Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
Table of Contents
Chapter 10
The Shell and the Glasses
Piggy, Ralph, Samneric and a few littluns are all that remain of Ralph’s camp. Ralph wants to talk about Simon and his murder, but Piggy will not hear of it. Ralph is guilt-stricken at having been part of the mob that killed him. Piggy tries to blame Simon’s death on the rain, thunder, the crazy dance, and the fear. Ralph knows that he and the others are to blame. He says, “I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home.”
Piggy asks Ralph to keep their participation in the dance a secret from Samneric. The two of them then try to ease their consciences by stating that they were on the outside of the dance, and not directly involved in Simon’s death.
Samneric emerge from the forest with a log. They too tried to hide their participation in the murderous dance of the night before. All four of the boys are ashamed.
At the castle-like fort where Jack’s tribe has now gathered, Roger is met at the entrance by Robert, who demands to know who goes there. To halt unwelcome visitors, Robert has a rigged a deadly lever that would drop a rock on anyone below. Robert informs Roger that Wilfred, who has already been tied up for hours, is to be flogged.
Jack warns the tribe against intruders and especially against the beast, which he tells them can disguise himself as anything. He reminds his savages to leave for the beast the head of anything they kill.
On the beach, Ralph and his tribe try to keep the fire going. They go into the forest and bring out armfuls of rotting wood. However, the wood is not enough. Ralph decides to let the fire die for the night.
The four big boys share a hut. Before falling asleep, Ralph dreams of the security of home, of a life where savagery has no part. The dream is interrupted by Piggy, who vocally longs for rescue. Ralph makes a joke that goes over Piggy’s head and laughs himself to sleep. He is woken again by Piggy, who hears movement outside of the hut. The movement is of Jack’s hunters. Jack’s...
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