Lord of the Flies: Chapters 9-12
Episode 52
Professor Pipes returns to find out if the beast was just humanity all along in Chapters 9-12 of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Learn everything you need to know to survive on an island with a hierarchy based on literary quizzes or some such nonsense as we explore William Golding's Lord of the Flies. From summary and themes to character analysis, Professor Pipes tells it all. Whether you're studying for a test or just brushing up on classic literature, Professor Pipes has you covered.
TRIGGER WARNING: Death, Murder, Death of Children
Transcript
Introduction:
Hello and welcome to the jungle, we’ve got fruit and pigs! Ok fine, welcome to Piper’s Paraphrases. I’m Professor Pipes and today I’m finishing William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, chapters 9-12. Grab your spear or your torch, and let’s hit the jungle!
Previously:
Previously in Lord of the Flies: A group of boys was escaping war-torn Great Britain when their plane was hit and they crash landed on an island. And things went, pretty much as well as you might expect. After some initial fun and games and an accidental fire leading to a little boy’s death, the group separated into two factions. In one corner, we have Ralph, whose followers are Piggy and Simon, and whose focuses are safety, rescue, and the need for a signal fire. In the other corner, we have Jack, whose followers are Roger and the other hunters, and whose focuses are killing pigs, having fun, and being in charge. When we left off, the boys were all terrified of a beast, which – unbeknownst to them – was actually a dead soldier with a parachute. Jack and his crew had also recently killed a pig, left its head on a stake as an offering for the beast, and then stole some fire from Ralph’s group, but also invited them to a feast. Awkward. Meanwhile, Simon really freaked out about the pig’s head on a stick, which he called the Lord of the Flies – title alert – and he started imagining it talking to him and taunting him, until Simon eventually passed out.
Plot Summary:
Chapter 9 begins where we ended, with Simon waking up after having passed out. He decides to go up the mountain to face whatever the thing is that everyone is convinced is the beast. He quickly realizes that it is, in fact, a dead man attached to a parachute, so he heads toward the feast to let everyone know. Meanwhile, Ralph and Piggy are hanging out and swimming around, but when they realize that their whole group has gone to the feast, they decide that they might as well go, too. So it’s Party Time!! Jack is nice at first and lets them have meat, but as evening turns to night, he and Ralph start arguing again about who the real leader is. In perfect pathetic fallacy, it also starts to thunder and rain. Ralph points out that Jack’s group has no shelters, but in a real “I’m not listening” type of move, Jack starts the “kill the pig” dance and chant around the fire, and all the boys join in, becoming wild and frenzied as they go. Just then, a figure comes out of the forest, and in their angry mania, the boys attack the “beast,” which is actually Simon, and beat him until he staggers out of the group and falls to his death at the bottom of the cliff, where they suddenly realize it is… rather a small beast… So yeah. That happened. The actual “beast” – and by beast I mean dead parachute guy – also floats away in the storm.
At the start of Chapter 10, now in the light of day, Ralph is having a… bit of a crisis, as he comes to terms with the fact that it was Simon that they murdered last night. Piggy tries to convince him that they were all just scared in the storm, but Ralph admits he wasn’t scared. Then Piggy says that the two of them were basically outside the circle the whole time and anyways it was an accident. Hmmm. Right. Samneric arrive and also claim they weren’t there when the murder happened. On the other side of the island, Jack and company do not seem horrified by the events of last night. In fact, the boys are talking about what a proper chief Jack is and laughing about how he has tied up one of the other boys and plans to beat him. HiLARious. Jack talks to the boys about hunting and defending the new fort and continues to stoke their fear of the beast, which he uses to explain away the death of Simon. It was the beast... In disguise… Yet again the hunters realize that they can’t build a fire for the next day’s feast without Piggy’s glasses so, yet again, they plan to invade Ralph’s camp. Speaking of, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric are having trouble keeping their fire going and losing hope along with the dwindling flame. The boys worry about losing their minds if they’re not rescued but eventually fall asleep. Soon they’re awakened by voices calling, “Piggy! Piggy! Come outside, Piggy.” Creepy. The hunters crash into the shelter, destroying it as they fight Ralph and the others. The hunters eventually leave, but the chapter ends with Jack triumphantly holding up Piggy’s glasses.
