Chapter Twelve: Cry of the Hunters

Ralph hides in the jungle and thinks about the evil that has overcome the island. He thinks about the deaths of Simon and Piggy and realizes that civilization no longer existed on the island. He then stumbles across the sow’s head, or the Lord of the Flies. Angry at the circumstances, Ralph knocks the skull to the ground and takes the stake it was forced upon to use as a weapon against Jack. That night, Ralph sneaks down Castle Rock and finds Sam and Eric guarding the entrance. The twins give him food but refuse to come with him. As they start talking, they tell Ralph that Jack plans to send the entire tribe on a search after him the next day; they plan to kill him. Later that night after talking to them both, Ralph hides in a thicket and falls asleep. In the morning, Ralph hears Jack yelling and torturing one of the twins to figure out where he is hiding. Several boys try to break into the thicket by rolling a boulder to clear a path, but the thicket is too dense. After that, a group of boys try to fight their way into the thicket, but Ralph fights them off. Then Ralph realizes that Jack has set the jungle on fire in order to smoke him out. Ralph flees his hiding place and fights his way past Jack and the hunters. Ralph then plunges frantically through the vines and brush, looking for a place to hide. At last, he ends up on the beach where he collapses in exhaustion. Behind him, Jack and his hunters follow close behind. On the beach, Ralph looks up to see a naval officer standing over him. The officer tells the boy that his ship has come to the island after seeing the blazing fire in the jungle. Jack’s hunters reach the beach and stop seeking Ralph upon seeing the officer. The officer then assumes the boys are up to,“fun and games.” When Ralph tells him of the circumstances on the island, the officer is disgusted. After discussing these events with the officer, Ralph is overwhelmed and begins, as do the other boys. Moved by this, the naval officer turns away from the boys so they may regain their composure.

Chapter Eleven: Castle Rock

The next day, Ralph and his few group members try to light the fire, but cannot without Piggy’s glasses. Piggy then suggests that Ralph hold a meeting to discuss what they can do. Ralph blows the conch shell, and the boys few boys in Ralph's group assemble on the beach. They decide that their only choice is to go to Castle Rock to reason with Jack and his followers. In hopes of reminding Jack's followers of his former authority, Ralph decides to take the conch shell with him. As they approach Castle Rock, however, Ralph’s group encounters armed guards. Ralph blows the conch shell, but the guards order them to leave and throw stones at them. Soon afterward, Jack and a group of hunters come out of the forest dragging a dead sow. At that moment, Jack and Ralph fight immediately. Jack commands Ralph to leave, and Ralph yells at Jack to return Piggy’s glasses. Then, Jack attacks Ralph, and they begin to fight. During this, Ralph tries to make Jack understand how important the signal fire is but fails to do so. Jack then orders his hunters to capture Sam and Eric and tie them up. This makes Ralph furious, and he lunges at Jack, thus making Ralph and Jack fight for a second time. During this, Piggy cries out, trying to make himself heard. As Piggy tries to speak, hoping to reason with the group over the importance of rescue, Roger pushes on the lever of a massive rock, causing it to move down the mountainside. Ralph dives and dodges the rock, however, it strikes Piggy, and shatters the conch shell he is holding. Then, Piggy unconsciously falls off the mountainside to his death on the rocks below. Immediately after this, Jack throws his spear at Ralph, which cuts his torso. Soon the other boys join in. Lastly, Ralph escapes into the jungle, and Roger and Jack begin to torture Sam and Eric, forcing them to join Jack's tribe.

