Name: __________________________
Chapter 1
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Scar- a bare rocky place on a mountainside or other
steep slope
Wacco-excellent
Eccentric- odd
Mortification- shame, humiliation
Wizard- excellent
Indignation- anger aroused by something unjust, mean,
or unworthy
Motif- single or repeated design
Pallor- paleness
Enmity- deep hatred
Pliant- flexible
Specious- deceptive
Immure- walled in
Furtive- shy, devious
Hiatus- a gap, break, or pause
Strident- harsh and loud
Contemptuously- scornful
Literary Terms
Setting- where the story takes place
What is the setting of this story? An island
Point of View- position from which things are viewed or delivered
First Person- narrator refers to self as “I”
Third Person Omniscient- Person is privy to all facts and events of the story
Third Person Limited- Story from the perspective of the focal character
Characterization- Method used by the writer to develop a character
Direct Characterization- writer makes direct statements about what a character is like
Indirect Characterization- writer reveals information about a character through the character’s thoughts, words,
and actions
Imply- strongly suggest the truth or existence of something
Infer- conclude from evidence and reasoning rather than explicit statements
Questions
1. (p7)What major characteristic do we get of the first boy?
2. (p7)What major characteristic do we get of the second boy?
3. (p8)What happened to the plane that made these boys stranded on the island?
4. (p9/11)What are the two boys’ names?
5. (p9)Why can’t Piggy run or swim?
6. (p11)How does Ralph behave when he learns what people called Piggy at home?
7. (p13)What does Ralph’s father do for a living and why does this provide hope for Ralph?
8. (p13)What did Piggy’s aunt do for a living, and why did he live with her?
9. (p14)According to Piggy, why is it likely no one, including the people at the airport, knows where they are?
10. (p15)What does Ralph find?
11. (p16)What does Ralph use this item for?
12. (p19)What are the names of the twins?
13. (p19)Explain the outfits of the last group of boys to arrive at the platform.
14. (p20)Instead of introducing himself by Jack, how does Jack introduce himself?
15. (p22)What does Ralph suggest is necessary for helping out with their rescue?
16. (p22)What does Jack argue?
17. (p22)What does Roger suggest?
18. (p24)What three boys go on the exploration to see if they are indeed on an island?
19. (p31)What item does Jack have?
20. (p25)What job does Ralph give Piggy?
21. (p31)What type of animal do the three boys see?
22. (p31)Why does it get away?
23. (p31)What does Jack promise about “next time”?
Name: __________________________
Chapter 2
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Gesticulated- gestured with one’s hands
Recrimination- an accusation made in retaliation
Compelled- forced
Tumult- an uproar
Errant- disobedient
Officious- too eager to serve or advise
Martyred- suffering
Leeward- facing the same direction the wind is blowing
Ebullience- liveliness
Windward- facing the direction the wind is coming
Mime- mimic
Pall- became less interesting or attractive
Literary Terms
Figurative Language- describing something by comparing it with something else
Simile- uses “like” or “as”
Example- Busy as a bee
Metaphor- states a fact or draws a verbal picture, something IS something else
Symbol- word or object that stands for antoher word or object
Example- a dove stands for peace
Verbal irony- a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant
Example- “all the same you need an army- for hunting” (armies don’t hunt)
Terms to Know
Apprehension (n)- suspicious or fear of trouble or evil
Depravity (n)- moral corruption
Profane (v)- to treat with abuse or contempt
Prudent (adj)- acting with care and thought for the future
Sadist (n)- getting pleasure from inflicting pain on others
Questions
(pg 33)
1. What does Ralph establish?
(pg 33)
2. Who is the only one who can interrupt someone speaking?
(pg 34-35)
3. What are two books that are mentioned that remind the boys about the adventure they hope to have on
the island?
(pg 35)
4. What description does the narrator give us of the six-year-old boy who tells the older boys what he
found?
(pg 35)
5. What does this boy tell the other boys?
(pg 46)
6. What happens to this boy?
(pg 36)
7. What does Jack say he will do if there is a beastie?
(pg 37)
8. What evidence does Ralph give the other boys to persuade them that they will be rescued?
(pg 38)
9. What does Ralph suggest they do to help themselves get rescued?
(pg 40)
10. What does Jack suggest using to start a fire?
(pg 42)
11. Why does Ralph think the fire is no good?
(pg 42)
12. How does Simon defend Piggy?
(pg 44)
13. What did the boys accidentally do?
(pg 45)