Chapter 11 starts out miserably, as you might expect, with Ralph and company completely hopeless because of the loss of their fire and Piggy’s sight. Ralph blows a conch to call an assembly - even though it’s really just them left. They decide that they need to go to Jack’s camp, and Piggy, holding the conch, announces that he will bring the conch with him and will declare that the glasses must be returned to him not out of pity, but because it’s the right thing to do. So off they go. When they arrive at the fort, Ralph blows the conch, but Roger refuses to let them in and instead starts to throw rocks. Soon Jack arrives from the forest and when Ralph calls him a thief for stealing the glasses, Jack runs at him with a spear! Apparently now that they killed Simon, he has no problem fighting to kill. They fight, but separate, and Ralph tries to reason with them, but Jack calls to his hunters to grab and tie up Samneric, which they do. Ralph yells that Jack is a beast and a swine – which I gotta say is an insult to swine. Finally Piggy holds up the conch and tries to reason with the hunters, but Roger continues to throw rocks at him, until he finally pushes a boulder down from above, which crashes into Piggy, destroying the conch and throwing the poor boy to his death at the bottom of the cliff. Jack then announces that he is chief, charges at Ralph, and throws his spear, which hits Ralph who, luckily, is able to run away. The chapter ends with Roger ominously advancing upon the tied up and defenseless Samneric.
So with three boys now dead, we begin the final chapter. Ralph is hiding near Jack’s castle-like fort. As he heads back to get food at his own camp, he realizes that Jack will come for him, and he will never be safe. He heads back towards Jack’s camp and comes upon the head on the stake, which is now just a skull. Enraged by its creepy smile, he knocks it down and takes the stake as a spear. When he arrives at the fort that night, he hears the familiar chanting and sees two figures standing guard at the top of the entrance - Samneric. He sneaks up to the twins, who tell him that he has to leave and warn him that the group plans to hunt HIM tomorrow. That escalated quickly. Samneric say that the group is going to fan out and search the whole island, so Ralph tells them that he’ll hide close by in a thicket. As he leaves, Sam gives him some food and a warning: “Roger sharpened a stick at both ends.” The next morning, Ralph wakes up to the sound of the hunters making some sort of signaling cry, and then hears Jack and Roger talking to the twins, who were clearly tortured into giving up Ralph’s location. Surprisingly, the hunters head back to the fort. Oh yay! I guess Ralph is safe after all! *Look at book, Face drop* Oh. Oh no. They just went to the fort to hurl boulders down at him. The first misses, but the second hurts him, but doesn’t kill him. The hunters then come to see if he’s dead, but Ralph jabs at them with his spear. Soon, smoke fills the air, as the hunters have set fire to his hiding place, and Ralph runs away into the jungle, but the hunters are in literal hot pursuit. As Ralph flees, he really struggles to think – yeah, I can understand why – and eventually hides underneath some vines, listening to the fire steadily burning through the woods. After some tense moments, he’s found there, too, and Ralph again escapes his hiding place and runs frantically toward the beach, the hunters and the fire on his heels. He crashes into the sand and looks up desperately – into the eyes of a naval officer. It can’t be. Is this some sort of crazed hallucination?? No! It’s real! The officer says that they saw the smoke and smiles as he asks Ralph if they’ve been having a war, as the other boys start appearing on the beach. Ralph nods. The officer half jokingly asks if anyone was killed, and Ralph says only two. Only. Oh, and I guess the little boy who accidentally burned to death didn’t officially count as killed. The officer asks who is in charge, and Ralph declares he is, and then the officer scolds them for not being more orderly, but Ralph says that they were at first, and then he begins to sob, crying for the loss of Simon and Piggy, crying for the loss of childhood and innocence.