Chapter Ten: The Shell and the Glasses

The next morning, Ralph and Piggy meet on the beach. They feel deeply ashamed of their behavior the previous night. Piggy is unable to accept that he played a role in Simon's death and passes the situation off as an accident. On the other hand, Ralph insists that they participated in the murder. The two are basically alone, except for Sam and Eric and a group of littluns are still in Ralph's group. At the Castle Rock, the new campsite for Jack's group, Jack rules like a dictator. He punishes for no apparent reason. Jack even ties up and beats a boy named Wilfred. Jack then warns the boys about Ralph and his small group, saying that they are dangerous. By this point in time, Jack and his tribe believe that Simon really was the beast, and that the beast can disguise itself in any way. Jack then states that they must continue to guard against the beast because it cannot die. He also says that he, Maurice, and Roger, should raid Ralph’s camp to steal fire for the food that they will obtain tomorrow. The boys at Ralph’s camp fall asleep, losing hope in the signal fire. They are soon awakened by the howling from Jack and his hunters and are suddenly attacked. The hunters badly beat Ralph and the members of his group, who do not even know why they were attacked. Soon, however Piggy knows why. The the hunters stole his glasses: the power to make fire.

Chapter Nine: A View to Death

Simon awakens and finds that his nose is bleeding. He then staggers toward the mountain in a daze. As he crawls up the hill and, in the failing light, he sees the dead pilot with his flapping parachute. Watching the parachute rise and fall with the wind, Simon realizes that the boys have mistaken this puppet of the wind for the deadly gorilla beast that has made the entire group a state of panic and worry. As Simon sees the flailing corpse of he becomes sick and vomits. When he is finished, he untangles the parachute lines. He then hurries to prove to the group that the beast is not real. In the meantime, Piggy and Ralph go to the feast hoping that they will be able to restore order between the groups. Jack sits like a king and treats all of his members like servants. After the large meal, Jack tries to persuade all of Ralph’s followers to join his tribe and most of them do. Soon afterward, it starts to rain and Ralph tauntingly asks Jack how he plans to weather the storm since he hasn't built any shelters. In response, Jack orders his tribe to do its wild hunting dance. Chanting and dancing in several separate circles, the boys are caught up in this. Even Ralph and Piggy dance on the fringes of the group. The boys again reenact the hunting of the pig. Suddenly, the boys see Simon creeping out of the forest; however, the boys do not recognize him. Assuming that Simon is the beast, the boys start to attack him and tear him apart with their bare hands and teeth. During this, Simon tries to explain what has happened and to remind them of who he is, but he trips and falls over the rocks onto the beach, thus killing him when the boys fall on him. Soon afterward, a storm starts, causing the boys to run for shelter. During this, the wind and waves wash Simon’s dead body into the ocean, where it drifts away, surrounded by glowing fish. At the same time, the wind blows the body of the parachutist off the the mountain and onto the beach, causing chaos among the boys

Chapter Eight: Gift for the Darkness

The next day, the news of the monster has the boys in fear as they gather on the beach. Jack, then takes the conch shell and blows into it, calling for an assembly. Jack tells the others that there is definitely a beast on the mountain and goes on to claim that Ralph is a coward who should be removed from his role as chief. The other boys, however, are afraid to vote Ralph out of power. This causes Jack, angrily to storm away from the group, saying that he is leaving and that anyone who likes is welcome to join him. Through this event, Ralph does not know what to do. Piggy, on the other hand, is overjoyed to see Jack leave, and Simon suggests that they all return to the mountain to search for the beast; however, the other boys are too afraid to commit to this idea. Ralph slips into a state of helplessness, but Piggy cheers him up by saying that they should build a new signal fire on the beach rather and not worry about maintaining it on the mountain. This thought restores Ralph’s hope that they will be rescued. The boys then set to work and build a new fire, although many of them sneak away into the night to join Jack’s group. Along another stretch of sand, Jack gathers his new tribe and declares himself the chief. The hunters kill a sow, and Roger drives his spear forcefully into the sow’s bottom. Then the boys leave the sow’s head on a sharpened stake in the jungle as an offering to the beast. As Piggy and Ralph sit in the old camp discussing the deserters, the hunters from Jack’s tribe come to them, acting as savages. These hunters steal burning sticks from the fire on the beach. Jack then tells Ralph’s followers that they are welcome to come to his feast that night and even to join his tribe. Just before Jack’s tribe raids the beach, however, Simon sneaks away from the camp and returns to the hidden area where he previously sat in awe of the nature's beauty. Now, however, he finds the sow’s head jammed on the stake in the middle of the clearing. The sight mesmerizes him, and it even seems as if the head comes to life. The head speaks to Simon in the voice of the “Lord of the Flies,” ominously declaring that Simon will never be able to escape him, for he is in all humans. The "Lord of the Flies" also promises to have some “fun” with Simon. Terrified by this, Simon faints.

