Unit 4: Is the World a Battleground?

February 2023
Lord of the Flies: Chapter 6
Beast from Air
Exercise 1
Identify the characters with the events of Chapter 6

Ralph Jack Simon Piggy Samneric

_______ _____ ______ _____ ____

a) Laugh at Ralph although they were responsible for the signal fire going out.
b) Sees the Beast as a human that is both heroic and sick.
c) Follows Ralph to Castle Rock, the unexplored territory of the island.
d) Wants to restrict their living area to Castle Rock, which would isolate them from the rest of the island.
e) Believes that the biguns should go and hunt the beast.

Exercise 2: Ralph Discovers Castle Rock

He was surrounded on all sides by chasms of empty air. There was nowhere to hide, even if
one did not have to go on. He paused on the narrow neck and looked down. Soon, in a
matter of centuries, the sea would make an island of the castle. On the right hand was the
lagoon, troubled by the open sea; and on the left-- Ralph shuddered. The lagoon had
protected them from the Pacific: and for some reason only Jack had gone right down to the
water on the other side. Now he saw the landsman's view of the swell and it seemed like the
breathing of some stupendous creature. Slowly the waters sank among the rocks, revealing
pink tables of granite, strange growths of coral, polyp, and weed. Down, down, the waters
went, whispering like the wind among the heads of the forest. There was one flat rock there,
spread like a table, and the waters sucking down on the four weedy sides made them seem
like cliffs. Then the sleeping leviathan breathed out, the waters rose, the weed streamed, and
the water boiled over the table rock with a roar. There was no sense of the passage of waves;
only this minute-long fall and rise and fall.

Ralph turned away to the red cliff. They were waiting behind him in the long grass, waiting
to see what he would do. He noticed that the sweat in his palm was cool now; realized with
surprise that he did not really expect to meet any beast and didn't know what he would do
about it if he did.

He saw that he could climb the cliff but this was not necessary. The squareness of the rock
allowed a sort of plinth round it, so that to the right, over the lagoon, one could inch along a
ledge and turn the corner out of sight. It was easy going, and soon he was peering round the
rock.
 Unit 4: Is the World a Battleground? February 2023
Nothing but what you might expect: pink, tumbled boulders with guano layered on them
like icing; and a steep slope up to the shattered rocks that crowned the bastion.

A sound behind him made him turn. Jack was edging

along the ledge.

"Couldn't let you do it on your own."

Ralph said nothing. He led the way over the rocks,

inspected a sort of half-cave that held nothing more
terrible than a clutch of rotten eggs, and at last sat
down, looking round him and tapping the rock with
the butt of his spear.

Jack was excited.

"What a place for a fort!"

Answer the multiple choice questions

1. ‘There was one flat rock there, spread like a table’ is an example of a
a) Synecdoche
b) Metaphor
c) Syllogism
d) Simile
2. What is happening to Castle Rock?
a) It is becoming more isolated from the rest of the island.
b) It is turning into a paradise for wildlife.
c) It is transforming into the ideal place for a human settlement.
d) It is collapsing into the sea.
3. How does Jack react to seeing Castle Rock for the first time?
a) He finds it intimidating and wants to go back to the beach.
b) He believes it would be the perfect place for a fort.
c) He questions how they could get water there.
d) He realizes it is too isolated from the rest of the island.
4. Jack says, ‘Couldn’t let you do it on your own’, to Ralph because…
a) He was concerned that Ralph could get lost or hurt trying to access Castle Rock.
b) He recognizes that he and Ralph are a strong team and work well together.
c) He thought that Jack would need his hunting skills in case he got hungry.
d) He doesn’t want Ralph to receive all the credit for discovering Castle Rock alone.
5. When we learn that Jack, ‘did not really expect to meet any beast and didn’t know what he would do
about it if he did’ this shows…
a) That Jack is being very irresponsible and underestimating the supernatural powers of the island.
b) That Jack takes the threat of the beast very seriously.
c) That Jack is prepared to engage the beast in physical combat, if necessary.
d) That Jack is thinking clearly because he recognizes the beast is most likely imaginary.
6. What is Golding mainly trying to do in the first paragraph?
a) Describe the setting of Castle Rock, particularly the intensity of the waters around it.
b) Give an impression of Jack’s fear as he walks along the path to Castle Rock.
 Unit 4: Is the World a Battleground? February 2023
c) Emphasize the tension between Jack and Ralph as they walk to Castle Rock.
d) Relate to the reader how Castle Rock is a paradise and the ideal place to build a camp.

