Lord of the flies chapter 8

Chapter 8 raises fundamental issues involving the modification and degradation in certain characters' behaviour from their normal life of civilization. It is the main chapter in which democracy is demolished, savagery kicks in and the definitive chapter in which Simon has the ultimate encounter with the Lord Of The Flies. I will explore Golding's use of symbolism, plot, imagery, language, Christian morals, setting, themes and story structure as well as the novel's overall historical context to establish the fact that chapter 8 is the most significant chapter to the novel as a whole. It is only in chapter eight when Ralph, Piggy and Simon react very differently and for different reasons. Being under the immense pressure because of the gradual immersion of a dystopia; some of the boys lose control; however others capitalise on the fear of the other boys for their own gain. This is the vital episode in which Ralph experiences difficulties dealing with 'the beast.' He acknowledges its existence and in doing so spreads fear amongst the other boys. This is evidenced when Ralph describes the beast as having 'teeth' and 'big black eyes.' Ralph automatically decides that fighting the beast is doing the impossible; which leaves the boys with no alternative than to hide from the beast and live under its shadow. Ralph describes the beast as 'big', leading to the connotation of

  • Word count: 2481
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Chapter 8 analysis Lord of the Flies

As time goes on we see how the boys are breaking up. They are no longer united but dispersed. In this chapter we are able to see how Jack has virtually and eternally departed from Ralph's domain. The boys have clearly divided into two groups. Here Golding employs a sort of political perspective of the situation where two governments are running side by side with each other. This chapter's moral significance lies in the indulgence of the pig and Simon's final realization of what life really is on the island. Golding has convincingly portrayed the effective significance of the boy's discovery of the beast on the island. Ralph has presumable lost all power over the group and it is only a matter of time, before Jack's primitive rise to power. We see Piggy's strong character being portrayed in the starting of the chapter. Golding goes on to bring out the significance of Piggy's presence on the island and his unmistakable contribution to the good of the society. Even though Ralph is a strong representative of maturity and moral choice we see that Piggy is the closest thing on the island to an adult. We see that Piggy remains the lone skeptic unwilling to bring himself to believe that there is actually is a beast on the island. Ralph's succumbing to fear and the acceptance of the beast in a way brings out his childish characteristics. Golding reminds us that Ralph is still

  • Word count: 1856
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Lord of the Flies - Chapter 8

In chapter eight the 3 boys all react very differently and for different reasons, some of them crack under the pressure and fear created by the beast and some capitalise on the fear of the other boys for their own gain. In chapter eight Ralph does not deal well with the beast. He acknowledges its existence and in doing so spreads fear amongst the other boys: "'The beast had teeth.'" He decides that it cannot be fought, therefore the boys have to hide from the beast and live under its shadow, rather than dealing with the problem: "'I don't think we'd ever fight a thing that size, honestly, you know. We'd talk, but we wouldn't fight a tiger. We'd hide.'" Ralph's priority is to get off the island rather than to confront or fight the beast. His conclusion is that the only way to get off the island is to be rescued, his main concern is to keep the fire going in the hope that a ship may come past and rescue them: "'As long as there's light we're brave enough. But then? And now that thing squats by the fire as though it didn't want us to be rescued... So we can't have a signal fire... We're beaten.'" Ralph believes that they must make smoke, but is easily defeated by the beast, he lacks the insight to move the fire, and is beginning to lose his mind when Jack completes his take-over. Piggy has to constantly remind him midsentence of the point he is trying to make: "'The fire's the

  • Word count: 1643
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Lord of the Flies - Chapter summary.

