Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

ashleyj6
ashleyj6
Student
Community / Jr. College

Chapter 6: Ralph and Piggy prayed for a "sign" from the grown-ups and have been given one. Explain its significance.

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Posted by ashleyj6 on Friday September 26, 2008 at 8:10 PM and tagged with lord of the flies, piggy, ralph, sign, significance.

Answers:

  1. parkerlee
    parkerlee Teacher

    At a meeting, the boys speculate on the eventual presence of a wild and savage creature lurking in the jungle. While Jack in a kind of heroic boast promises to track down and kill "the beast" if it exists, the other boys cower at the thought of its presence:

    Ralph, discouraged, talks with Piggy and Simon about their need for adults. "If only they could get a message to us. . . . If only they could send us something grownup . . . a sign or something."

    The sign that appears, however, comes when all the boys are asleep. High overhead rages an air battle and a dead parachutist falls to the island. When the boys hear the sound of the parachute, they are sure it is the beast. Jack, Ralph, and Simon go in search. Climbing to the top of the mountain, they see "a creature that bulged." They do not recognize the figure as a dead parachutist, tangled in his ropes, and swaying in the wind....

    but rather 'allow' this corpse to personify their deepest dread of the presence of evil among them.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/summary

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    Posted by parkerlee on Saturday September 27, 2008 at 7:31 AM