Chapter 8

Summary

Ralph says to Piggy that Jack would hide if the beast attacked them.   Outraged, Jack attempts to take over the leadership, but enough boys will not vote against Ralph openly, so Jack runs off.

Simon suggests that they go and face whatever it is on the mountain, but no one will go with him so he goes off by himself to his hideout.  Most of the bigger boys drift away to join Jack. Piggy suggests to Ralph that they start a fire on the beach with his glasses.

Jack has another successful hunt and impales the pig’s head on a spike, which is in view of Simon’s hideout.

Simon is a weak boy, prone to fainting spells, and he hallucinates that the head of the pig is talking to him.

Interpretation

Simon forms a sort of bridge between the two factions on the island symbolizing the best of both worlds e.g. he cares for the more vulnerable members of the group, and acknowledges the need for order, but he also has an affinity with the natural world, and is attracted to it for its mystery and complexity.  He is, therefore, the all-round good guy of the story, but does not have the authority to impose his views on the rest.

Ralph wants total order and Jack revels in primitive lust and violence.

It is crucial to remember that all the novel’s characters and episodes are guided to one main purpose, dramatizing the struggle between civilized and primitive instincts of human beings.

It is dangerous to read anything subtler into the message that the book is trying to give.

The pig’s head on a stake swarming with flies is where the book’s title stems from.  This is a symbol of evil.

Simon’s confrontation with the Lord of the Flies unhinges Simon’s grip on reality at that moment, the sight of which makes him faint.