Lord of the Flies, Chapters Five and Six

What is cause and effect?

To put it simply, the effect is what happens and the cause is why something happened. When you are reading, you can act like a detective looking for key words in order to determine the cause and effect relationship. Words such as if, then, because, since, or so could all help you in identifying cause and effect. As you continue reading Lord of the Flies, look for these key words and try to identify some of the cause and effect relationships that are present in both Chapters Five and Six.

As the boys spend more and more time on the island, things keep getting worse for them.  The “littl'uns” do not seem to contribute in any meaningful way to gathering food, building shelters, or anything else constructive.  Ralph, Simon, and Piggy are the only ones who spend any time or effort making the shelters.  The boys seem to have forgotten many of the rules that were established at the beginning of the novel, such as where to go to the bathroom and how to behave at the meetings.  In fact, the meetings have become fairly unproductive.

The fire, which was initially created to help them get rescued, has lost its importance to the hunters who were assigned to keep it going.  In these chapters, the hunters become so consumed with the hunt that they let the fire go out.  It is at exactly this time that a ship passes by.  As the boys who are not involved in the hunt see the ship and then quickly notice that there is not any smoke from the fire, they become very agitated and angry.  It is then that the first real fight between Ralph and Jack occurs.

However, it is the idea of the beast that really has the boys all worked up.  They think they hear things and see things for which they have no explanation, so they create the idea of the beast on the island.  The “littl'uns” are the most fearful; however, even the older boys are scared. While there is not any proof of any kind of animal on the island, there are hints in the conversations among the boys that suggest the beast might be one of them or that they should be more afraid of each other than they are of any imaginary beast.

All of these factors contribute to initial downfall of the civilization the boys have established on the island. The boys have lost their focus and are not maintaining the priorities they established.  The society they have established on the island will continue to fall apart more and more as the boys start to divide into different groups.

 

Cause and Effect

Were you able to identify the cause and effect relationships within Chapters Five and Six of Lord of the Flies? In this interactivity, use the previous and next buttons to explore the CAUSES and EFFECTS found in Chapters Five an Six of Lord of the Flies. Click the player button to get started.

View a printable version of this interactivity.

 

Cause and Effect Review

In this non-graded interactivity, read each statement from Lord of the Flies, and decide whether it represents a cause or an effect. To check your answer click SUBMIT. Click the player button to get started.