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Chapter 1: “The Sound of the Shell”

1. Describe the major characters: Ralph, Piggy, and Jack.

Ralph appears as an athletic, light-haired boy of about 12 years of age. He is confident and becomes the leader from the beginning. He represents civility and order.

Piggy is an overweight boy who wears glasses and is in poor health with asthma. He is intelligent, verbose, and rational. He is the brains behind the scene offering advice to Ralph.

Jack has red hair, blue eyes, and freckles. He is “tall, thin, and bony.” Jack is designated the hunter, but fails to kill the pig the first opportunity. He will be the anarchist of the group as time goes on. He represents savagery and the need to dominate with violence.

4. What is the significance of the boys’ encounter with the wild piglet?

The encounter with the pig caught in the vines shocks and surprises the boys. Jack, the hunter, tries to stab the pig, but he cannot take a life and the pig gets frees and runs away. Jack promises next time that he will not hesitate to kill the pig. The significance is that the boys realize that to eat meat, they must kill a living creature. This scene illustrates their innocence at the beginning of the story, but shows the importance of being able to hunt so they can eat.

5. What do you think the “sound of the shell” and the conch itself might represent?

The conch and its “deep, harsh note” represent authority - a calling of order. The conch helps to assemble the boys like a trumpet with a military patrol. It provides unity within the boys by bringing them together as a group.

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Chapter 3: “Huts on the Beach”

1. Discuss the change in Jack’s personality that is described at the beginning of the chapter. What is Jack’s highest priority, and what does this tell us about him?

Jack begins to become more violent and crazy as his role as the hunter takes over his personality. Jack’s highest priority is to kill a pig which reveals that he is devolving into a primal being - a hunter-like primitive man.

2.  How are all the boys except Ralph and Simon (and Jack) behaving? What is Golding telling us about human nature? What important qualities do Ralph, Simon, and Piggy have that the other boys seem to lack?

All the other boys are playing and are not worried about doing what it takes to survive. They do not want to build a shelter - they just want to wade in the water. Golding is telling us that in society many people will be lazy and will let the few workers take charge and do for them. Ralph, Simon, and Piggy are hardworking and determined to survive. They are mature. The other boys are immature.

3. What is making it difficult for Ralph and Jack to communicate and get along? Where do you think their differences will lead?

Ralph and Jack have different motivations and priorities. Ralph wants to build huts for shelter and be a great leader to the group, and Jack wants to hunt. He is hungry for power. Ralph is upset because Jack is not helping build shelter or tend the fire. Jack may feel somewhat lesser than Ralph because Ralph is the leader, and Jack wants to assert himself. Their differences will lead to a fracture of the group into two factions- one group with Ralph and the other with Jack.

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Chapter 4: "Painted Faces and Long Hair"

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Chapter 4: "Painted Faces and Long Hair"

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Chapter 5: “Beast from Water”

6. What does Simon say about the beast, and what do you think he means? How does everyone else react to what he says?

Simon says that he believes the beast is not real, and it is really them. He means that the beast is the evil that is inherent in man. Everyone laughs at Simon and he sits back down.

7. Why are the rules so important to Ralph? What are the consequences of breaking them?

Rules are important to Ralph because as the leader of the group, he needs to make and enforce rules to keep the group orderly. Rules will help the group to survive because by following the rules they will improve their opportunity to be rescued.

Breaking the rules will cause the group to disintegrate into savages and become uncivilized. Sadly, Ralph does not do a good job of punishing the rule-breakers, and Jack states that he does care about the rules and this begins the decline of the group.

8. Why does Piggy say that Ralph should blow the conch to call everyone back, and why does Ralph decide not to?

Piggy wants Ralph to blow the conch to restore order to the group.

Ralph decides not to blow the conch to call everyone back because he does think they will return, and he will then lose hope.