Chapter Seven: Shadows and Tall Trees

As they travel toward the mountain, the boys stop to eat. Ralph looks at the ocean and thinks about how the boys have become more lazy and intolerable. As he looks out at the water, he feels that there is no hope of the boys have of escaping the island. Simon, however, lifts Ralph’s spirits by reassuring him that he will make it home. That afternoon, the hunters find pig feces, and Jack suggests they hunt the pig while they try to hunt for the beast. The boys then quickly track a large boar, which leads them on a chase. Ralph, who has never been on a hunt before, quickly gets caught up in the exhilaration of the chase. He excitedly throws his spear at the boar, and even though it barely hits the animal’s snout, Ralph is excited with his accuracy. Soon afterwards, Jack holds up his bloodied arm, which he claims the boar grazed with its tusks. Although the boar escapes, the boys remain excited, and they reenact the chase among themselves with Robert playing the boar. As they dance, chant, and spear Robert with their Rober tries to drag himself away. The group nearly kills Robert before they remember that they were merely playing a game. When Robert suggests that they use a real boar in thenext game, Jack replies that they should use a littlun instead causing the boys to laugh. A little while afterward, Simon volunteers to return Piggy and the littluns and tell them that the group will not return until later that night. After Simon's volunteering, Ralph proposes that they wait until morning to climb the mountain; however, Jack starts to climb the mountain and dares Ralph to follow. In hopes of regaining the respect of the group, Ralph follows along with Jack and Robert, who volunteers to go with them. As Jack progresses up to the summit of the mountain, Ralph and Roger wait somewhere near the top. Jack returns, breathlessly claiming to have seen the monster. Due to the excitement and horror of this claim, Ralph and Roger climb up to have a look. As they reach the summit, a large, shadowy forms with the shape of a giant ape, making a strange flapping sound in the wind. Terrified, the boys sprint down the mountain to warn the others.

Chapter Six: Beast from Air

As the boys sleep, military airplanes battle above the island. The twins Sam and Eric, who were supposed to watch the signal fire, have fallen asleep. During the battle, a dead parachutist drifts down from the sky onto the island. His chute becomes tangled in some rocks and flaps in the wind, while his shape casts fearful shadows on the ground. His head seems to rise and fall as the wind blows. As Sam and Eric wake from their sleeping, they see these shadows mistakenly as a beast and sprint towards the camp. As the twins tell Ralph of what they thought to have seen, Ralph immediately calls for a meeting. At this meeting the twins restate what they had told Ralph. The boys, horrified by the twins’ claims, organize an expedition to search the island for monsters. They set out, armed with wooden spears, while Piggy and the younger children remain behind. As the older boys set out to find the beast, Ralph allows Jack to lead them. The search group then reaches a part of the island that they have never seen before-a small walkway that leads to a hill filled with small caves. Scared, Ralph then orders the boys to stay put as he ventures further into the area. He quickly regains his confidence when he explores on his own though. Jack then joins Ralph and the group soon afterward follows. Ralph and Jack begin to feel the resentment of each other die down. Quickly after, the other boys begin to play games, pushing rocks into the sea. Lastly, Ralph angrily reminds them that they are looking for the beast. Ralph also reminds the boys to create another smoke signal while the other boys, lost in plans to build a fort and do other things on the new hill, are displeased by Ralph’s commands but obey.