Answer to Question #292361 in English for Kelsey Jand

Question

Lord of the Flies Study Guide Questions

Directions: Answers need to be thorough, and where possible, include quote text (with citation).

Chapters 5-6

Motif: A unifying element in a work, especially any recurrent image or subject is a motif. One motif Golding uses throughout the novel is appearance (illusion) versus reality. Give specific examples of this motif in Chapters 5 and 6.

Answer 1

Physically, the Lord of the Flies is the pig head that Jack, Roger, and the hunters mount on a sharpened stick and leave as an offering for the beast. The head is described as dripping blood, eerily grinning, and attracting a swarm of buzzing flies. When The Lord of the Flies “speaks” to Simon, we can assume that his voice is a hallucinatory effect of Simon’s disintegrating mental state. The Lord of the Flies suggests to Simon that the boys will be their own undoing. Simon loses consciousness after the episode, and is killed later that night. Later, when Roger and Jack vow to hunt and kill Ralph, they imply that they will repeat their offering to the beast, using Ralph’s head this time. Symbolically, the Lord of the Flies represents the evil inside each one of the boys on the island.