Chapter 1: The Sound of the Shell Piggy and Ralph meet up with each other after escaping from their shot-down plane. A large scar was made in the untouched jungle, symbolizing the first of man's destruction on the island. A war is going on in the outside world, and now for the rest of the book, everyone will be isolated from it and put into their own "world." Piggy spots a conch shell, and tells Ralph how to use it to make a noise. Ralph does so, and calls all of the other boys on the island who crashed down with the plane. Jack and his Choir, Simon, Sam and Eric, and many other characters join in an assembly (including the littl'uns, which are the youngest kids at about 6 or 7 years old). Rules are set down, and Ralph is to be chief. There is no one else on the island but the young boys, so Jack decides to take his choir out to hunt for wild pigs, although he is unsuccessful in killing a small pig with his knife. Significance: While Jack's first attempt to kill the pig failed, his quote "next time..." foreshadowed his future of savage hunting. Chapter 2: Fire on the Mountain Ralph calls another assembly, and reminds everyone that they are completely alone on the island, and there are no adults. Jack recounts his failure in killing the pig, and reiterates the need for skilled hunters. Several rules are made up, such as "whoever holds the conch gets to speak."

  • Word count: 2107
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Lord of the Flies Chapter Questions

Lord of the Flies Chapter Questions Chapter 1 . Name and describe the first two characters we meet. The first two characters we meet are called Ralph and Piggy. Ralph is more of a leader; he is skinny and somehow strong. While Piggy is a chubby, fat, intellectual and wears glasses. 2. What do the two boys discover in their exploration? To what use they put to it? During their exploration they discover a large pink and cream-colored conch, Piggy realizes it could be used as a kind of trumpet. Convinced by the sound of the trumpet they decide to blow in it looking for inhabitants in the island that could hear it. Finally they use the conch for the right of speaking during a group meeting. 3. Who is the elected leader? Ralph gets elected leader, although all the choir boys voted for Jack. 4. How is the division of labor arranged? Ralph being the leader decides that the choir boys and Jack should be the hunters. He also decides that Jack and a choir member, Simon to explore the island. 5. What takes place when Jack, Ralph and Simon find a piglet caught in the brush? What effect does the encounter have on Jack? When Jack, Ralph and Simon walk back after exploring the island, they find a piglet; Jack being the leader of the hunters grabs his knife and steps to kill the pig but hesitates. Somehow the pig manages to escape. Jack promises that the next time he won't hesitate

  • Word count: 1445
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Languages
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Lord of the Flies - Chapter Summaries.

Lord of the Flies - Chapter Summaries Chapter One: The Sound of a Shell. The first chapter concentrates on describing character personalities. Ralph, Piggy, Jack and the rest of the choir are introduced after Ralph blows the conch. The group elects Ralph, 'the chief' and they begin to establish rules and boundaries. Ralph, Jack and Simon explore the island and begin plans for shelters from the weather. The trio find that the island is a fertile place. It has natural fruit, fresh water and wild pigs which could be hunted as a form of meat. Piggy is immediately ostracized from the group and Ralph also decides that a bonfire on the mountain should be lit permanently on the mountain as a constant smoke signal. Chapter Two: Fire on the Mountain. Ralph calls another meeting to discuss the fire on the mountain. Jack decides forming a hunting party to hunt pigs. A small boy claims to have seen a serpent-like beast, but the idea is quickly discarded after Ralph and Jack convince the group otherwise. The group hurriedly rushes to the mountain and collects wood for a fire, which breaks up the meeting. At first the boys have nothing to light the fire, until Jack robs Piggy of his glasses and uses them to magnify the sun's rays to heat the tinder-dry wood. The fire, although majestic, unfortunately only generates a tiny amount of smoke, so the boys stack green branches on to get more

  • Word count: 1474
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of the end of chapter one - Lord of the Flies

Analysis of the end of chapter one - Lord of the Flies This is the name given to the inner beast, to which only Simon ever actually speaks. As Simon's waits for the beast's arrival near the bloody sow's head on the stake (buzzing with flies), The Lord of the Flies speaks to him, warning him not to get in its way or else he shall be killed by the boys. The Lord of the Flies name comes from the sow's head and the countless flies buzzing about it, which soon move from the sow's head to swarm around the head of Simon as the Lord of the Flies tells him, "I'm a part of you." In biblical texts, the Lord of the Flies is the title of Beelzebub (a direct translation of his name), a demon of Hell and cohort of Satan. There is a clear distinction between this book and the Coral Island. There is no separation between boys and savages, good and evil, Christianity and cannibalism, British and savages in this book, where as in the Coral island this distinction comes out many times. This is because the two authors had different views: Ballantyne believed that good and evil were intertwined where as Golding did not. The text concerns Ralph, Jack and Simon tackling the job of exploration with boyish enthusiasm, eventually discovering that they really are on a picturesque, tropical island, complete with lagoon, reefs, mountain and jungle. On their return, they find a piglet caught in the

