Lord of the Flies Chapters 9 and 10 Summary

Chapter 9 Simon goes to the mountaintop, a symbolic journey, and learns the truth. Like other religious figures, Simon then seeks to spread his enlightenment to others. Dead Parachutist

Jack’s Feast Piggy is betrayed by his stomach: he wants meat. But Piggy tries to hide his savage desire for food by making up “civilized” excuses for attending the feast.

Savage Chief The boys have traded freedom for the security of an all-powerful ruler.

Powerless Conch Jack claims to be beyond the conch’s (civilization’s) reach. He’s become a savage.

“Kill the pig! Cut his throat!” Civilization creates security by building protective shelters. Savages do the same by forming mobs that allow individuals to forget their fears. Both strategies involve hiding from fear, from the beast within.

Simon Dies The Lord of the Flies’ prediction comes true: all the boys murder Simon. Like Jesus Christ, he was killed while trying to deliver the spiritual truth.

Chapter 10 The “civilized” boys can’t admit their part in Simon’s murder. Civilization exists to suppress and hide from the savage instincts, the “beast” within, that made them kill.

Castle Rock Jack claims Simon was the Beast, but denies they actually killed it. If they’d killed the beast, why would the tribe need him to be chief?

No Signal Fire The “civilized” boys stop trying to keep the signal fire burning at night: a symbolic surrender to savagery. The savages, meanwhile, are willing to give up the chance at rescue completely to get the technology of Piggy’s glasses to build cooking fires.