrecognizable from the

crying, desperate children waiting to be rescued. This loss of innocence is not just

because something happened TO the children, but more so resulting from the inherently

evil nature that is in each and every one of the boys. Their decline to their true evil form

came from the increase of contact with the innate evil and savagery within themselves.

Civilization can diminish but never truly wipe out the evil nature that exists within all

human beings.

- If we look at Jack Merridew, he becomes obsessed with hunting and devotes himself to

the task, painting his face like a barbarian and giving himself over to bloodlust. The more

savage Jack becomes, the more he is able to control the rest of the group, which, apart

from Ralph, Simon, and Piggy, largely follows him in casting off moral restraint and

embracing violence and savagery. Jack is mentally insane and has dropped to an entirely

new level of insanity and brutally murdered two of his fellow islanders.

- The boys have progressively destroyed the unity and the beauty of the island they once

enjoyed. There are no longer items of possession that Ralph nor Piggy can hold on to in

order to give them comfort and hope of being rescued. It seems that all odds have been

stacked against them. Piggy knows that if they don't get out of there soon enough, the

savagery will take them too, as it has already with the other boys.
10. Who does Ralph fight in the darkness?

- Ralph sleeps fitfully, plagued by nightmares. They are awakened by howling and

shrieking and are suddenly attacked by a group of Jack’s hunters. They are badly beaten,

and when the attack is over, they do not even know why they were assaulted, since they

would have gladly shared the fire with the other boys. Piggy still assumes that Jack has

attacked them to get the conch back, a symbol of power, but Jack takes something even

greater: Piggy's glasses, the remaining spark of hope left for Ralph's camps.