Lord of the FliesChapter 9: A View to a Death

Done by: Ravintharan (25) Randy Poon (24)

Qin Xia Yu (23)

Contents page

TimelineChapter AnalysisSettingCharacterizationLiterary devices - SymbolismThemes

Timeline

Simon wakes up and found out that a storm was coming.

He then climbed up the hill and discovered the dead pilot.

Simon heads towards the distant light, where Jack and the others are having a party, to tell them what he have discovered.

Piggy and Ralph decided to go to Jack’s party as well.

Jack orders his followers, like a king, to give Ralph and Piggy some food.

Although Ralph questioned Jack about the plans for the stormy weather, Jack simply orders his followers to do a wild hunting dance.

The boys mistook Simon as the beast and attacked him, despite his crying about the dead pilot.

Simon died.

The storm came to the island.

Chapter Analysis

Conflict btw. Savagery and Law and Order (Jack and

Ralph)

“And the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island” by Jack pg. 186

I’ll blow the conch,” & “and call an assembly.” by Ralph pg. 185

“We shan’t hear it.” by Jack pg. 186

Explanation

Quote 1: Direct animosity towards law and order in the form of the conch

Quote 2: Asserting of the role of the conch (law and order)

Quote 3: Does not want to obey the rules, goes against it

Suggests the complete overpowering of Savagery

Jack and his hunters embody savagery

They start the ritual of dancing to keep their minds off the rain pg. 187

Just as they are so absorbed in it, Simon appears out in clear view under the help of a lightning bolt

Boys are terrified by the arrival of the “beast”

Emotion takes over and they approach Simon, bent on killing the “beast” once and for all

This showcases how irrationality (fear of something which does not exist) is related to emotion

As the boys stab the “beast”, they continue their chant of killing the “beast” - emotion rages on

Simon dies - without informing them of his discovery of the dead pilot

Simon, who is the most insightful and observant of the entire group, dies

Therefore…Simon dies as a result of savagery and emotion gone overboard

The only one who knows where the “real” beast lies -- within the boys themselves

Shows that Savagery has won because of death and the lack of knowledge to

overpower it

Setting

It had begun to turn to stormy weather on the island

“Over the island the build-up of clouds continued.” pg.179

“ate beneath a sky of thunderous brass that rang with the storm-coming.” pg. 184

“blink of bright light” pg. 186

“Big drops of rain” pg. 186

Weather

WeatherStormy weather may represent the coming

of turbulence amongst the children later on

Rain produced by the clouds will extinguish the fire, a symbol of power and responsibility

Hence, the weather could be foreshadowing the terrible disarray, the fall of power and uprising of savagery among the boys later on, when they kill Simon

WeatherThese are quotes which are found

after the killing of Simon“the clouds opened and let down the

rain like a waterfall”“tore leaves and branches from the

trees”“great wind blew the rain sideways”All found from pg. 188 -189

Themes

Leadership/Power

JackDisplays his love for power when he

demands who will join his tribe“Who’ll join my tribe and have fun?”

pg.186Makes it more tempting when he offers

extra services“I gave you food”, “and my hunters will

protect you from the beast”

Leadership/Power

RalphAttempts to assert his chieftainship

by arguing against Jack“I’m chief,” “because you chose me.”“And I’ve got the conch”“I’ll blow the conch,” “and call an

assembly”All found on pg.185 -186

Civilisation and its Rules VS Chaos and Irrationality

JackHe opposes Ralph’s formal rule of obeying

the holder of the conch and mocks him even“You haven’t got it with you,” “You left it

behind. See, clever?”He also challenges Ralph about his ________.“What are you going to do about it then?”All found on pg.186

Civilisation and its Rules VS Chaos and Irrationality

JackHe ignores the conch’s calls for an

assembly

“We shan’t hear it”

All found on pg.186

Rituals and Mob Psychology

JackHe decides to get the chant and dance

rolling when Ralph makes the others feel bad about themselves

“The hunters were looking uneasily at the sky, flinching…”

“Do our dance! Come on! Dance!”All found on pg. 187

Rituals and Mob Psychology

LittlunsThey are influenced by the entire

ritual of dancing and the togetherness of the rest of the group to join in

“Some of the littluns started a ring on their own”

Found on pg.187

Rituals and Mob PsychologyInfluenceThe entire group were all on their

emotional sense when they killed Simon and chanted at the same time

They became insensitive to their actions

“The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water.”

Influence“At once the crowd surged after it, poured

down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.”

“There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.”

All found on pg. 188

Characterization

Ralph

Civilised- “Bathing”, said Ralph, that’s the only thing to do” [pg

181]

- “And I’ve got the conch” [pg 186]

Jack

Authoritarian- “Take them some meat” [pg 184] and “Give me a drink” [pg

185]

Influential- “Who’ll join my tribe and have fun?” [pg 186]

Savagery complete took over civilization- “the conch doesn’t count at this end of the island” and

Jack’s face was “painted and garlanded”

Simon

Represents Christ- Simon’s death is similar to Jesus, as both of them sacrificed

their life after learning profound truths about human morality. “Simon’s dead body moved out towards the open sea.” [pg 190]

Symbolism

Symbols

Lord of the Flies Literally: Sow’s head on a stick Figuratively: Wisdom (It

provides advice for Simon) When Simon wakes up, he finds

that he has nothing to do so he asks LOTF, “What else is there to do?” Pg.180

Symbols

The Beast Literally: A dead parachutist Figuratively: Fear, Dread Simon was scared of the Beast,

when he saw “a humped thing suddenly sit up on the top and look down at him”, he “hid his face, and toiled on”Pg.180,181.

Symbols

The Signal FireLiterally: A fire used to attract

attention.Figuratively: Security, Comfort,

HopeWhen Simon looked down at the

fire, it was “possible to see that most of the boys-perhaps all the boys were there” Pg.181.

Symbols

The ConchLiterally: A shellFiguratively: Order, rules, civilizationWhen Ralph “I’ve got the conch-”,

Jack replied with a sneer “you haven't got it with you”Pg.186. This shows that the conch was losing its power and influence as Jack and the savages don’t care about it and do not heed the call for an assembly.

Thank you