Chapter 8

Summary

In this section, Ralph, Jack, and Roger return from their "beast hunt" to tell of what they saw. Jack then blows the conch for a meeting and ends up telling lies about Ralph. Jack then asks all the boys to take a vote on whether or not Ralph should be chief, since he desperately wants to be chief. When no hands are raised, he has a childish meltdown and disappears into the forest, shouting about how he doesn't want to "play" with them anymore. Jack even invites others to join him in his own group. Later on in the meeting, Ralph begins to notice how many of the older boys have gone missing, obviously taking up Jack's offer. Ralph decides that they don't need the other older boys, and they begin to make plans to create a fire down on the beach, since the beast resides at the top of the mountain. As the small assembly begins to build up their own fire, Ralph and Piggy notice that Simon is gone, believing he went up the mountain to face the beast. In truth, Simon went off into the forest to find his peaceful spot, because he was about to have one of his seizures. During this time, Jack and his new tribe are hunting pigs, and end up driving a mother pig into Simon's clearing. After they brutally murder the poor animal, Jack slices off the head as an offering to the beast, placing the head onto a stick in the middle of the once-tranquil clearing. Since Simon witnessed the entire killing, he begins to hallucinate the pig talking to him. He then begins to see a greater, powerful evil manifest in front of him. Simon suddenly finds himself conversing face to face with the maddening and terrible Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies. As Beelzebub speaks of how only Simon could figure out that the beast isn't real, and how the boys are going to go insanely savage whether he likes it or not, Simon begins to fall further and further into his seizure until he finally gives in. While this event is occurring, back at the beach, Jack and his tribe burst out of the forest and surprise Ralph and the others. They steal some of Ralph's fire and invite the rest of Ralph's tribe to a banquet to eat the freshly killed pig. Ralph hesitates on doing so, but everyone else is feeling desperate for meat.

Literary Analysis

The boys in Jack's tribe felt excitement in Chapter 7, when Jack suggests killing a littlun. This excitement come to a realization in Chapter 8 when the tribe viciously murders the sow. The tribe mistakes the dead parachutist for the beast and all civilization on the island disappears quickly. Throughout the novel you see the the boys growing obsession with the idea of the beast and the impalement of the sow's head on the stake as an offering. It is no longer a childish game to the boys on the island. Simon's confrontation with the Lord of the Flies, which is the pigs head that is impaled on a stick, is one of the most important scenes in the novel. It has been interpreted as Jesus' confrontation with Satan. Many people look at Simon like a Christ like figure, because of his connection to nature and wanting good to come to everyone on the island. Simon realizes that there is not a physical beast, but rather the beast is the boys themselves and everything that lies in each of them. Simon hears what the Lord of the Flies is saying to him and unable to stand the sight any longer he collapses into a faint. Simon is a character on the island who is not on either end of the spectrum with Jack or Ralph. He is kindhearted and still acts very civil. Even though he is still acting civil, unlike the other boys, he feels a deep connection with nature and is interested by the beast. Jack and Roger connect with the wilderness on the island but not in a good way. They connect with it in a way that makes them want to hunt and do violent things. Simon's good morality and goodness are ways of life the proceeds directly from civilization. Simon is both neutral and good in the world on the island where both doesn't seem possible.

Literary Devices

Imagery: Imagery is visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work. This is used in chapter 8 when Simon is sitting in front of the Lord of the Flies hallucinating. Imagery is applied when it describes the black cloud of flies coating the pig's nose. This makes you picture what is going on in the chapter.

Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is a warning or indication of a future event. Foreshadowing happens When Ralph realizes that Simon is missing, and foreshadows that Simon goes up the mountain to discover the truth behind their so-called beast, with or without Ralph's assistance. Foreshadowing helps you think about how the characters think on what will happen in the future.

Simile: A simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. A simile is used when it says “practice had made Jack silent as the shadows”. The simile was important because it helped describe the situation more.

Quotations

"'The most important thing on the island is the smoke and you can't have no smoke without a fire.' Ralph made a restless movement. 'No go, Piggy. We've got no fire. That thing sits up there-we'll have to stay here.'"(Golding,129)

"Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight. The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream...Robert stabilized the thing in a phrase that was received uproariously. 'Right up her ass!'"(Golding,135)

"'This head is for the beast. It's a gift.'"(Golding,137)

"'This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you'll only meet me down there-so don't try to escape!'"(Golding,143)