14. What does Piggy say they should have done before starting a fire?
Name: __________________________
Chapter 3
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Batty- crazy
Rapt- completely absorbed
Crackers- crazy
Tacit- unstated
Inscrutable- not easily understood
Perceptible- able to be seen or noticed
Seductive- tempting
Riotous- public disorder
Vicissitudes- difficulties or hardships
Abyss- bottomless gulf or pit
Compulsion- irresistible impulse or force
Baffled- confused
Opaque- light cannot pass through
Contrite- sincerely sorry for shortcomings
Declivities- descending slopes
Literary Terms
Diction- style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words
Plot- plan or scheme- arrangement of events
Parody- humorous imitation of a serious person or event
Questions
1. Describe Jack. What is he wearing? What looks different now from when he first arrived on the island?
2. What is Jack doing?
3. What is the first thing Jack asks for when he comes out of the forest?
4. What are Ralph and Simon doing?
5. What is Ralph upset by?
6. What are Ralph’s feelings on meetings?
7. Describe the conflict between Jack and Ralph after Ralph says, “When the meeting is over they’d work for five minutes,
then wander off or go hunting.”
8. Jack says he could have killed a pig if they could make what?
9. There are two reasons why Ralph thinks it is really important to have shelter. What are they?
10. Of what are the children still afraid?
11. What are Jack’s thoughts on rescue?
12. Where must the pigs be hiding during the hot day?
13. Where do Jack and Ralph assume Simon is?
14. Where is Simon really?
Name: __________________________
Chapter 4
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Dazzle Paint- British term for camouflage. Used to
describe troops, ships, and guns.
Bloody (Vulgar; Slang)- cursed, damned
One for his nob- a hit on his head
Give him a fourpenny one – hit him on his jaw
Blatant- noisy, clamorous
Belligerence- an aggressive, stubborn attitude
Chastisement- punishment
Impalpable- not capable of being felt
Myriad- innumerable
Appalled- horrified, disgusted
Malevolent- hostility
Ravenous- greedily
Opalescence- reflecting rainbow-colored light
Incursion- a breakthrough into enemy territory
Preposterous- ridiculous
Taboo- rule that makes something forbidden
Swarthiness- darkness (of skin)
Mooning (64)Errant- away from standards
Obscurely- indistinct
Literary Terms
Imagery- formation of mental images or figures
Questions
1. What do the first two paragraphs describe? (pg 58-59)
2. How is this description important symbolically to the story? (58-59)
3. What have the litluns grown used to because of their eating habits? (59)
4. Who are the three boys building sand castles? (60)
5. Who is the leader of the three? What reason is given for him being leader? (60)
6. Who cries, and why? (60)
7. Of what duty have Roger and Maurice just been relieved? (60)
8. Of what does Maurice feel a bit guilty? (60)
9. What catches Henry’s interest on the beach? (61)
10. What almost hits Roger? (62)
11. What keeps Roger from throwing the stones at Henry? (62)
12. What is Jack doing to himself and why? (63)
13. Who all is with Jack in the forest?
14. What is a strange detail of Piggy’s hair? (64)
15. What does Piggy suggest making that Ralph ignores? (64)
16. What does Ralph see in the distance? (65-66)
17. What happened to the smoke on the mountain? How does Ralph react? (66-67)
18. What does Jack return with? (68)
19. What do the boys chant upon their return? (69)
20. What happens to Piggy after he yells at Jack for letting the fire go out? (71)
21. Who gives Piggy his piece of meat? (74)
22. What does Jack do in response to this? (74)
23. What does Maurice pretend to be? (75)
24. What does Ralph decide to do at the end of the chapter? (75)
Name: __________________________
Chapter 5
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Taken short- informal phrase for having diarrhea