  • Word count: 812
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Lord of the Flies - Themes in Chapter 2

Lord of the Flies Themes Chapter 2 * Beast: Fear of a "beastie" on the island is first stemmed from a littlun with a distinctive marking, a "mulberry-coloured birthmark" on his face, who says the beast comes out at night and looks like a snake (this reminds us of the devil who appears in Genesis in the form of a snake, therefore we associate it with evil, even the fact that it was seen in the dark helps us recognise that the beast is evil). Both Ralph and Jack, thinking these to be simply childish nightmares, comfort everyone that there is no beast. Although they try comforting everyone, they do not have any evidence to confront the small boy and so an element of doubt is introduced in their minds about the existence of the beast, a doubt which will not be defeated easily because no one can fight rational thinking. We know that the beast doesn` t really exist, however in metaphoric and symbolic terms, it exists inside all the boys, especially in Jack. Golding is trying to show us that you can`t separate the evil inside you from the evil outside, because evil is found everywhere. * Government: Ralph continues to establish a democratic political foundation by using the conch as a symbol of authority, and the description of the children sitting in organized sections during assembly is reflective of a government meeting. Jack continues to support him offering his choir

  • Word count: 796
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How effective is the first chapter of lord of the flies?

Lord of the flies How effective is the first chapter of lord of the flies? The first chapter of the L.O.T.F was very effective. It's written after the Second World War but it talks about the first world, when the children from the city are flown to a hiding place, so they don't get killed in the war. But the plane crashes in an island and the adults are all dead. This part makes the story effective because there's suspense in it and excitement. There are no adults and no one knows where they are. They are stranded in an unknown island which makes this part of the story effective. The story starts with the "fair boy" getting out the crashed plane and stepping into the "scar". The scar is made when the plane crashed into the island. This attracts attention to reader so this makes the story effective. Then as we go into the story we get introduced to "piggy" and we find out that the "fair boys" name is "Ralph". They find something called a conch and "piggy" explains to "Ralph" what it does and this, what's used to call the other children who were in the aeroplane. As we get introduced to each character the story starts to unfold and becomes more effective. The story is very effective when "Ralph" betrays piggy's trust. Ralph - Ralph is a dependable and reliable person. He's basically kind and he is sensitive. He demonstrates physical courage. He believes the good within

  • Word count: 783
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Chapter One - Lord of the Flies summary.

Chapter One - Lord of the Flies SUMMARY The novel opens with a twelve-year-old boy, Ralph, picking his way through an area of devastated jungle. Presently he hears a voice calling to him and another boy scrambles out of the undergrowth to join him. This boy is similar in age to Ralph, however the similarities end there. Ralph is fair and attractive, with a boxer's physique, in sharp contrast to his new companion, who is stumpy, bespectacled, very fat, and asthmatic. From their talk we learn that they are evacuees from an atomic war, and have escaped from the passenger tube dropped onto the jungle by an aircraft which was under attack and fire. Ralph naïvely supposes the pilot will return, but the fat boy knows better, and is alarmed by the realisation that no adults have survived. The same realisation excites Ralph in contrast. We learn that Ralph is middle-class in speech, background and manner. He is distantly reserved towards the fat boy, whose speech is ungrammatical and whose background is much inferior to his own. The fat boy delays to eat fruit, while Ralph pulls off his uniform, but follows Ralph and confidentially reveals the secret that his hated nickname was Piggy. This strikes Ralph as hilarious, and continually rejects Piggy's efforts to make friends, by taunting him with his nickname. Piggy cannot swim, but sits up to his neck in the water, trying to be

  • Word count: 856
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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