Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

chey222
chey222
Student
High School - 10th Grade

In Chapter 7 of Lord of the Flies, what does Ralph do when the boys start to play, putting Robert in the part of the boar?

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Posted by chey222 on Friday January 30, 2009 at 11:01 AM and tagged with chapter 7, characters, lord of the flies, ralph, robert.

Answers:


  1. cmcqueeney Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    When the boys begin to pretend play about boar hunting, Ralph jumps right into the frenzy.  The boys and Robert are pretending that Robert is the boy, but the play quickly turns serious when they start jabbing Robert with the butt ends of their spears.  Ralph actually takes a spear and starts jabbing Robert with it.  All the boys including Ralph begin grabbing Robert trying to hurt him.  Jack finally stops the 'play', and Robert whimpers away nursing his wounds.

    This scene shows two important things.  First, Ralph's desire to be apart of the group of boys.  He wants to be apart of the peer group, but after the frenzy is over, he becomes uneasy realizing that in reality they were hurting Robert.  He is separated from them by this notion.  Also, the scene shows again the power of a mob mentality.  The mentality which draws in almost all the boys and then seeks to destroy all who stand against it.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/chapter-7-summary-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/character-analysis
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/summary

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    Posted by cmcqueeney on Friday January 30, 2009 at 5:52 PM