Lord of the Flies—Reading Questions
Chapter One 1. What is the scar? Why does Golding choose that word?
2. How did the kids get on the island? Do all of the kids make it to the island?
3. How is Ralph unfriendly to Piggy?
4. Where is the darkness on the island?
5. What does Piggy want to do with the boys?
6. How does Piggy upset Ralph?
7. What is all over Ralph’s face in the first chapter?
8. How does Ralph summon the boys?
9. Describe Jack Merridew.
10. Who is elected the leader? How does this person ease the tension created by his election?
11. What character-defining objects do Ralph and Jack possess?
12. What excites the three boys on their expedition? What do they do on their way to the top of the mountain?
13. What about the expedition makes it less than innocent kid stuff? 14. Why doesn’t Jack kill the pig?
15. Why is this incident so ominous?
Chapter Two 1. Who saw “the beastie/snake-like thing?”
2. Why do the boys need fire?
3. How do the boys work? What is their general manner if given a task?
4. Why doesn’t Piggy like the way the boys work?
5. What part of the wood gathering was done successfully?
6. How do the boys light the fire? What do the little ones see in it? Why is this important?
7. Why is Jack important to the group?
8. Is Piggy useless to the group? Explain.
9. Who is the first boy to die? Chapter Three 1. What is Jack doing at the beginning of the chapter (be specific)?
2. What is Ralph doing for the group at the beginning of the chapter?
3. What can’t Jack get the pig to stay on the spear?
4. Where have all of the hunters, except Jack, gone?
5. Who helps the littleuns get fruit?
6. At the end of the chapter, where does Simon go?
**Who said it and why is this significant?
“I was talking about smoke! Don’t you want to be rescued? All you talk about is pig, pig, pig!”
“I thought I might kill.”
Chapter Four
1. Who “still felt the unease of wrongdoing”? Why?
2. Who was affected by the “taboo of the old life”?
3. How was Jack “liberated from the shame of self-consciousness”?
4. Why did the little’uns always obey the summons of the conch?
5. Why did Jack want Samneric to get him a coconut? 6. Why weren’t the boys rescued?
Who said it and why is it significant?
“You don’t look half a mess.”
“They don’t smell me. They see me, I think. Something pink, under the trees.”
Chapter Five
1. How is Ralph different now from the way he was the first time he walked the beach? How is hair used as a symbol?
2. What is the tone of the meeting? What does Ralph want to talk about? How have the boys forgotten their jobs?
3. Where do the little’uns go to the bathroom? What does it show about them?
4. Is smoke more important than a pig? Explain.
5. What does Jack say to the assembly? Is he being sensible? Explain.
6. What does Phil tell them about? Why is it a mistake to talk about the Beast when they do?
7. What happens to Percival? Why is it important that he remembers his name? 8. Simon comes up with a dangerous idea. What is it?
9. Who does Simon think the Beast is? Explain.
10. How does the meeting end?
11. What do the boys wish for at the end of the chapter? Why?
12. What does Percival do in the middle of the night? Why?
Chapter Six
1. What details in the description let you know that the figure is dead before it hits the ground? What sort of message is this?
2. Why don’t the twins see the body fall?
3. Who sees the beast? What have the boys just done? How do they react?
4. Describe the meeting (page 99). How is it different for Ralph? How does he take the attention away from Jack?
5. Do the boys want to be rescued? Explain.
6. How was Simon embarrassed? What wasn’t he able to do?
7. Who does Simon imagine the beast to be? 8. Why must Ralph lead them onto the rock? How is this good for his leadership? How is this trip different from previous trips?
9. How does Golding personify the rock?
10. When Jack states, “Couldn’t let you do it on your own,” what ways are we supposed to take the statement?
11. How does the rock toppling in this chapter differ from the previous rock?
12. Why is the rock area a good place to build a fort?
13. Explain the dynamics of the group by the end of the chapter. How is Ralph handling his leadership role?
Chapter Seven
1. What is Ralph thinking as he walks behind Jack? How does Golding use hair this time?
2. Why does Ralph want to clean himself up? (Think literally and figuratively)
3. What do the boys look like (pg 110)? Why does this bother Ralph?
4. What is the other side of the island like? What depresses Ralph? 5. Explain the expression “brute obtuseness” (pg 111).
