CHAPTER 6 – ‘BEAST FROM AIR’– PLOT
SUMMARY
There is a late night military
airplane battle above the island. None of the boys sees the explosions and
flashes in the clouds because the twins Sam and Eric, who were supposed to
watch the signal fire, have fallen asleep. During the battle, a parachutist
drifts down from the sky onto the island, dead. His chute becomes tangled in
some rocks and flaps in the wind, while his shape casts fearful shadows on the
ground. When Sam and Eric wake up, they tend to the fire to make the flames
brighter. In the flickering firelight, they see the twisted form of the dead
parachutist and mistake the shadowy image for the figure of the dreaded beast.
They rush back to the camp, wake Ralph, and tell him what they have seen. Ralph
immediately calls for a meeting, the boys organize an expedition to search the
island for monsters. They set out, armed with wooden spears, and only Piggy and
the littluns remain behind.
Ralph allows Jack to lead the search
as the group sets out. The boys soon reach a part of the island that none of
them has ever explored before—a thin walkway that leads to a hill dotted with
small caves. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/section6.rhtml
CH6 QUESTIONS
1.
What does Ralph tell Jack to do at the meeting when Jack tries to talk out of
turn? Is Ralph’s order followed?
2.
What do the boys do when they enter the small island? Why?
3.
What does Ralph urge them to concentrate on instead? Why?
CHAPTER 7 – ‘SHADOWS AND TALL TREES’–
PLOT SUMMARY
…That afternoon, the hunters find pig droppings, and
Jack suggests they hunt the pig while they continue to search for the beast.
The boys agree and quickly track a large boar, which leads them on a wild
chase. Ralph, who has never been on a hunt before, quickly gets caught up in
the exhilaration of the chase. He excitedly flings his spear at the boar, and
though it glances off the animal’s snout, Ralph is thrilled with his
marksmanship nonetheless. Jack holds up his bloodied arm, which he claims the
boar grazed with its tusks. Although the boar escapes, the boys remain in a
frenzy in the aftermath of the hunt. Excited, they reenact the chase among
themselves with a boy named Robert playing the boar. They dance, chant, and jab
Robert with their spears, eventually losing sight of the fact that they are
only playing a game. Beaten and in danger, Robert tries to drag himself away.
The group nearly kills Robert before they remember themselves. When Robert
suggests that they use a real boar in the game next time, Jack replies that they
should use a littlun instead…Darkness falls, and Ralph proposes that they wait
until morning to climb the mountain because it will be difficult to hunt the
monster at night. Jack challenges Ralph to join the hunt, and Ralph finally
agrees to go simply to regain his position in the eyes of the group. Ralph,
Roger, and Jack start to climb the mountain, and then Ralph and Roger wait
somewhere near the top while Jack climbs alone to the summit. He returns,
breathlessly claiming to have seen the monster. Ralph and Roger climb up to
have a look and see a terrifying specter, a large, shadowy form with the shape
of a giant ape, making a strange flapping sound in the wind. Horrified, the
boys hurry down the mountain to warn the group. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/section7.rhtml
CH7 QUESTIONS
1.
Of what does Ralph dream when he contemplates the sea?
2.
Who correctly interprets Ralph’s reverie as a longing to be rescued? What can
be inferred about this character?
3.
What literary device is featured heavily in tis chapter (hint: think of
Robert). Explain your reasoning.
CHAPTER 8 – ‘GIFT FOR THE WATER’– PLOT
SUMMARY
As Piggy and Ralph sit in the old camp discussing the
deserters, the hunters from Jack’s tribe descend upon them, shrieking and
whooping. The hunters steal burning sticks from the fire on the beach. Jack
tells Ralph’s followers that they are welcome to come to his feast that night
and even to join his tribe. The hungry boys are tempted by the idea of pig’s
meat. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/section8.rhtml
CH8 QUESTIONS
1.
What lie does Jack tell the others at the assembly?
2.
What does Jack do before he leaves the assembly?
3.
Who converses with the pig’s head about the nature of the beast?
4.
What threat does the beast make at the end of the chapter?
5.
Who is the Lord of the Flies?
CHAPTER 9 – ‘A VIEW TO A DEATH’– PLOT
SUMMARY
Chanting and dancing in several separate circles along
the beach, the boys are caught up in a kind of frenzy. Even Ralph and Piggy,
swept away by the excitement, dance on the fringes of the group. The boys again
reenact the hunting of the pig and reach a high pitch of frenzied energy as
they chant and dance. Suddenly, the boys see a shadowy figure creep out of the
forest—it is Simon. In their wild state, however, the boys do not recognize
him. Shouting that he is the beast, the boys descend upon Simon and start to
tear him apart with their bare hands and teeth. Simon tries desperately to
explain what has happened and to remind them of who he is, but he trips and
plunges over the rocks onto the beach. The boys fall on him violently and kill
him. The storm explodes over the island. In the whipping rain, the boys run for
shelter. Howling wind and waves wash Simon’s mangled corpse into the ocean,
where it drifts away, surrounded by glowing fish. At the same time, the wind
blows the body of the parachutist off the side of the mountain and onto the
beach, sending the boys screaming into the darkness. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/section9.rhtml