Answer to Question #285416 in English for Kelsey Jand

Question

Lord of the Flies Study Guide Questions

Direction: Your answers need to be thorough, and where possible, quote the text (with citation).

Chapter 4

Conflict: Describe the incident between the older boys, Maurice and Roger, and the littuns, Percival and Henry. Why is Roger not able to hit Henry with the stones? What does Ralph see that causes much excitement? What has Jack done to cause conflict? Contrast Ralph’s and Jack’s reactions to missing their first chance of rescue. What does Jack do to Piggy to further the conflict? In what way has Jack’s attitude towards Piggy escalated? How does Ralph feel at the feast? What does he decide to do? 

Answer 1

The pace of life on the island quickly settles into a routine. The morning is beautiful, with cold air and sweet scents, and the lads may cheerfully play. However, by the afternoon, the heat has turned oppressively hot, and several of the guys have taken a siesta, though they are frequently disturbed by strange images that appear to flicker over the water. These visions are dismissed by Piggy as mirages created by sunlight striking the lake. Cooler temperatures return in the evening, but darkness descends swiftly, making nighttime terrifying and challenging.

Visions and horrible nightmares plague the littluns, who spend the most of their days eating fruit and playing with one another. They keep talking about the "beastie" and their terror of a creature hunting in the dark. They have diarrhea and stomach problems as a result of the enormous amount of fruit they consume. Although the lives of the littluns and the older guys are mainly separate, there are a few instances where the older boys torment the littluns. A violent boy named Roger assists another child named Maurice in stomping on a sand castle erected by the littluns. Roger even tosses stones at one of the youngsters, though he is cautious not to touch him with his stones.

Jack, enthralled with the thought of murdering a pig, disguises himself with clay and charcoal and sets out into the jungle with several other lads to hunt. Ralph and Piggy spot a ship on the horizon from the beach, but the signal fire has gone out. They dash to the top of the hill, but it's too late to rekindle the flame, and the ship fails to appear. Ralph is enraged at Jack because it was the hunters' obligation to keep the fire going. Jack and the hunters emerge from the jungle, bloodied and humming a strange melody. They're each carrying a dead pig on a stick. Ralph confronts Jack about the signal fire, enraged by the hunters' carelessness. The hunters are so enthralled by the fact that they have finally caught and killed a pig that they scarcely notice Ralph's concerns. When Piggy shrieks at the hunters' immaturity, Jack smacks him hard in the face, breaking one of his spectacle’s lenses. Piggy is taunted by Jack, who imitates his whimpering voice. Ralph and Jack are having a heated argument.

Jack acknowledges to being to blame for the signal fire's failure, but he never apologizes to Piggy. Ralph goes to Piggy to use his spectacles to start a fire, and Jack's pleasant feelings toward Ralph turn to anger at that point. The hunters dance wildly around the fire, chanting and reenacting the ferocity of the hunt, as the guys roast the pig. Ralph announces that he is convening a meeting and stalks down the hill alone to the beach.