Lord of the Flies, Chapter 9: A View to a Death quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Simon discover the 'beast' actually is?

   • A wild boar trapped in vines
   • Correct answer: A dead parachutist tangled in parachute lines
   • A large rock formation shaped like a creature
   • A figment of the boys' imaginations

   Simon climbs the mountain and discovers that the beast is the corpse of a dead parachutist whose body moves with the wind due to the tangled parachute lines.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why do Ralph and Piggy go to Jack's feast?

   • To bring back the conch that Jack stole
   • Because Jack's hunters ordered them to come
   • Correct answer: To make sure nothing happens at the party
   • To warn the boys about the coming storm

   Piggy suggests they ought to go too, then blushes and explains that he means to make sure nothing happens. His earlier remark that the others left just for some meat hints that hunger is part of the pull as well.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What do the boys chant during their ritual dance?

   • Correct answer: 'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!'
   • 'The beast is coming! Hide from the beast!'
   • 'Hunt the pig! Kill the pig! Eat the pig!'
   • 'We are the hunters! Fear us!'

   The boys chant 'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!' in a rhythmic frenzy that strips away their individual identity and rational thought.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What role does Roger play during the ritual dance before Simon arrives?

   • He plays the beast crawling out of the forest
   • He stands guard with a spear at the forest edge
   • He leads the littluns in a separate ring outside the circle
   • Correct answer: He plays the role of the pig at the center of the circle

   Roger pretends to be the pig at the center of the dancing circle before eventually stepping aside as the frenzy intensifies.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What happens to Simon's body after his death?

   • The boys bury him in the forest
   • It is left on the beach where he fell
   • Correct answer: The tide washes it out to sea
   • Jack orders it thrown off a cliff

   Simon's body is carried out to sea by the tide, surrounded by phosphorescent sea creatures in one of the novel's most lyrical passages.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What literary device does the storm primarily represent in this chapter?

   • Foreshadowing
   • Correct answer: Pathetic fallacy
   • Allegory
   • Hyperbole

   The storm serves as pathetic fallacy, a device in which nature mirrors human emotions — here, the violent weather reflects the boys' escalating hysteria and violence.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What happens to the dead parachutist at the end of Chapter 9?

   • Jack burns it as an offering
   • The boys discover it and realize their mistake
   • It remains on the mountain untouched
   • Correct answer: The wind lifts it and carries it out to sea

   After Simon untangles the parachute lines, the wind eventually lifts the parachutist's corpse and carries it over the trees and out to the ocean.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • Did Ralph and Piggy participate in the ritual dance that killed Simon?

     Happened

     Yes. Despite being the most civilized boys on the island, both Ralph and Piggy are swept up in the mob frenzy and participate in the dance, demonstrating that no one is immune to the pull of savagery.

   • Did Simon successfully tell the boys the truth about the beast before he died?

     Didn't happen

     No. Although Simon crawled out of the forest and stumbled into the horseshoe of dancers, crying out about a dead man on a hill, the boys were in such a frenzy that they mistook him for the beast and killed him before he could deliver his message.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'phosphorescence' mean in the context of Chapter 9?

   • Correct answer: A faint cold light emitted by certain organisms without heat
   • The glow given off by metal heated to very high temperatures
   • A bubbling release of gas from a liquid, like fizz
   • A bright reflection of moonlight off still water

   Phosphorescence refers to the cold, ethereal glow produced by marine organisms. Golding uses this to create the luminous, almost sacred imagery surrounding Simon's body as it floats out to sea.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'demented' mean as used in Chapter 9?

    • Orderly and calm, arranged according to strict rules
    • Sorrowful and weighed down with regret or grief
    • Reduced to a lower rank or position of authority
    • Correct answer: Wild and irrational, as if driven out of one's mind

    Demented means wild or irrational, as if out of one's mind. Golding calls the dancing circle a demented but partly secure society: the ritual is mad, yet Ralph and Piggy join it because it shelters them from the terror of the storm.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'stagger' mean when a buffet of wind makes Simon 'stagger' on the mountain?

    • Correct answer: To walk or move unsteadily, as if about to fall
    • To walk quietly on tiptoe so as not to be heard
    • To arrange events so they do not overlap in time
    • To run swiftly and steadily over a long distance

    To stagger means to move unsteadily. The wind makes Simon stagger because he is weak after his fit and the climb up the mountain.

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12. 12

    Question 12. When Ralph says he has the conch, how does Jack respond?

    • He agrees to call an assembly with the conch at dawn
    • Correct answer: He says the conch doesn't count at this end of the island
    • He says the conch belongs to whoever feeds the tribe
    • He orders his hunters to take the conch from Ralph

    Jack sneers that Ralph left the conch behind and claims it doesn't count at this end of the island. Ralph insists it counts all over the island, but none of the boys backs him, a sign of how far the conch's authority has fallen.

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