So at least it’s a happy ending?
Characterization:
Before we get into the flawed characters in the story, let’s discuss sweet and perfect Simon. Throughout the novel, Simon has been the kindest and most moral character, helping Ralph to build shelters, giving food to Piggy and the littluns, and never making fun of Piggy. He is also the only character to recognize that the real beast is within us. In Chapter 8, he faces off against the Lord of the Flies, a symbol for the evil of humanity, setting Simon up as a symbol for the goodness of humanity. In fact, some interpret Simon as a Jesus figure, whose senseless death at the hands of the other boys suggests how rare true goodness is and how vulnerable it is to the evils of the world.
Ralph, representative of civilization, is deeply troubled in this section of the novel, and we see the society’s descent into chaos as we watch Ralph’s own descent. In Chapter 9, even though he comes to the feast to “make sure nothing happens,” he joins the frenzied masses and is an active participant in the murder of Simon. In the following chapter, he is racked with guilt and admits that he’s “frightened. Of us.” He and Piggy, who represents intellectual and rational thought, both worry that, if they don’t get rescued soon, they’ll go crazy, or, as they put it, “barmy… Crackers.” Nope, not that kind of crackers, Cooper. In Chapter 11, Ralph starts defensively snapping at Piggy when it’s clear that Ralph has started to forget the importance of smoke. In that very same chapter, Ralph loses all authority when the conch is destroyed and loses his connection to rational thought with the death of Piggy. In Chapter 12 he has trouble thinking and making decisions, realizing that “There was no Piggy to talk sense.”
Meanwhile, Jack is thriving. With the destruction of civilization comes the rise of wildness and anarchy. At first he accepts Ralph and Piggy, albeit reluctantly, to his feast, but after the death of Simon, Jack no longer feels the need to follow any rules. He invades Ralph’s camp at night, steals Piggy’s glasses, beats his own followers, and eventually orders the death of Ralph. By the end of the novel, he fully gives in to his animalistic, wild, and ferocious nature.
Roger is… something else. He is full on sadistic. While Ralph is ferocious for selfish reasons, Roger straight up enjoys hurting others. Way back in Chapter 4, we saw him throwing rocks around a littlun, choosing not to hit him because Roger was still held back by the memory of authority figures. Eventually, that memory doesn’t control him. When the boys attack the mother pig, Roger throws his spear at a little piglet. He’s also the one who drives his spear into the sow. He is excited when he hears that another boy has been tied up and beaten. He’s the one who unleashes the rock to intentionally kill Piggy. Roger beats Samneric. As they put it, “You don't know Roger. He's a terror.” Roger is unrestrained violence, wildness without inhibition.
Analysis:
Before we get into themes, let’s talk about a couple of important symbols, starting with Fire! Throughout the story, fire is both a symbol of hope and a means of destruction. Soon after they arrive, Ralph recognizes the importance of having a fire, since it could be noticed by a passing ship, meaning they could be saved. As the novel progresses, Ralph continues to bring up the signal fire again and again, even saying, “Without the smoke signal we'll die here.” When the fire is dying out in Chapter 10, so too is their hope. They talk about being too tired to keep the fire going and ask, “What’s the good?” The fire has kept them hopeful and kept them feeling comforted and safe, even from the beast. However, the first fire they lit went wild and caused the death of one of the little boys, and the need for fire led Jack to attack and steal Piggy’s glasses. Clearly, fire can be destructive, too. In fact, the final fire destroys pretty much the whole island and almost kills Ralph, but it is also what gets the attention of the naval officer. Much like humans and power, fire can bring hope or despair, comfort or destruction.
