Lord of the Flies: Chapter 4 Reading and Study Guide

I. VOCABULARY: Be able to define the following words and understand them when they appear in the novel.

Impending ______

blatant______

belligerence______

chastisement______

impalpable______

myriad______

swarthiness______

malevolent______

generic ______

II. LITERARY TERMS: Be able to define each term and apply each term to the novel.

imagery______

symbolism ______

III. QUESTIONS: answer the following questions. Use complete sentences.

1. How is the description in the first two paragraphs important symbolically to the story?

2. What have the littluns grown used to because of their eating habits?

3. Who are the three boys building sand castles?

4. Who is the leader of the three? What reason is given for him being leader?

5. Of what duty have Roger and Maurice just been relieved?

6. Of what does Maurice feel a bit guilty?

7. What catches Henry’s interest on the beach?

8. What almost hits Roger?

9. What keeps Roger from throwing the stones to hit Henry?

10. What is Jack doing to himself and why?

11. Who is all with Jack in the forest?

12. What is a strange detail of Piggy’s hair?

13. What does Piggy suggest making that Ralph ignores?

14. What does Ralph see in the distance?

15. What happened to the smoke on the mountain? How does Ralph react?

16. What does Jack return with?

17. What do the boys chant upon their return?

18. What happens to Piggy after he yells at Jack for letting the fire go out?

19. Who gives Piggy his piece of meat?

20. What does Jack do in response to this?

21. What does Maurice pretend to be?

22. What does Ralph decide to do at the end of the chapter?

23. What is evidence that the boys' lives focus "inwards" only, ignoring the outside almost exclusively?

24. Johnny seems to be a natural jerk, especially towards Percival. Does this sort of belligerence occur in the "real world"?

25. What is Roger's reaction to the fact that his civilization is in ruins? What hold(s) does it still have on him, what calls does it make on him?

26. What does the mask allow Jack to do? Talk about the "power" of the mask. Try and find some parallels in our lives (think about clothes, make-up, job-titles).

27. Something inside Ralph cracks and he is in agony, despair and anger all at the same time. What has he learnt? What has his leadership come to? How may he be seeing his future?

28. Where has Jack's blood lust got him now? Referring to question 5 (above, this chapter) discuss short and long-term vision as aspects of leadership.

29. Discuss "Passions beat about Simon on the mountaintop with awful wings".

30. Jack raged on the mountaintop about Ralph asserting his chieftainship, without knowing why. Write what Jack's inner voices may have been saying.

31. How is Jack's relationship to all the rules he wanted changing? Give evidence. Does this ever happen in YOUR reality? Talk about it!