LORD OF THE FLIES

WILLIAM GOLDING
 Lets analyse the extract…..
• 1.
• What is the immediate context for this passage?
• The hunters have moved camp to Castle Rock
• Samneric have just seen the "beast" on the mountaintop and reported it to the others
• Jack has just hunted and killed his first pig
• Ralph, Jack and Simon have been exploring the island for the first time
• 2.
• What immediately follows this passage?
• Jack and the choir go on their first hunt
• Ralph, Jack and Simon return to the rest of the group to report back
• Several of the boys steal Piggy's glasses
• Simon slips away to visit his favourite place on the island
• 3.
• Which of the following sentences indicates a dramatic shift of mood?
• "Ralph spread his arms. 'All ours'”
• "They paused and examined the bushes around them curiously"
• "The bushes were dark evergreen and aromatic and the many buds were waxen green and folded up
against the light"
• "Jack slashed at one with his knife and the scent spilled over them"
• 4.
• What is meant by the "enormity" of the "downward stroke"?
• The taking of life is irrevocable
• The other boys do not believe that Jack is physically strong enough to kill the piglet
• The other boys are afraid of Jack in that moment
• Killing a piglet is a natural act
• 5.
• What causes the boys to "laugh ashamedly"?
• Ralph and Simon are ashamed because they are now afraid of Jack; Jack is ashamed because he does not want to be
feared
• They are ashamed because they were originally afraid of the piglet and are laughing in relief
• They are ashamed at the suddenness of the complex emotions caused by their own hesitation and laugh to return
to their previous enjoyment of exploration
• They are ashamed to have enjoyed time spent together exploring and laugh to hide their irritation with one another
• 6.
• The ashamed laughter of the boys contrasts most neatly with which of the following?
• Their earnest discussion of the correct way to slaughter a pig
• Their joyous laughter when they realise that the island is theirs to explore
• Jack's contemptuous dismissal of the shrubs as inedible
• Simon's quiet awe at the candle-shaped buds
• 7.
• "You should stick a pig," said Ralph fiercely. "They always talk about sticking a pig." Which of the following is NOT
correct?
• Ralph's fierce response hints at his own potential for violence
• Ralph's response demonstrates his concern with emulating adults, learning how things ought to be done
• Ralph's response is the first example of the strong disagreement between the boys about who is in charge
• Ralph placates Jack to some extent by covering up his embarrassment at not being able to go through with the kill
• 8.
• The piglet is terrified of the boys; it throws itself "at the elastic traces in all the madness of extreme terror". A short
while later, the boys observe the "place of terror". What makes them see it this way?
• The piglet experiences its entrapment as a moment of terror; when the boys observe the place where the pig was trapped,
the description refers to their own terror, too
• The place of terror is only experienced this way by the piglet
• The boys are afraid they will be trapped in the creepers in the same way the piglet was
• All of the above
• 9.
• Which of the following implies that the boys have claimed the island like colonial explorers?
• "Ralph spread his arms. 'All ours'”
• "They laughed and tumbled and shouted on the mountain"
• “'Come on,' said Ralph. 'We’ve found out what we wanted to know'”
• "They scrambled down a rock slope, dropped among flowers and made their way under the trees"
• 10.
• "There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade
continued to flash at the end of a bony arm." What is contrasted here?
• The pause is contrasted with the boniness of the arm
• The flashing of the knife is contrasted with the violent motions of the piglet
• The still pause is contrasted with the violent motions of the piglet and with the flashing of the knife
• The entangling creepers are contrasted with the squealing of the piglet
 Video Summary
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tXpA3dIEtI