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