democracy vs chaos

Question 1

what represents democracy?

Answer 1

the conch, Piggy, Ralph

Question 2

what represents chaos/savagery?

Answer 2

hunters, weapons, Jack, Roger

Question 3

democracy quotes - beginning

Answer 3

‘we’ve got to have rules and obey them’

‘conch’

‘they walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate’

Question 4

‘we’ve got to have rules and obey them’

Answer 4

• used to the civilisation of England so are trying to recreate that
• ironic because Jack wants rules but is the first to break them

Question 5

‘conch’

Answer 5

• throughout the book the conch represents civilisation and democracy
• symbol of democratic power + gives right to speech

Question 6

rise of savagery quotes - middle

Answer 6

‘kill the pig, cut her throat, spill the blood’

‘the mask compelled him’

Question 7

‘the mask compelled him’

Answer 7

• the thought of being completely different encourages the rest of the boys to follow and paint their faces as well
• shows the boys loss of society + loss of themselves
• becoming corrupted strangers
• losing their hold on civilisation and slipping into savagery
• the innate evil inside them is winning against the controlled side they were forced to be in England

Question 8

‘kill the pig, cut her throat, spill the blood’

Answer 8

• chant is an expression of their growing bloodlust, a consequence of their separation from civilisation
• as they get carried away by the chant, it replaces their rational thinking and they get dragged into savagery together
• overtime the pronouns of the chant change from ‘her’ to ‘him’

Question 9

loss of civilisation quotes - end

Answer 9

‘the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’

‘a sense of delirious abandonment’

Question 10

‘the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’

Answer 10

• throughout the book the conch represented civilisation
• the conch got destroyed with Piggy’s death -> civilisation died with piggy
• savagery has taken over and the island is now in total anarchy
• grants the tribe ability to kill as this was first intentional murder
• a ‘thousand white fragments’ symbolises the conch is beyond repair -> if it was broken into 2 or 3 pieces, it could be repaired -> it is in a thousand pieces so is unusable
• ‘ceased to exist’ shows the power of the conch has gone, allowing savagery to descend over the island

Question 11

‘a sense of delirious abandonment’

Answer 11

• tribe now has no guilt in killing
• first intentional murder and Roger enjoyed it
• immense pleasure in harming
• democracy no longer exists + savagery has taken over the boys

Question 12

‘they walked along, two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate’

Answer 12

• emphasises extent of division between Jack and Ralph - a savage mind and a civilised mind
• boys have intensely different priorities and are unable to communicate their ideas or understand each other