Look at the bolded words in the passage, repeated below. Match them to the synonyms.

1. Narrow _______ a) extending

2. Stupendous _______ b) delivered
3. Spread _______ c) incredible
4. Cliff _______ d) wide
5. Boiled _______ e) bubbled
f) ridiculous
g) statue
h) rockface
i) thin
j) crashed

Preparing for the Journey to Castle Rock

"We'll eat first. Then go." Ralph paused. "We'd better take spears."

After they had eaten, Ralph and the biguns set out along the beach. They left Piggy propped up on the
platform. This day promised, like the others, to be a sunbath under a blue dome. The beach stretched
away before them in a gentle curve till perspective drew it into one with the forest; for the day was not
advanced enough to be obscured by the shifting veils of mirage. Under Ralph's direction, they picked
up a careful way along the palm terrace, rather than dare the hot sand down by the water. He let Jack
lead the way; and Jack trod with theatrical caution though they could have seen an enemy twenty
yards away. Ralph walked in the rear, thankful to have escaped responsibility for a time.

Simon, walking in front of Ralph, felt a flicker of incredulity--a beast with claws that scratched, that sat
on a mountain-top, that left no tracks and yet was not fast enough to catch Samneric. However Simon
thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick.

He sighed. Other people could stand up and speak to an assembly, apparently, without that dreadful
feeling of the pressure of personality; could say what they would as though they were speaking to
only one person. He stepped aside and looked back. Ralph was coming along, holding his spear over
his shoulder. Diffidently, Simon allowed his pace to slacken until he was walking side by side with
Ralph and looking up at him through the coarse black hair that now fell to his eyes. Ralph glanced
sideways, smiled constrainedly as though he had forgotten that Simon had made a fool of himself,
then looked away again at nothing. For a moment or two Simon was happy to be accepted and then he
ceased to think about himself. When he bashed into a tree Ralph looked sideways impatiently and
Robert sniggered. Simon reeled and a white spot on his forehead turned red and trickled. Ralph
dismissed Simon and returned to his personal hell. They would reach the castle some time; and the
chief would have to go forward.

Jack came trotting back. "We're in sight now." "All right. We'll get as close as we can." He followed Jack
toward the castle where the ground rose slightly. On their left was an impenetrable tangle of creepers
and trees.
 Unit 4: Is the World a Battleground? February 2023
Decide if the statements below are true or false

1. Ralph sees carrying weapons on the expedition as unnecessary. True/False

2. Piggy joins the boys on their expedition. True/False
3. ‘This day promised…’ is an example of personification. True/False
4. ‘theatrical caution’ implies that Jack is being unnecessarily alert and watchful. True/False
5. Simon understands how the evidence for the beast’s existence does not make sense. True/False
6. Simon knows that he could be a confident leader of the group. True/False
7. It is implied that Simon has difficulty not being self-conscious. True/False
8. Simon walks into a tree because he is distracted by his own thoughts. True/False

Writing

In Chapter 5, Golding writes, "In a moment the platform was full of arguing, gesticulating shadows. To
Ralph, seated, this seemed the breaking up of sanity." How is sanity defined? How does this novel
contribute to an understanding of sanity and of madness? What are some other instances of madness in
the novel?

Write a response to the question (120 – 150 words)

Unit 4: Is the World a Battleground? February 2023