Lord of the Flies Group

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joeli0290
joeli0290
Student
High School - 12th Grade

What is the significance of the title "A view to a death" for Chapter 9 of "Lord of the Flies"?

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Posted by joeli0290 on Friday May 23, 2008 at 2:06 PM and tagged with chapter 9, lord of the flies, plot, significance, themes, title.

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  1. sullymonster Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    The first significance is fairly obvious - Simon dies at the end of this chapter.  He comes down from the mountain to tell the boys that he understands who/what the beast is and the boys, already in a state of adrenalin, descend upon him and kill him.

    However, besides death, the word "view" is significant for this chapter.  Simon is the prophet of the group.  A sensitive and intelligent boy, he views the dead pig's head.  Suffering from the heat and exhaustion, Simon imagines that the pig's head has talked to him, telling him about the fear and the violence and what it is really from.  Having been enlightened by this, Simon goes up the mountain to "view" the beast.  He understands that the beast is the dead pilot and his parachute.  This "view" sends him to spread the message to the boys.  The death of the pig and the death of the pilot have been the views that will lead to Simon's own death.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/chapter-9-summary-analysis

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    Posted by sullymonster on Friday May 23, 2008 at 4:43 PM