- slide 1 of 7
Chapter 1
Use these Lord of the Flies important quotes from chapter 1 to enhance your understanding of the novel.
Quote: Within the diamond haze of the beach something dark was fumbling along...Then the creature stepped from the mirage on to clear sand, and they saw that the darkness was not all shadow but mostly clothing (19).
Analysis: The arrival of Jack Merridew and his militant choir is described as the arrival of a beast or creature, foreshadowing Jack's transformation from despotic choir leader to pig hunter to murderous dictator later in the novel.
Quote: They knew very well why he hadn't: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood (31).
Analysis: Jack fears killing the pig in chapter 1, a fear he overcomes as he sheds civilization and adopts the way of the savage.
- slide 2 of 7
Chapters 2 and 3
Quote: He says he saw the beastie, the snake thing, and will it come back tonight...he says in the morning it turned them into things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches (36).Analysis: There are many references to beasts in the novel. The concept is introduced in chapter 2 by a littlun. No matter how much Ralph attempts to assuage their fears about the Beastie, the group of boys still fear it. Simon discovers later that they are the Beastie.
Quote: Startled, Ralph realized that the boys were falling still and silent, feeling the beginnings of awe at the power set free below them. The knowledge and awe made him savage (44).
Analysis: The fire that breaks loose on the mountain symbolizes the uncontrollable savagery that soon befalls the stranded boys. Just like the savage fire kills the boy with the birthmark, the boys' savagery kills others.
- slide 3 of 7
Chapter 4
Quote: He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up (51).
Analysis: Jack's transformation from civilized bully to savage killer has begun. He's obsessed with hunting at the expense of all else, even rescue.
Quote: The mask was a thing of its own, behind which Jack had liberated from shame and self-consciousness (64).
Analysis: What small semblance of civility Jack had has been obliterated by his hunting mask.
Quote: Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in (75).
Analysis: The hunter's rhythmic chant after the pig hunt is creepy and shows just how bad things are getting.
- slide 4 of 7
Chapter 5
Quote: "What would a beast eat?" / "Pig." / "We eat pig." / "Piggy!" (83).
Analysis: The boys are still fearful of a beastie roaming the island. The fact that the beast eats pig is significant and symbolic. The beast of whom they speak is the boys or the evil within the boys. It is the boys who kill Piggy later in the novel. In other words, the beast does eat pig, metaphorically speaking.
Quote: Jack was the first to make himself heard. He had not got the conch and thus spoke against the rules; but nobody minded.
Analysis: The conch, symbolic of law and order, holds very little importance to the boys. Jack, the usurper of authority, is the obvious choice to break the rules.
- slide 5 of 7
Chapters 6 and 7
Quote: But a sign came down from the world of grownups, though at the time there was no child awake to read it. There was a sudden bright explosion and corkscrew trail across the sky; then darkness again and stars (95).
Analysis: This comes immediately after Piggy expresses his hope for a sign from the adult world to straighten things up. This is the sign: a plane is shot down and a parachutist, dead, falls from the sky, is dragged up the mountain, gets stuck in a tree, and becomes the beast. In short, the adults, who are at war, are no less savage than the boys.
Quote: ...hair much too long, tangled here and there, knotted round a dead leaf or twig; clothes, worn away, stiff like his own with sweat, put on, not for decorum or comfort but out of custom; the skin of the body scurfy with brine-- (110)
Analysis: The boys' appearance has become less and less civilized as the novel progresses. Their outward appearance is a reflection of their inward state.
- slide 6 of 7
Chapter 8
Quote: The head is for the beast. It's a gift (137).
Analysis: The boys are sacrificing pig heads to a beast. In reality, they are sacrificing pigs to satisfy their own lust for blood.
Quote: The forest near them burst into uproar. Demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green rushed out howling...stark naked save for the paint and a belt was Jack (140).
Analysis: Jack and the hunters have become the embodiment of evil. They attack Ralph and Piggy in an effort to usurp power.
Quote: I'm warning you. I'm going to get angry. D'you see? You're not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don't try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else--
Analysis: Simon is having a conversation with a pig's head on a stick. The importance of this quote, however, goes beyond that of a boy losing his mind. Simon represents everything that is good. The Lord of the Flies (the pig's head) represents all that is evil. The two cannot coexist.
Important Quotes from Lord of the Flies
Impress your neighbors and friends with your knowledge of Lord of the Flies.