Improvisation- doing something in the moment
Jeer- mocking
Expansively- with eagerness to expand on the topic
Ludicrous- ridiculous, absured
Sough- moaning, whispering, or rushing sound
Effigy- representation
Perilous- full of danger or risk
Lament- weep, cry
Tempestuously- like a tempest; stormingly
Reverence- respect, honor
Discursive- rambling
Derisive- ridiculing
Inarticulate- unable to speak
Decorum- proper manners and good taste
Incantation- formula of words with the power of a spell
Literary Terms
Foreshadow- suggesting certain plot elements that may happen in the future
Conflict- struggle between two forces
External-
Man vs Man
Man vs Nature
Man vs Technology
Internal-
Man vs Self
Questions
1. What does Ralph decide about the meeting that he is about to have? (76)
2. What does this say about how Ralph is changing?
3. What does Ralph start to realize about his appearance?
4. What did Ralph, Jack, and Piggy not have the “wit” to do? (77)
5. What does Ralph realize a chief needs to be able to do? (78)
6. Where does Piggy stand at the beginning of the assembly? (78)
7. What is the first thing Ralph lists as something that the boys have failed to do? (79)
8. What is Ralph’s second complaint? (79)
9. What is Ralph’s third complaint? (80)
10. What do all the littluns laugh about while Ralph is talking? (80)
11. What is Ralph’s fourth command? (80)
12. What does Ralph say about fires for cooking? (81)
13. What is the last thing Ralph tries to talk about before he loses control? (82)
14. What does Jack have to say about the littluns fear? (82)
15. What did the boy named Phil think he saw? (85)
16. What did the boy really see? (85)
17. How does Mauriece get the littluns to stop crying? (87)
18. According to Percival, where does the best live? (88)
19. What does Simon suggest about the beast? (89)
20. What do the boys vote on? (90)
21. Why does Ralph not blow the conch? (92)
22. Why is Piggy afraid of Ralph giving up control? (93)
23. Piggy said that there is nothing to fear except people and Simon said that if there is a best it may be themselves.
Do these two comments have anything in common? Why do these comments make sense?
Name: __________________________
Chapter 6
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Interminable- seemingly without end
Tremulous- timely
Embroil- involve deeply in conflict
Exasperation- irritation, annoying
Diffident- with hesitation and respect
Incredulity- unwilling or unable to believe something
Chasm- deep clefts or gores
Constraint- restricting
Leviathan- a great sea monster
Plinth- base or platform on which a structure rests
Exulting- joyful
Guano- bird “doo”
Mutinous- rebellious
Somberly- dark and gloomy
Literary Terms
Dramatic irony- words/actions that have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters
Theme- main idea, moral, or message
Motif- recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that help develop themes
Motifs in LOTF- Biblical parallels, fire, pigs, betrayal
Questions
1. What is happening in the air while the boys sleep?
2. What sign is sent to the boys that they don’t get to read?
3. What do Sam and Eric think they see?
4. What do they really see?
5. How do Sam and Eric exaggerate what they saw?
6. When Jack follows Ralph up the rocks, what does he think the castle rock would be good for?
7. About what do Ralph and Jack argue?
Name: __________________________
Chapter 7
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Sage- wisely
Obtuseness- lacking quickness of mind
Daunting- dismaying
Moors- grasslands
Impervious- without feeling or response
Brandishing- waving about in a threatening manner
Bravado- foolhardiness
Funk- nervousness
Literary Terms
Foil- character whose personality and attitude are opposite one another (Jack and Ralph)
Questions
1. What does Simon say to Ralph? (111)
2. What sarcastic remark does Ralph have in response? (111)
3. What is discouraging Ralph in regard to being rescued? (111)
4. What does Ralph accomplish that he is quite proud of? (113)
5. What happens to Jack during the pig hunt? (114)
6. Who hurts his butt during the game of pretend pig hunt? (115)
7. What does Simon offer? (117)
8. What does Ralph ask Jack that makes the boys uncomfortable? (118)
9. All but what three boys remain to go up the mountain? (119-120)
10. What do the three boys see on the mountain? (123)
Name: __________________________
Chapter 8
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Prefect- student monitor in a private school