6. What is the prediction that Simon gives? Why is it ominous?
7. What does Jack find? Why does Ralph give up the leadership role?
8. What does Ralph think about while he is hunting? What does this show about him?
9. Who gets the first shot at the boar?
10. What game do the boys play with Robert? How does Ralph react to the game?
11. What do the boys chant? How does the chant affect them?
12. What decision does Ralph make? How does this affect his relationship with Jack?
13. What embarrassing question does Ralph ask? Why is it embarrassing?
14. What challenge does Jack issue? Why does he feel that he needs to do this?
15. Who goes up the mountain to find the beast? Why is it appropriate that Roger goes along?
16. Who sees the beast first? How does he react?
17. Who fully confronts the beast? What happens? Chapter Eight
1. What does Piggy have a hard time believing?
2. Why did Jack call the meeting? What happens during the meeting?
3. Why is Piggy upset?
4. What does Simon suggest? Is it a good idea? Explain.
5. What is Piggy’s idea? Is it a good idea? Explain.
6. What happens to the fire Ralph builds?
7. What is Simon doing (pg 132)? What is he becoming?
8. How does Jack propose to deal with the beast?
9. Why is the hunt more important than the fire?
10. What sort of pig do the boys kill? Why is the sex of the pig important?
11. Why do the boys sharpen the stick at both ends? What word won’t they use? Why? 12. Who does Simon talk to? What does it say to him? Why is this important?
13. What happens to the fire? Why is Ralph worried?
14. Who steals some of the fire? What do the thieves look like? Why is this important?
15. Why isn’t the conch stolen?
16. What word evades Jack’s memory?
17. What is Simon talking to at the end of the chapter?
Chapter Nine 1. How has the weather changed? Why is this significant?
2. What does Simon do when he finds the pilot? What does this show about him? Why isn’t he scared?
3. How do the boys treat Jack? Why do they act this way?
4. Why won’t the boys look at Ralph? How do Ralph and Piggy defuse the scene?
5. How has the Conch lost some of his power? 6. Instead of trying to protect themselves from the rain, the boys begin their dance. Why? What does the dance protect them from?
7. What happens to Simon during the dance? Describe what happens after.
Chapter Ten 1. How do Ralph and Piggy deal with what they did the night before? Samaneric?
2. What happened to Wilfred? Why?
3. How will Jack get fire?
4. How many biguns are left with Ralph?
5. What does Ralph think about at night?
6. What does Piggy think will happen to the boys?
7. When the boys hear noises outside of the shelter, what do they think? How are they wrong? How are they right?
8. What happens in the shelter? What is taken? What is the importance of its disappearance?
9. Who does Ralph hit? Why is it ironic? Chapter 11
1. What does Piggy insist that Ralph do? Why?
2. What is Ralph constantly forgetting? What does that show?
3. What does Roger do with the twins?
4. What does Ralph accuse Jack of being?
5. Why does the tribe laugh at Ralph? What does this show about them?
6. How does Ralph become savage? How does Piggy stop it?
7. What happens to Piggy? How do the kids react to this? What else is destroyed?
8. What does Jack do to Ralph?
Chapter 12
1. Why can’t Jack clean his wounds?
2. What does Ralph think he could be?
3. What does Ralph meet in the clearing? Why is it “grinning”?
4. Why does Ralph want to join the group? Why won’t he? 5. What has Roger prepared for Ralph?
6. Where does Ralph hide? How is he betrayed?
7. What does Jack’s group do to get Ralph out of the thicket?
8. When Ralph hides, he acts like an animal. How? The words of Simon appear here. Why?
9. How are the boys rescued?
10. Why does Jack cry?