Jack arrives from hunting, and tells Ralph to leave them alone. Ralph finally calls Jack a thief, and Jack responds by trying to stab Ralph with his spear, which Ralph deflects. They fight each other while Piggy reminds Ralph what they came to do.
Ralph spies on Castle Rock from a hiding place in the forest. He thinks the boys have become savages and knows Jack will try to kill him. Jack must destroy Ralph for savagery to prevail over civilization.
Ralph, who hears the rock falling, dives and dodges it. But the boulder strikes Piggy, shatters the conch shell he is holding, and knocks him off the mountainside to his death on the rocks below. Jack throws his spear at Ralph, and the other boys quickly join in.
From the beginning, Jack craves power. He runs against Ralph in a short vote for chief, and he argues that he should be chief because he is the chorister. After he loses, Jack consistently fights Ralph for power. He tries to overthrow Ralph, but, again, does not have the support of enough of the children.
Each serves as the others symbolic enemy. Jack symbolizes a descent into savagery and Ralph symbolizes society and order. As long as the other exists the other can never truly be in power. Jack must destroy Ralph and all he stands for.
Ironically, although it is indeed a fire that lures a ship to the island, it is not an ordered, controlled signal fire but rather the haphazard forest fire Jack's hunters set solely for the purpose of killing Ralph.
Why does Jack hate Ralph? From the beginning, Jack, who is the head choir boy back home, thinks he should be the chief, but the other boys choose Ralph. The tension between Ralph and Jack grows because Jack has different priorities—to hunt and have fun—than Ralph, who wants to hold onto civilization and get rescued.
What was the real reason he didn't kill the piglet? Jack says he was waiting to decide where to stab the piglet and promises he will do it next time. All three boys know he couldn't stab the piglet because of the knife cutting into flesh and the unbearable blood.
As he continues to speak, and as Simon begins to have a seizure, the head appears to expands 'like a balloon'. The pig's head threatens Simon and insists they are going to 'have fun on this island' and Simon is 'not wanted'. At the end of the chapter, Simon is metaphorically swallowed by the head.
In the darkness, Simon crawls into the group and tries to tell them what he has seen but it is too late. The boys have lost all control and thinking he is the Beast, they kill Simon - even Ralph and Piggy are involved.
Seeing the twins bound, Ralph's language gets to the heart of the matter quickly. He shouts at Jack, calling him "a beast and a swine and a bloody, bloody thief!" This emotional accusation is in fact truthful.
Piggy's death is symbolic of the boys' loss of innocence. Piggy represents all that is rational, civil and intelligent. When he is killed, there is nothing left of civility on the island, and Ralph must face the reality of surviving in the barbaric culture that has taken over the other boys.
In Chapter 12, Jack and his tribe set fire to the forest in an attempt to kill Ralph. The irony is that the smoke plume from that fire catches the attention of a passing ship. Though Jack was convinced a smoke signal would not lead to their rescue, smoke from his destructive fire leads to their rescue.
While Jack embodies lawful evil; tyranny and warmongering for an addiction towards power, Roger is the embodiment of chaotic evil; primal sadism and depravity only held back by society's values.
Although the naval officer saves Ralph, the ending of Lord of the Flies still is not particularly happy, and the moment in which the officer encounters the boys is not one of untainted joy. The officer says that he is unable to understand how upstanding British lads could have acted with such poor form.
Golding explicitly connects Jack's exhilaration with the feelings of power and superiority he experienced in killing the pig. Jack's excitement stems not from pride at having found food and helped the group but from having “outwitted” another creature and “imposed” his will upon it.
Percival is a symbol of childlike innocence who resorts to weeping when he feels overwhelmed and unsure of his situation on the island. Percival, with his immaturity, does not know how to process the severity of the situation on the island, so, like most young children, his emotions overcome him.
What does Ralph wept for the end of innocence mean?
The rescue is not a moment of unequivocal joy, for Ralph realizes that, although he is saved from death on the island, he will never be the same. He has lost his innocence and learned about the evil that lurks within all human beings.
Jack and Ralph face off about the desertion of the fire for the sake of the hunt. Jack apologizes but Ralph remains angry. Tensions ease somewhat as the boys eat roast pig. The hunters reenact the kill as a sort of celebratory dance.
The spectacles represent the boys' only means of obtaining fire through reflecting the sun's rays, and fire itself is symbolic of survival and rescue. Jack snatches the glasses off Piggy's face to create the fire, despite Piggy's protestations, and his dependence upon them.
Why does Jack hesitate when faced with killing the piglet?
5. Why does Jack hesitate when he lifts his knife to kill the piglet, and what does he promise will happen next time he meets a pig? Jack's hesitation shows that he must learn to put aside his inhibitions, whether they are learned or natural. He promises that "next time there would be no mercy."
The rant reveals that Jack is so envious of Ralph's authority and leadership that he is unwilling to acknowledge him as the new chief. The jealously builds up in the plot until it explodes in the theme of evil as Jack eventually turns savage, calling for Ralph's blood.
The devastating realization for both Ralph and the reader suggests that despite our best efforts to uphold order and civility, humans are inherently prone to self-destruction. This ending suggests that despite what we want to believe, the line between civilized order and inherent human savagery is blurred.
In Lord of the Flies, Simon was crucified through a beating from the rest of the boys. He was on his way to tell the boys about his revelation that what they thought was the beast was actually a downed parachutist. The boys mistook him for the beast, causing them to beat him to death.
