Lord of the Flies Chapter 5

Lord of the Flies Chapter 5

By Andy Dai

Open Ended

Find a quote to back up these points summarising the chapter:

•Ralph calls an assembly

•The boys find it hard to listen to sensible ideas

•The idea of the beast is discussed

•Jack rebels

Ralph calls an important assembly to discuss the fire and the way the boys live on the island. He is still strongly connected to the adult's world of order and stability.

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At first the boys listen to his points, which are:

•No one is collecting fresh water any longer.

•The shelters have not been built properly because most of the boys got bored and gave up.

•The rocks are no longer being used as a lavatory.

•The fire is the most important thing

•The only fire is to be on the mountain.

•There is no beast

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​Extension: Do you think Jack’s increasing power over the others is helped by a flaw in Ralph’s leadership? If so, what is it? If you think Ralph has no flaws, what is it that goes wrong? Does he make mistakes?

Many of the younger boys are convinced that there is a beast on the island. One of the small boys, Percival, says that the beast comes from the sea. Even Simon says that there may be a beast, which undermines Ralph in front of the others.

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The rule whereby a boy must be holding the conch to speak starts to break down and Jack defies Ralph.

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Jack leads the choir away and the assembly dissolves, leaving Ralph looking powerless. Ralph, Piggy and Simon are left wishing there was an adult present to tell them what to do and reassure them.

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Open Ended

Symbols:

•Conch stands for the right to speak and the right to lead (Ralph possesses it)

•By Chapter 5 this is not the case

What does the conch represent now? How do we know that?

Poll

Does the Conch still represent order in chapter 5?

• Yes

• No

Symbols​: Fire

•The fire stands for the boys rage, and also their burning hope (it is literally their chance of getting off the Island if a passing ship spots the smoke)

•Small fires are starting everywhere, and the main one is not stable.

•This means that the boys rage is spreading and their burning hope is dying.

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Symbols​: The Beast

The beast is a symbol of the boy’s fear. Jack uses this to gain control over some of the Island.

This is a reference to the way governments use fear to control its society.

Can you find a quote about the beast that supports this?​

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Draw

•Draw out an image of the beast

•Write around it everything it stands for

•Write within it quotes from this chapter that show the boy’s fear and Jack’s control.

Analyzing Ralph​

“Again he fell into that strange mood”

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Ralph is the character ion the novel who learns the most.

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He asks himself some difficult questions about appearance, perception and reality. At times Ralph find he is no longer sure of his own standards – he cannot think straight.

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Analyzing Piggy

Piggy is typically rational, even though he is physically vulnerable.

He believes that science has the answer to fear and superstition – Piggy has ‘adult’ clear-sightedness and a civilised way of thinking.

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Irony of the Double negative: “I know there isn’t no beast…but I know there isn’t no fear either.

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Characters: Simon

“A perilous necessity to speak”

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He feels the beast may be inside them.

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‘Human kind’s essential illness’

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He is ridiculed by Jack and his group.

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Homework Discussion

Ralph: Reasonable but lacks he presence and cunning to control the crowd. (How is this shown in Chapter 5)

Jack: A manipulating person, using fear to control people (how is this shown in Chapter 5)

Piggy: Smart, but has no social power (how is this shown in chapter 5)

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Open Ended

How is Simon’s death is foreshadowed in this chapter?

Literary Device: Foreshadowing

He is made a scapegoat for the boys’ unshakeable fear:

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  He made the littleuns scared, giving them a concrete reason to chastise him à “derisive laughter that rose had fear in and condemnation”.

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  His question to them, “What’s the dirtiest thing there is?” demands an answer far too abstract for this crowd. Jack provides a concrete, non-threatening answer, far simpler than Simon’s answer which is evil.

Subject | Subject

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Open Ended

Think about some examples of hubris in literature or real life:

List some examples

​Big Question

What is the difference between ‘self-confidence’ and ‘arrogance’?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of ‘pride’?