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Chapter 7: “Shadows and Tall Trees”

1. What embarrassing thing does Ralph say to himself near the beginning of the chapter that he's afraid someone might have overheard? What does he mean by it? What change in Ralph does the act of talking to himself demonstrate?

Ralph’s says to himself, "I'll be sucking my thumb next", and he is afraid someone heard this embarrassing statement. He is just thinking aloud about habits, and how you can get into a habit (like nail biting), but he does not plan on sucking his thumb because he would be teased. Ralph should have someone to talk to as the initial leader, but here he is talking to himself. He might be lonely.

3. What disturbing thing do the group of hunters and Ralph do immediately after their encounter with the pig? How is Ralph’s behavior surprising? What does this behavior foreshadow?

After their encounter the pig, the hunters and even Ralph reenact the encounter using Robert as the pig. During the reenactment, the boys get carried away and poke at him with their spears while saying, "Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!". It is surprising that even Ralph joins in because he is so civilized up to this point, and even he has savagery and the instinctive excitement of the hunt inside of himself. This behavior foreshadows what happens to Simon later in the book.

5. Why do you think Jack insists on going up the  mountain to look for the beast even though it’s already dark when they arrive? What internal conflict does Ralph feel about the decision to go up the  mountain in the dark?

Jack insists on going up the mountain even though it's already dark because he wants everyone to see that he is brave and fears nothing. Ralph has an internal conflict about the decision to go up the mountain in the dark because they might get hurt because they can’t see dangers. However, Ralph needs to demonstrate that he is also brave like Jack so the boys continue to follow him.

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Chapter 9:  “A View to a Death”

1. What are the purpose and effect of Jack’s generosity with the meat he and the hunters obtained? What do you think his decision to give meat to even Ralph and Piggy is meant to show?

The purpose and effect of Jack’s generosity is to show that he is the rightful leader - that he is a provider of food to the group, and this has the effect of gaining control of all the boys in the group and win over the boys who are not already with him. His decision to give meat to Ralph and Piggy shows he does not hold a grudge - that he provides even to those who do not support him. It seems this is meant to persuade Ralph and Piggy to follow him. ,

2. Why does Jack command the boys to dance and chant, and why is this an effective leadership tactic? What psychological effect does dancing and chanting have on the boys? Think back to the effect that putting on makeup had on them in Chapter 4.

Jack commands the boys to dance and chat to distract them and to make them less scared. By dancing and chanting, they are no longer thinking straight and they become fully engaged in the excitement of being a hunter and being a part of Jack's tribe. This is effective leadership because it brings attention to his tribe and away from Ralph. The dancing and chanting has the psychological effect of brainwashing them. It riles them up and gets them into the killing mode.

3. What is the “beast” that the boys kill? How is the event ironic and especially tragic (not only for the “beast”, but for everyone on the island)? How is it symbolically significant?

The “beast” that the boys kill is actually Simon. The event is ironic because Simon knew the “beast” was not real, and that the “beast” was really the evil inside of them. This makes it especially tragic because, in their frenzy, they truly mistake him - believe him to be - the “beast”. Sadly he was truly the only good person on the island. This is symbolically significant because through their lust for blood, the kill their salvation -  the lamb slaughtered - symbolic of Christ’s slaughter.

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Chapter 11: “Castle Rock”

2. Why is the boys’ attempt to get back Piggy’s specs and get the other boys to maintain a signal fire bound to fail?

The attempt to get back Piggy’s glasses and to get the other boys to maintain a signal fire was bound to fail because it required a civilized conversation with and for reasoning to occur with the savage group. Jack had spoiled the other boys thinking that power and force were everything. This group of savages outnumbered the boys and savages would not compromise.

3. Why do you think Roger pushes the rock off the hill?

I think Roger pushed the rock off the hill to show how powerful he is to the boys by displaying this violence to Piggy as entertainment.

4. How is the destruction of the conch symbolically significant?

The conch always symbolized the civility of the group. When the conch is destroyed from the rock killing Piggy, it shows the end of the group’s civility.