Lord of the Flies

1. The stranded boys discover they’re marooned in what type of geographical location?

A) a coral reef

B) a peninsula

C) an island

D) an isthmus

2. Piggy can’t swim because of what condition?

A) asthma

B) diabetes

C) obesity

D) phobia

3. Piggy isn’t chosen as leader despite what positive trait?

A) He’s very strong.

B) He’s very calm.

C) He’s very intuitive.

D) He’s very smart.

4. The conch becomes a symbol of what?

A) fun

B) alarm

C) power

D) fear

5. Aside from a piglet, who becomes entangled in jungle vines?

A) Simon

B) Jack

C) Roger

D) Piggy

6. What does Jack want to prove about himself to the other boys?

A) that he is willing to kill

B) that he is ready for fun

C) that he is the smartest among them

D) that his physical strength is the greatest 

7. Ralph is chosen as leader even though Jack has more of what type of knowledge? (short answer)

8. Piggy is frustrated because the other boys are acting like what? (short answer)

Discussion suggestion: Suggest reasons why the boys are so disorganized. Are they simply too young and immature to get things done? Is their leadership too weak? Does a group without the restraints of civilization become less civil?

9. Jack is obsessed by what great desire?

A) He wants to build a shelter.

B) He wants to return home.

C) He wants to kill a pig.

D) He wants to catch a pig.

10. How do the boys divide themselves up?

A) hunters and foragers

B) hunters and builders

C) bigger and smaller

D) toughies and smarties

11. Jack’s hunters catch a pig, but Ralph is angry. Why?

A) They weren’t watching for passing ships.

B) They allowed the signal fire to go out.

C) They let the fire torch several trees.

D) They ignored the conch signal to meet.

12. At a meeting, Ralph says the boys have stopped cooperating for what reason?

A) They prefer to play at the beach.

B) They prefer to hunt by themselves.

C) They fear there’s a beast on the island.

D) They fear the enemy will attack the island.

13. Some of the boys believe a monster or beast lives on the island. How does Ralph answer this?

A) The beast is imaginary.

B) The beast is quite tame.

C) The beast is afraid of people.

D) The beast has been killed.

14. At the meeting, Jack becomes angry and does something drastic. What is it?

A) He breaks the conch and stalks off alone.

B) He attacks Ralph with stones and a knife.

C) He kills Piggy and takes his glasses.

D) He takes his hunters and leaves the group.

15. Jack would rather hunt than do what? (short answer)

Discussion suggestion: How are Ralph and Jack different? How does this affect the group’s leadership? Which of them seems to be the stronger leader? Which is the wiser leader?

16. What do Sam and Eric find up in a tree?

A) a large bird that makes a shrieking noise

B) a man dangling from a parachute

C) a beastlike creature with shining eyes

D) a tropical fruit that is covered in spikes

17. When Ralph and Jack find a protected outcropping, what does Jack want to do with it?

A) turn it into a place for rituals

B) turn it into a play area for bigguns

C) turn it into a lookout for ships

D) turn it into a defensible fort

18. Why do Jack and Ralph go together to inspect the thing in the tree?

A) They don’t want to look like cowards.

B) They’ve joined forces.

C) They don’t trust each other.

D) They each want some of the glory.

19. After he wounds a wild pig, Ralph feels the thrill of the hunt. What does he do next?

A) He becomes obsessed with killing a pig.

B) He joins forces with Jack and the hunters.

C) He and Jack get into a lengthy fistfight.

D) He taunts Robert and butts him with his spear.

20. Ralph and Jack find the thing in the tree. What do they do next?

A) They pull it down and stab it.

B) They run away in terror.

C) They bring the others to see it.

D) They fight it but it gets away.

21. While Jack wants to focus on hunting the rumored beast, what does Ralph want to focus on? (short answer)

22. What does Piggy think the adults would do if they were marooned on the island? (short answer)

Discussion suggestion: The marooned boys struggle to remain civilized while, out at sea, a great war takes place between grown-up humans. Is civilized behavior the solution to savagery or does it have no power to prevent warfare? On the other hand, could a small but uncivilized group live together peacefully? Why or why not?

23. According to Jack, how did Ralph behave when he saw the beast in the tree?

A) like a hero

B) with uncertainty

C) like a coward

D) with calm dignity

24. What happens when Jack calls for a vote on who should be chief?

A) The boys won’t vote.

B) The boys vote for Ralph.

C) The boys vote for Jack.

D) The boys vote for Simon.