Next up, let’s talk about the Conch. Ralph has held onto the law and order of civilization just as he holds onto its symbol: the conch. He has used it to call every meeting in the story, even when there are only four biguns left in his group. The very first rule that Ralph establishes is that whoever holds the shell is the only one allowed to speak. When Jack starts to question authority, he speaks without the conch, leading to Piggy’s constant echoing of “I’ve got the conch!” When Ralph and Piggy plan to confront Jack in Chapter 11, Piggy says they have to bring the conch, to “show him the one thing he hasn’t got.” He hasn’t got order or civility. Once the conch is destroyed, so too is any hope for orderly society, with Jack pointing out, “There isn’t a tribe for you any more! The conch is gone.” And he’s right. The boys fully descend into chaos.
Speaking of chaos, let’s talk about Mob Mentality. Mob mentality, or herd mentality, is the tendency of the people in a group to think and behave in ways that conform with others. People feel protected when they are doing what other people are doing, even if they know it’s wrong, which can be dangerous. Think about people far exceeding the speed limit because they’re staying with the flow of traffic or people drinking in excess because they’re at a party where other people are, too. Lord of the Flies takes mob mentality to the extreme. Even Ralph and Piggy lose their inhibitions and join the mob dancing around the fire and ultimately beating the “beast” – Simon – to death. And because they were part of the group, this allows them to justify their behavior, saying, “We was scared! …Anything might have happened” and, “It was an accident.” It also allows them to mentally distance themselves from the crime and the blame, saying, “We was on the outside. We never done nothing, we never seen nothing.” Basing morality on the behavior of the group is clearly dangerous, and the behavior of the boys suggests that maybe humans are not inherently good.
Next, let’s talk about Power. Like I said last time, Ralph and Jack use their power very differently. While Ralph uses his power to protect and try to save the boys, Jack rules the other boys as if they are his servants. He beats them to get information or to assert his authority, even gloating that “They do what I want.” For Jack, power is all about control over others. Similarly, Roger enjoys having power over others, even over their life or death. In fact, just before he murders Piggy, “Some source of power began to pulse in Roger's body.” It’s often said that power corrupts, but really power can be used for others or over others, so it all depends on whether humans are inherently good or evil.
Which brings us to Human Nature and the struggle between Good and Evil within us. Piggy points out this dichotomy when he asks, “Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill? … Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?” It’s also worth noting that even intellectual Piggy succumbs to racism (and the influence of racist pop culture from the 1950s) when he asks, “Which is better – to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?” And I guess it makes sense that even the supposedly rational characters are flawed, since William Golding said that the novel is an “attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” Therefore, it doesn’t matter if Ralph’s civilization is intended to save everyone and Piggy’s ideas are rational if the morals of the people are flawed. Civilization is doomed to destroy itself if humans are naturally selfish, immoral, or even evil. In fact, William Golding points out that the boys are embroiled in the same type of conflict as the grownups who save them, asking “Who will rescue the adult and his cruiser?” Of course the boys are going to be racist, are going to make fun of Piggy’s weight, are going to isolate or even try to destroy the “other” when the adults who make up “civilization” are “enmeshed in the same evil” and hunting down the enemies of their own creation.
Food for Thought:
Before we leave the island, I’d like to leave you with some food for thought. Consider these questions as you reflect on the novel.
First, multiple characters experience mental breaks, including Ralph in the final chapters. Why include this conflict? What might Golding be suggesting?
Second, Golding mentions that he chose to write about boys because he was a boy but also because a group of boys is like a microcosm of society as a whole. Why might this be? What does this suggest about gender and about society?
Third, consider the tension between societal rules and individual desires in the novel. How do the boys' attempts to establish order conflict with their individual desires for play, self-preservation, and power?
Fourth, the idea of good and evil has come up again and again. How can good and evil coexist within an individual and within society?
Finally, does the novel present an accurate representation of society and human nature? Which events in the world would support his views and/or which would oppose them?
Thanks for watching this episode of Piper’s Paraphrases. Now go forth, read a bunch, and prove that we can be good people.
