Lord Of The Flies Chapter 8 Notes Essays - English-language Films

Lord of the Flies: Chapter 8 Notes Lord of the Flies: Chapter 8 Notes 1. The conch being inexpertly blown and the fact that Piggy has only one lens shows that society has begun to function poorly. The reason for this decline in society is Jack. Jack broke Piggy's lens, and now Jack who has power, represented by the conch, does not know how to blow it properly. This tells us that Jack is an inept leader who misuses power and destroys knowledge. To become an expert at something, such as blowing a conch or leading a society takes time, so this is also significant because it shows that Jack has just recently come to power. Because the conch and Piggy's glasses are crippled, knowledge and power are crippled, but not yet fully eliminated. 2. When Simon says, " I think we ought to climb the mountain.", he means that society should conquer its fears and reclaim the island. When the boys first founded society, one of the first things that they did was to climb the mountain and attain knowledge of the island. It is important to note that knowledge was a priority for this early society. Climbing the mountain was also a task undertaken with great enthusiasm and the offering of hope for what their society could be. This was the peak of their civilization. Ever since then their society has been "declining" or going "downhill", so the mountain represents the"peak" or "height" of their civilization. As the boys' civilization fell apart, it became primitive and controlled increasingly by evil elements (Jack). Because of this the boys began to fear a beast. The beast was a symbol of this demise and an obstacle to the return of glory. I say that the beast is an obstacle because they now fear climbing the mountain, a mountain that symbolizes the peak of society. When Simon says that they should climb the mountain, he is also saying that the boys should abandon their primitive fears and return to previous glory. 3. The new fire is symbolic because it is Piggy's attempt to rebuild society. Piggy believes that without Jack (evil), he himself (knowledge and civility) can prosper. The first step that Piggy decides to take is the construction of a new fire. The fire represents the domination and manipulation of nature and therefore the return to civility. It is important to note that the fire is in a new location. The new fire represents a new society engineered by Piggy and founded upon knowledge. The fire also represents a new hope; the hope that the new society will prosper, the hope that Jack's followers will rejoin society, and the hope that they will be rescued. 4. Many people believe that the climax of the story is when the sow is killed. When the boys kill the sow they take the final step towards savagery. Old society's ways and civility held Jack (evil), back from killing another living creature earlier in the book, but now everything changes as an entire faction of society not only kills the sow, but celebrates the accomplishment. Society's morals have shifted, and the burden of guilt no longer exists, allowing them to do exactly as they please without considering the needs of each other or anything else. At this point Jack and his boys have become completely savage. The manner in which the boys kill the pig is cruel and savage also; they no longer have any respect for another living creature. The sow is most likely pregnant and this tells us that the boys would waste the lives of its piglets and perhaps waste the lives of its piglets and the future meat that they would likely provide in their blind lust for blood. A civilized society would carefully select which animals to slaughter because of moral and economic concerns. The faction of society that killed the pig no longer discusses and debates issues, but instead relies on its instinctive desires. 5. When the Lord of the Flies says that the beast is part of Simon, he is saying that the beast is a part of human nature. The beast, however, is only symbolic and therefore does not exist as a part of Simon or in humanity. By saying that the beast is part of Simon, the Lord of the Flies subtly states that humanity is comprised in part by all of its evils. It is also true that the "beast" is part of Simon, because Simon, being human, has the ability to imagine and invent his own fears. The