The Retreat of Rationality (Or, A Bad Day to Be Ralph)
Omens of Chaos
Thank You So Much, Mr. Golding, For That Image
Bad Hair Day
100
Upon arriving at a party, he gets bumped and burned by "a great chunk of meat."
Who is Piggy?
100
The one-word utterance Ralph says aloud to himself while being pursued by the hunters.
What is "Think?"
100
In Chapter 9, an instance of weather predicting human patterns foretells this event.
What is the murder of Simon?
100
It was here in Chapter 9 that "the littleuns were playing at the edge, trying to extract comfort from a wetness warmer than blood?"
What is the pool?
100
In an effort to maintain calm, he counsels, "All right, all right. Keep your hair on."
Who is Ralph?
200
The spin that Piggy uses with Ralph to excuse the murder of Simon.
What is "an accident?"
200
This example of onomatopoeia, meaning "to howl or lament loudly," is voiced by the hunters as they chase Ralph through the forest and signal to each other.
What is "ululate?"
200
The specific speaker and circumstance wherein "Which is better---to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?" was said.
Who was Piggy, just before the big rock hit him?
200
In describing the scene wherein "Piggy's head opened up and stuff came out and turned red," Golding may have been trying to achieve this type of person's point-of-view.
What is a young child?
200
The "little boy who wore the remains of an extraordinary black cap on his red hair..." was seen from this person's point-of-view.
Who was the naval officer?
300
In the sentence "They were glad to touch the fence that hemmed in terror and made it governable," this was the fence.
What were the "brown backs" of the boys dancing in the circle?
300
When Ralph tries to convince himself that the others were still human-- were "once schoolboys who had said "Sir, yes, Sir--and wore caps" --this condition, verbatim, keeps him from approaching them.
What is "darkness and the horrors of death?"
300
In Chapter 10, this word eventually supplants "hunters" when referring to Jack's followers.
What is "savages?"
300
After his death, "A bubble of air escaped from the mouth with a wet plop."
Who is Simon?
300
In the description "His hair...tapped like the tendrils of a creeper," Golding uses these two specific literary devices.
What are simile and alliteration?
400
A maneuver performed by Ralph as he "obeyed an instinct he did not know he possessed."
What is swerving in the open space to avoid the savages' spears?
400
This word, usually describing a civilized event, becomes an "obscene word" when Sam mentions it to Ralph in Chapter 10.
What is "dance?"
400
This weapon, from Chapter 12, could be viewed as being twice as bad as its common version and a symbol of a total descent into cruelty.
What is the stick sharpened at both ends?
400
This character had a grin "six feet across."
Who was The Lord of the Flies, after Ralph had broken the skull in half?
400
When Ralph appears, "limping and dirty, with dead leaves hanging from his shock of yellow hair," this person recognizes him with no trouble.
Who is Piggy?
500
As Ralph "wept for the end of innocence and the darkness of man's heart," he also wept, verbatim, for this more immediate loss.
What is "the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy?"
500
In Chapter 12, the chaotic retreat from the fire that involves "a herd of pigs...squealing, ...birds screaming, and mice shrieking" provides a counterpoint to this image.
What is Ralph hiding quietly from his pursuers?
500
This color, the color of Castle Rock, is in direct contrast to the benevolent "green shadows" that once cooled and protected the boys.
What is red?
500
It was in here in Chapter 9 that "authority sat...and chattered...like an ape."
Where was Jack's ear?
500
This quasi-deifying device dresses "Simon's coarse hair with brightness."