A View to a Death: Chapter 9 Analysis of William Golding's, Lord of the Flies

A View to a Death
“Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill the blood!” (Golding, 168) In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, this is the chant repeated countlessly by the littluns who are part of Jack’s tribe. Their chant is finally put to use in chapter nine of the novel when they murder the “beast”, who the readers knew was not in fact the beast but Simon. Chapter nine of the novel is not only centered on the events leading up to Simon’s death, but also the continuous struggle for power between Ralph and Jack. This analysis will cover multiple techniques used by the author in this chapter included the significance of the chapter title, setting, pathetic fallacy, conflict, irony, and allegory.
Golding foreshadows the death of beloved Simon in this chapter by naming it “A View to a Death.” Simon discovers that the beast is nothing but a dead parachutist. Although injured, Simon decides to go and tell the boys this truth but instead is mistaken by the boys as the beast itself and is viciously killed. This barbaric act was described in the chapter as “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, stuck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” (Golding, 169). Therefore, the title of this chapter “A View to a Death” was used to foreshadow the death of Simon.
The setting of the chapter was mainly focused on two places, the beach and the forest. The beach in most contexts symbolizes tranquility and a sense of relaxation. Ralph and Piggy were first introduced in this chapter on the beach. However, later on in this chapter they were inside the forest, where Jack’s feast was. For most people, the forest symbolizes darkness and evil. When Ralph and Piggy were first on the beach, the boys had no interest in taking part in Jack’s tribe party with Ralph even telling Piggy, “I don’t care” (Golding, 163) and saying that the party will probably be filled with boys “pretending to be a tribe, and putting on war-paint.” (Golding, 163) However, when the boys arrive at the party it is evident that the boys get caught up in all the excitement and even go as far as to killing Simon along with the other boys. Thus, Golding made the setting match with what was happening in the scene.
Another technique used by the author in this chapter was pathetic fallacy. In the beginning of the chapter, many of the boys noticed that the weather seemed as if there was going to be a storm. Piggy was one of those boys and even said “I don’t like the clouds. Remember how it rained just after we landed?” (Golding, 162) Rain or storm is frequently used in literature to foreshadow that something bad or malicious is about to happen. Sure enough, by the end of this chapter, Simon is brutally murdered. So, Golding used pathetic fallacy in this chapter by setting the weather to look like there was going to be a storm to indicate something bad will happen, which results in the death of Simon.
There were two types of conflict found in this chapter, person vs. person, as well as person vs. self. Person vs. person conflict was evident when Ralph and Jack were arguing over power. Repeatedly throughout the feast Jack was asking the littluns “who will join my tribe?” (Golding, 166) Jack wanted to take power away from Ralph and Ralph was fighting against it. Person vs. person conflict is seen in this chapter when Simon is at war with himself because he is in an abundance of pain but is determined to reach the boys and tell them what he knows about the beast. Another part in the chapter where we see person vs. person conflict is with Piggy. Piggy is against Jack and his new formed tribe but the lure of food is too much for Piggy so, betrayed by his stomach, he uses the excuse “to make sure nothing happens” as an excuse to attend the feast. Therefore, the conflicts, person vs. person and person vs. self is evident throughout this chapter. Irony was used at the end of this chapter when Simon was killed. The killing of Simon was ironic because he was on his way to tell the others that the beast did not exist and that it was only the body of a dead parachutist when he was mistaken for the beast and was murdered. Allegory was used in this chapter for the character of Simon. When Simon wakes and sees the "beast", he realizes that it was just a dead parachutist. And so, he heads down the mountain to tell the others. When Simon is staggering down the forest, trying to tell the truth about the beast, the other boys think that he is the beast and surround him and viciously kill Simon. This is parallel to the story of Jesus Christ when he discovers the spiritual truth and seeks on a journey to spread his enlightenment towards the others. However, like Simon, Christ was killed while trying to deliver the spiritual truth. Therefore, allegory was used in this chapter to compare Simon to Jesus Christ. Thus, the focus of chapter nine in Lord of the Flies was the power struggle between Ralph and Jack as well as the death of Simon. This was expressed using a multitude of techniques including the chapter title, setting, pathetic fallacy, conflict, irony, and allegory.

Quotation Analysis
1. “Over the shadows a build-up of clouds continued.” (Golding, 160)

The approaching storm foreshadows the darkness to come and the rising tension between Jack’s and Ralph’s for power.

2. “The usual brightness was gone from his eyes as he walked with a sort of glum determination like an old man.” (Golding, 161)

Simon’s brightness has always lightened the mood, especially with Ralph, but now he carries the weight of dark knowledge about the beast found within humans.

3. “… Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol.” (Golding, 164)

In Jack’s tribe, he is king and is godlike. This could suggest he is acting in as one who is to be worshiped and idolized. First he was used beastly fear to keep his followers in line, then the promise of partying and feasting, and now he even dresses the part of dictator.

4. “Do our dance! Come on! Dance!” (Golding, 167)

Jack always seems to deal with real problems this way, by partying and ignoring any responsibility he has. This decision, however, seems to work, despite the weather yet to come.

5. “The parachute took the figure forward, furrowing the lagoon, and bumped it over the reef and out to sea.” (Golding,169)

All hope of the boys on the island discovering the true nature of the beast as Simon had is now gone. Every boy on the island is at fault in Simon’s murder, as each, in their panic and excitement, let the beast within themselves take over.