25. When Jack and his hunters kill a sow, why does Jack cut off its head and impale it on a stake?

A) to show that the hunters rule the island

B) to show that nothing scares the boys

C) to make it an offering to the beast

D) as a sign to help rescuers find them

26. Simon thinks he hears the pig’s head speaking. What does the head say?

A) that Simon should kill Jack and rule the island

B) that Simon is silly to think the beast can be killed

C) that Jack has killed the beast-god of the island

D) that Simon must kill Roger and scatter his bones

27. After everyone else joins Jack’s group, what do Ralph and Piggy decide to do?

A) move off to the other side of the island

B) go to Jack’s group and ask to join them

C) climb the mountain and confront the beast

D) sneak up on Jack while he sleeps and kill him

28. When Simon tells the hunters not to fear the beast in the tree, how do they respond?

A) They go to the tree and bow down to it.

B) They tell him he has lost his mind.

C) They think he’s the beast and kill him.

D) They make him second in command.

29. What does Simon do when alone with the pig’s head? (short answer)

Discussion suggestion: What does the beast represent? How do the many stresses of being marooned play into the boys’ fear of the beast? Is the beast something “out there” or something much closer? Do the boys fear that, somehow, they’re drawn to the beast? 

30. Piggy asks Ralph to keep a secret. What is the secret?

A) They both were part of the dance where Simon was killed.

B) They both were crying when they learned Simon was dead.

C) Piggy lost his glasses and now they can’t restart the fire.

D) Piggy knows Simon was right and there is no beast.

31. Ralph says he won’t paint his face like Jack’s hunters. Why?

A) He thinks it’s a childish idea unworthy of older boys.

B) He doesn’t want to give in to Jack’s desire for power.

C) He believes it’s an excuse for a reversion to savagery.

D) He fears it will make it harder to identify the boys.

32. Jack and his hunters sneak down toward Ralph and Piggy at night. What do they steal?

A) embers from the fire

B) the boys’ food supply

C) Piggy’s eyeglasses

D) Ralph’s battle stakes

33. Ralph and Piggy go to Castle Rock to negotiate with Jack. What happens instead?

A) Jack and Ralph get into a fight.

B) Jack and Piggy get into a fight.

C) Roger breaks Piggy’s glasses.

D) Eric stabs Piggy with a spear.

34. Roger releases a boulder that rolls down and does what?

A) It stops the fighting that has erupted below.

B) It closes off the entrance to Castle Rock.

C) It puts out the fire on the beach below.

D) It knocks Piggy off a ledge and kills him.

35. After Roger releases the rock, what does Ralph do?

A) He runs away.

B) He attacks Roger.

C) He pleads for calm.

D) He taunts Roger.

36. While defending themselves in the dark against Jack’s forces, whom do Ralph and Eric end up fighting? (short answer)

37. When the rock falls, what symbolic item does it destroy? (short answer)

Discussion suggestion: Consider how Ralph may have contributed to the savagery at the end of Chapter 11. In general, when brutality threatens to break out, what, if anything, can calmer people do or say to prevent bloodshed?

38. Ralph tries to reason with Sam and Eric. What do they do in response?

A) They agree to join his team.

B) They tell him to come back tomorrow.

C) They tell Jack where Ralph went to hide.

D) They agree to try to get the fire restarted.

39. Where does Ralph hide at first when pursued by Jack’s hunters?

A) in a dense thicket

B) behind Castle Rock

C) on a cliff ledge

D) beneath the beast tree

40. Jack tries to flush Ralph from his hiding place by rolling boulders onto it. What else do Jack and his hunters try?

A) They poke at it with spears.

B) They taunt him with insults.

C) They send in pigs to attack him.

D) They set fire to the thicket.

41. The hunters chase Ralph to one end of the island. Cornered, what is Ralph’s response?

A) He doubles back around them.

B) He gives himself up to Jack.

C) He shoots rocks at them with a slingshot.

D) He swims to a nearby island.

42. As he flees from the hunters, what else threatens Ralph?

A) The whole island is on fire.

B) He has lost too much blood.

C) His leg is broken and he can’t run.

D) He’s haunted by guilt and wants to surrender.

43. On a beach, what does Ralph encounter?

A) Piggy’s body floating in the water.

B) Piggy’s glasses floating on a log.

C) A naval officer, there to rescue the boys.

D) The parachuted pilot, alive and well.

44. When Roger finds Ralph, what does Ralph do? (short answer)

45. Ralph meets a hunter who guards one of the escape routes. What is Ralph’s response? (short answer)

Discussion suggestion: Ralph and the other boys are rescued before they can kill more of their own group; they’re then sent to a naval cruiser on duty in a world war. Consider how this might be, for the boys, a case of going from bad to worse. Also, given the ongoing international conflict, is Ralph’s original faith in the positive influence of civilization justified?