Chapters 7-8
What does Ralph daydream about while climbing the mountain?
Home and his comforts of life.
What does Simon discover on the mountain?
A dead parachutist caught in the rocks.
What do Jack's hunters steal when they raid Ralph's camp?
Piggy's glasses.
"Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"
The hunters chanting during a hunt.
What does the conch shell represent?
Civilization, order, authority, democracy, and the right to speak.
What game do the boys play after the boar escapes?
They do a mock pig hunt using Robert as the pig.
What important message does Simon want to share with the other boys?
That the beast is not an external thing, but represents the evil within them.
Who does Jack have tied up at Castle Rock?
Wilfred is tied up and beaten up.
"That was murder."
Ralph, recognizing after Simon's death they killed him.
What does the beast represent?
Fear and darkness or evil that exists within the humans.
What do Jack and his hunters do with the pig's head?
They place it on a sharpened stick as an offering to the beast.
Why do the boys attack Simon during the storm?
They mistake Simon for the beast.
How does Piggy die?
Roger drops a massive boulder on Piggy, striking him, killing him.
"You're still chief."
What does the pig's head, also called The Lord of the Flies represent?
Evil, savagery, and darkness within human beings.
What does Simon discover about the supposed beast on the mountain?
The beast is actually the dead parachutist.
What does Simon's death symbolize?
The destruction of goodness, innocence, truth, and reason by fear and savagery.
It shatters. This symbolizes the complete destruction of civilization, order, democracy, and rules and island.
"Maybe there is a beast....maybe it's only us."
Simon, realizing the beast is connected to the evil the humans are doing.
What does Piggy's death symbolize in the novel?
The destruction of reason, intelligence, logic, and civilization.
What does the title "Gift for the Darkness" suggest about the pig's head and the boys' actions?
The boys give an offering of evil and darkness within themselves. The pigs head represents the savagery and violence within them.
How does Golding use the description of Simon's body being carried out to sea to create a contrast with the violence of his death?
Simon's body is swept out peacefully, surrounded by the beauty of nature. This is a direct contrast to the violence of his death.
How does Ralph finally get rescued and what causes his rescue?
A naval officer arrives because they see smoke since Jack's tribe sets the island on fire.
"Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill."
The Lord of the Flies (pig's head) speaking to Simon, suggesting they are the evil.
What is Golding's overall message about human nature and the source of evil?
Evil is not something outside humanity; it exists within human beings.