slide-deck

1.

An exploration of
Chapter 8 of ‘Lord of
the Flies’
English
Unit ‘Lord of the Flies’

2.

Outcome
I can explain and explore the key events in Chapter 8 of ‘Lord of
the Flies’.

3.

Keywords
patronising
speaking to or behaving towards someone as
if they are stupid or not important
misguided
unreasonable because of being based on bad judgement or
on wrong information or beliefs
threatening
expressing a threat of something unpleasant or violent
to dismiss
to decide that something or someone is not important
and not worth considering
to reveal
to make known something that is surprising or that
was previously secret

4.

Lesson outline
An exploration of Chapter 8 of ‘Lord of the Flies’
Understanding why the group splits
The message from the beast

5.

Understanding why the group splits
Explanation
This
is whatthink
the Oak
pupils
youamong
have similar
Discuss:
about
how said.
groupsDid
form
young ideas?
people.
● What can bring groups together?
● What can split groups apart?
Similar interests
and shared goals
can create a bond.
Aisha
Knowing each
other already can
help you stay in a
group.
Andeep
If a strong
person breaks
away, others
might follow.
If two people
argue then
everyone
takes sides.
Jacob
Jun

6.

Understanding why the group splits
Explanation
Read the whole of Chapter 8. It starts on page 136
and finishes on page 159.
You need a copy of the ‘Lord of the Flies’ for this lesson. Please ensure that
you are using the Faber & Faber; Main edition (3 Mar. 1997).
As you read, think about the following question:
How and why does Jack form his breakaway group?

7.

Understanding why the group splits
Check
At the end of Chapter 8, which of the following boys are in
whose group: Simon, Piggy, Bill, Maurice, Robert, Sam and
Eric, the “littluns”?
Ralph
Simon
Piggy
Sam and Eric
the “littluns”
Jack
Bill
Maurice
Roger
Robert

8.

Task A
Understanding why the group splits
Practice
Here are ideas you originally had about groups.
Similar interests and shared goals can create a bond.
Knowing each other already can help you stay in a group.
If a strong person breaks away, others might follow.
If two people argue then everyone takes sides.
Discuss: are your ideas reflected in the way the boys have chosen their
group in Chapter 8? Here is a reminder of the new groups:
Ralph
Simon
Piggy
Sam and Eric
the “littluns”
Jack
Bill
Maurice
Roger
Robert

9.

Task A
Understanding why the group splits
Feedback
You might have said:
● Similar interests and shared goals can create a bond.
Hunting has become a dominant activity on the island partly for food but
also for excitement. The boys who like to hunt go with Jack. Those who are
more focused on shelter and being rescued stay with Ralph.
● Knowing each other already can help you stay in a group.
Before coming to the island, Jack’s choir knew each other well because
they were at school together and sang together. It probably feels natural for
the choir to follow him.

10.

Task A
Understanding why the group splits
Feedback
You might have said:
● If a strong person breaks away, others might follow.
Jack was the chief chorister at his school and he is used to power and
believes it is rightly his. He creates a breakaway group and many of the
other boys follow him.
● If two people argue then everyone takes sides.
Jack and Ralph argue; at this point of the novel, they disagree on
everything. Jack says he is leaving the group and asks who will follow him.
Nobody does - until later. The boys who won’t support him publicly sneak
way to be in his group when Ralph isn’t looking.

11.

Lesson outline
An exploration of Chapter 8 of ‘Lord of the Flies’
Understanding why the group splits
The message of the beast

12.

The message of the beast
Explanation
Discuss: what can you remember about the character of Simon?
You might have said:
he stays with Ralph’s group
he was part of Jack’s choir
he doesn’t believe in the
beast
at school, he had a reputation
for fainting
he told Ralph that he
think he will get home
he likes to spend time alone
in the jungle

13.

The message of the beast
Explanation
Re-read the encounter between Simon and the head of the pig.
Simon seems to be hallucinating that the head of the pig can
speak.
Start reading on page 157 from the word, “You” and finish at the end of the
chapter (page 159) with the word “consciousness.”
Focus on:
● the dialogue
● what happens at the end

14.

The message of the beast
Check
True or false?
The pig’s head is clearly more powerful than Simon.
T
True
F
False
Justify your answer
a
The pig’s head looks horrifying and it also represents the violence
of the hunters who killed the animal.
b
The pig’s head has the majority of the dialogue and, at the end of
the chapter, its mouth seems to swallow Simon.

15.

Task B
The message of the beast
Practice
Discuss: how does Golding show the power of
the beast?
Some points to consider:
● How does the beast speak? What impression is created. Use the keywords:
patronising, misguided, threatening, dismiss and reveal.
● Simon says only one sentence. What does he say and what is he trying to
convey?
● What is the most important message from the beast?
● How do you respond to this dialogue?
● What is Golding’s message?

16.

Task B
The message of the beast
Feedback
Compare
your
with the
ideas of Izzy and Alex.
This
is what
theideas
Oak pupils
said.
Izzy
The beast sounds patronising. He calls Simon “silly”
and “misguided.” He is also threatening. He warns
Simon not to resist him and to accept that he is in charge
and there is no escape from the chaos and misery.
Simon tries to dismiss the power of the beast by saying
that it is only the head of a pig, but his words have no
effect. The beast reveals that he is in all of us. Golding is
saying that the evil in humans ruins everything.
Alex

17.

Summary An exploration of Chapter 8 of ‘Lord of the Flies’
● Jack creates a breakaway group and some of the boys sneak away to join him
● Jack and what he now calls his “tribe” kill a pig and leave her head as a present
for the beast
● Simon goes into the jungle alone and speaks with the head of the pig
● the head of the pig appears to him as the beast
● the beast tells him that he exists in all people and is the reason that everything
is wrong

18.

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