Worksheet on William Golding’s dystopian novel Lord of the Flies
Chapter 7: "Shadows and Tall Trees"
1. How does Simon seem to sense Ralph's deepest longing? (What does he reassure him about? How does Ralph react to this?)
2. Comment on the growing number of taboos.
3. How does Ralph feel as he participates in the hunt?
4. What might the hunters' ritual dance (with Robert as the "victim") foreshadow?
5. What does Ralph imagine Piggy saying to him?
6. What do Ralph, Roger and Jack find at the top of the hill? Do they realize what it is?
7. How does the apparent existence of "the beast" strengthen Jack's (rather than Ralph's) hold over the boys?
Chapter 8: "Gift for the Darkness" (Green Book: 124-144; Red Book: 154-178; White Book:136-159)
1. What does Ralph say that insults Jack? Who calls the next assembly? What does he want to say? How is Jack further embarrassed? How does he react? How does Piggy react?
2. What does Simon suggest the boys do about the beast? Why?
3. The killing of the sow: read the description carefully. What adjectives would you use to describe the killing? HOW do they kill it? What does this show about the way the boys are changing? Why was killing the sow a stupid thing to do (especially if the boys have to stay on the island a long time)?
4. What might be the the significance of Jack's instruction to "sharpen a stick at both ends"? To whom does he give this order?
5. What is "The Lord of the Flies" in this chapter? What does the Lord of the Flies "say" to Simon? How can this scene be explained? What is Simon's main concern in this chapter?
6. "Lord of the Flies" is the English translation for the Hebrew word "Beelzebub," often used to signify Satan or a demon who is Satan’s second-in-command (Whether it means the Devil or a devil is insignificant.) How might this knowledge deepen your understanding of the scene in which Simon stares at the pig's head?
7. What is ironic about the juxtaposed settings in this chapter (i.e., Simon’s special place and the clearing in which Jack chooses to leave the “gift”?
Chapter 9: "A View to a Death" (Green Book: 145-154; Red Book: 179-190; White Book: 160-170)
Note: Chapter 8 concluded with Simon’s remarkable vision, a mystical, non-rational understanding (notice I didn’t say “irrational”, which has a different connotation) of “the reason why it’s no go” and Simon’s premonition of this own death. Notice the ironic juxtaposition of the settings: Simon’s special place to go to meditate is right beside the area in which the hunters leave their gift for their lord. Here in Chapter 9, notice again another ironic juxtaposition: the place the dead parachutist has fallen, which the boys mistake for a terrifying incarnation of their ”beast,” is right beside their only hope for rescue – the place where they had made their rescue fire. Thus, the symbols of rationality are juxtaposed with symbols of irrational fear.
1. What does Simon discover about "the beast"? What is it covered with (the imagery hence linking it with the Lord of the Flies?) How does he react? What compassion and respect does he show? What fateful decision does he make?
2. Why do Ralph and Piggy go to Jack's pig roast? Notice the description of him on page 164: what does he look like?
3. Another crisis of authority what does Jack offer the boys? What does Ralph offer them? What decisions do they make? What does Jack say about the conch?
4. Read pages 167-169 VERY CAREFULLY:
5. Why do Piggy and Ralph take part in the dance?
6. Notice the imagery here: what does it mean that “the centre of the circle yawned emptily (what is the only thing that can yawn?)
7. When this circle becomes a horseshoe, who stumbles into it? What is he referred to as? And yet, this new circle is described as having a “mouth” which “crunched” and “screamed” What is the significance of this detail?
8. What does it mean that “there were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws?
9. Who is responsible for the killing?
10. After the “dance,” what is set free?
11. Notice the description of the body. What does it suggest? (By the way, the technical term for this is “apotheosis”.)
Chapter 10: "The Shell and the Glasses" (Green Book: 155-168; Red Book: 191-207; White Book: 171-186)
1. What does Golding (the author) mean when he states: "Memory of the dance that none of them had attended shook all four boys convulsively"? To put the same issue another way, what are the boys – especially Piggy – using their rationality for? What is somewhat admirable about Ralph in this debate?
