Lord of the Flies

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1. 
   ladyvols1 Teacher
   High School - 9th Grade

   "The skull regarded Ralph like one who knows all the answers but won’t tell. A sick fear and rage swept him. Fiercely he hit out at the filthy thing in front of him that bobbed like a toy and came back, still grinning into his face, so that he lashed and cried out in loathing. Then he was licking his bruised knuckles and looking at the bare stick, while the skull lay in two pieces, its grin now six feet across."

   When Ralph stumbles upon the boar's head he doesn't know what it is at first.  When he realizes what it is he knows it is important somehow, but he can't figure out how.  He feels the head is "grinning" at him and is part of the reason things have "gone wrong."  Like Satan, he knows the answers but won't tell us.  Satan drives mankind to behave in evil manners but we don't know why.  Ralph tries to destroy this evil, by destroying the boars head, but takes the stick it is mounted on to fight Jack, Roger, and the tribe.

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/flies/chapter-12-summary-analysis

   http://www.enotes.com/flies/characters

   http://www.enotes.com/flies/themes

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   Posted by ladyvols1 on Friday October 31, 2008 at 9:18 PM
   
   

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