Contemptuously- scornful
Sanctity- holiness
Derisive- Expressing content or ridicule
Demure- modest
Demented- insane
Fervor- intensity
Iridescent- appears to change colors
Sufficient- adequate, enough
Parody- meant to mock
Literary Terms
Climax- greatest point of intensity
Personification- giving human traits to nonliving objects
Questions
1. What two things does Ralph say that insults Jack? (124-125)
2. Who calls the meeting? (125)
3. List two reasons that Jack offers for why Ralph is not a proper chief. (126)
4. What kind of vote does Jack call for? (127)
5. What childish thing does Jack say after the vote doesn’t go his way? (127)
6. What does Simon suggest doing? (128)
7. Where does Piggy suggest building the fire? (129)
8. Where do Maurice, Bill, and Roger go? (131)
9. Where does Simon go? (132)
10. What does Jack rub all over Maurice? (135)
11. What do they do with the sharpened stick? (137)
12. What’s the pig’s head name? (138)
13. Why does Ralph take his group to the platform? What problem is Ralph having at this meeting? (143)
14. When Jack comes for the fire, what is he wearing? (140)
15. How does Jack try to tempt the boys who have stayed with Ralph? (140)
16. What does the Lord of the Flies say to Simon about having fun? (144)
Name: __________________________
Chapter 9
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Interspersed- interwoven
Succulent- juicy
Corpulent- with a large, bulky body
Saunter- stroll
Looming- dark, indistinct, and deceptively large
Demented- insane
Derision- ridicule
Abominable- unpleasant, causing disgust or hatred
Literary Terms
Tone/Mood- how the author feels about the characters
Questions
1. What does Simon find on the mountain? (146)
2. What does Simon do after smelling the dead body? (146)
3. Which side of the island had a little bit of smoke? (147)
4. What does this imply about who most of the boys are following?
5. What is Piggy sure is going to happen?
6. What does Piggy suggest doing? (148)
7. What does Jack wave when he speaks? (149)
8. After the boys have eaten all they want, Jack and Ralph try to persuade the boys to do what? (150)
9. What does Jack say about the conch? (150)
10. Whose side do most of the boys choose? (151)
11. What is the chant? How has it changed from previous chapters? (152)
12. What does Simon try to tell the boys? (152)
13. What happens to Simon? (153)
14. What happens to the man on the parachute? (153)
Name: __________________________
Chapter 10
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Barmy- {British} [adj] crazy
Theology- Relating to the study of God
Befoul- made foul
Purge- to clean, free
Illumination- process of clarifying or explaining
something intellectual, spiritual enlightenment
Loathe- intense dislike or disgust
Conviction- unshakable belief in something without proof
Assimilate- taking in, integrating
Literary Terms
Falling Action- sequence of events that follow the climax and end in resolution
Protagonist- leading character
Antagonist- rival character
Allusion- reference to something
Questions
1. Who is left on Ralph’s side of the island? (155)
2. About what is Ralph feeling guilty? (156-157)
3. What injuries did Samneric suffer from the night before? (158)
4. What is Robert’s job? (159)
5. What weapon does Jack’s tribe have to protect the entrance of the Castle Rock? (159)
6. What does Robert tell Roger that Jack is going to do? (159)
7. What does Bill ask that makes Jack blush? (161)
8. What does Ralph recall hearing from Simon and seeing in the sky? (162)
9. What do Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric decide about the fire? (164)
10. What happens while Piggy, Ralph, and Samneric sleep in the shelter? (167)
11. What does Jack steal? (168)
12. Why is this theft especially cruel? (168)
13. What could he have done instead? Really?
Name: __________________________
Chapter 11
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Luminous- glowing
Saber- curved sword
Myopia- nearsightedness
Cessation- stop
Multitudinous- consisting of innumerable parts
Talisman- trinket, piece of jewelry
Unquenchable- unstoppable, can’t be satisfied
Delirious- filled with a frenzied excitement
Impenetrable- unable to be entered
Propitiationingly- appealing, in order to regain favor
Quaver- with a voice that trembled
Pinnacle- peak
Ludicrous- ridiculous
Truculently- with aggressive savagery
Literary Terms
Allegory- representation conveying meaning that’s not literal
Fable- deliberating false account
Questions
1. Although it is totally ineffective, what does Piggy urge Ralph to do? (169)
2. What reason does Piggy say he is going to give Jack for why he should give him back his glasses? (171)
3. What does Piggy suggest they can do with their hair? (172)
4.
What is Ralph’s response to this suggestion? (172)
5. What does Ralph do once at the entrance of the Castle Rock? (175)
6. What does Roger do to the twins when they first arrive at the Castle Rock? (175)
7. What does Ralph call Jack that angers him? (176-177)
8. What happens in response to Ralph calling Jack this name? (177)
9. What happens to Samneric? (179)
10. What happens to Piggy? (181)
11. What happens to Ralph? (181)
Name: __________________________
Chapter 12
Lord of the Flies: Reading and Study Guide
Vocabulary
Inimical- hostile
Ululation- howling
Ensconce- conceal
Cordon- a line of people set up to prevent passage into
an area
Antiphonal- responses alternating from one group to
another
Diddle- fool
Excruciating- extremely painful
Drill- durable cotton twill used for military uniforms
Obscurity- state of being unknown
Epaulettes- shoulder ornaments on a military uniform
Elephantine- moving with clumsiness
Gilt- coating of gold
Pax- kiss of peace
Literary Terms
Irony
Situational Irony
Dramatic Irony
Verbal Irony
Resolution
Questions
1. What happened to Samneric to make them join up with Jack’s tribe and guard the entrance of Castle Rock? (188)
2. What do they tell Ralph all the boys are going to do the next day? (188)
3. What can you infer Roger and Jack intend to do with the stick that sharpened at both ends? (190)
4. What does one of the twins give to Ralph as he leaves? (190)
5. What happens to Samneric after Ralph leaves? (191)
6. How do the chief and Roger know where Ralph is hiding? (192)
7. What are the two methods the boys use to get Ralph out of the hiding spot? (195)
8. How were the boys communicating? (192)
9. What two options did Ralph think he had for escape? (195/196)
10. What happens to the island that turns out to be good? (201)
11. Who says he is boss when the officer asks? (201)
12. The British officer says, “I should have though that a pack of British boys….would have been able to put on a better
show than that.” What does he mean? How is this hypocritical? (202)