2. Where is Jack now? What evidence is there to show that Jack's regime is based on force and fear? (Note especially the episode involving Wilfred, and notice also the use Jack is making of their fear of the beast.
3. How is Piggy made to suffer at the end of this chapter?
Chapter 11: "Castle Rock" (Green Book: 169-182; Red Book: 208-224; White Book: 187-202)
1. Who are the boys left with Ralph? What do they say they do not want to be? How do they hope to make the distinction?
2. When Ralph and his group arrive at Castle Rock, what two key questions does he shout? What does the crowd choose, and why?
3. At the climax of this chapter (which is also the climax of the novel), two things are destroyed: What are they? Who destroys them? How? What is happening to this person?
Chapter 12: "Cry of the Hunters" (Green Book: 183-202; Red Book:225-248; White Book: 203-225)
1. Why does Ralph crack the skull of the Lord of the Flies? What does the skull gleam like?
2. Who "sharpens a stick at both ends," and for what horrible purpose?
3. (a) Ralph accepts the knowledge that Samneric are part of Jack’s tribe now “like a new wound.” But what was their motive? What theme(s) is Golding developing about human nature and about evil here?
4. Samneric warn Ralph, giving him some important information about Jack and Roger’s plans
5. What is that information? What is the indirect (implied) answer to Ralph’s question? What does Sam do which shows that, in his heart, he would like to help Ralph? Ralph hides in an area cleared by the big rock that killed Piggy; how do Jack and Roger find Ralph’s hiding place?
6. (omit this question unless you already know Macbeth) What character(s) in Macbeth do Samneric roughly correspond to?
7. Who starts the last great fire, and why? What are Ralph's alternatives?
8. Ralph tries hard to think, and misses sensible Piggy and the assemblies. But he also remembers something – although it is not in quotation marks, it is something said to him earlier. What is it, and by whom?
9. What is the "better show" the officer refers to, and why? What is ironic about his remarks?
10. (a) Why does Ralph cry at the end of the novel? Explain the reasons carefully in your own words.
(b) Although the sentence you have paraphrased is on of the most famous is modern literature, it is not the end of the novel. What is the last image the reader sees? Why is it significant?
11. Issues in closure: is their rescue by the naval officer a “deus ex machina” ending? If you are not familiar with this term, look it up and share your information.
Note: Many students and other readers think that the rescue of Ralph and the boys from certain death undermines earlier ideas/themes raised in the novel, removing some of the power from Golding’s portrait of “mankind’s essential evil.” What do you think?
Defend or critique the ending in terms of its consistency with the issues the author has been developing earlier.
In ancient Greek comedies, the characters sometimes got into so much complicated trouble that the playwrights could not figure out how to end their plays with believable plot details consistent with what had happened earlier. These playwrights began to rely on gods and goddesses being lowered to the stage by cranes from huge mechanical contraptions to sort out the humans' difficulties and wrap up the loose ends of the story. This artificial way of imposing a conclusion was called a "deus (god) ex (out of) machina (the machine)" ending.
A "deus ex machina" ending is considered by most people to be an artistic flaw, a cheap and easy way to get out of a problem which a writer with better plot-making skills would have avoided. The term "deus ex machina" ending is now used metaphorically, being applied to any play or story -- not only those with gods or goddesses -- which has a "trick" ending, a contrived, artificial, forced ending completely unanticipated by the readers or audience because it is not hinted at earlier in the story. You can probably think of some examples yourself from movies. If you have ever seen a movie that you thought was good but spoiled by a “cheesy” ending, that cheesy ending may have been a deus ex machina ending.: for example, young lovers may be finally able to marry because some relative they have never heard of dies and leaves them some money . . .
Why does this matter for The Lord of the Flies?