Lord of the Flies Chapter 7 Summary
by William Golding

Shadows and Tall Trees

As they make their way to the mountain they stop to eat and rest and Ralph thinks about how dirty and scraggly they all look. He yearns to have his hair cut and take a bath -- revealing again his character and longing to hold back the wild.

They start off and Jack finds traces of a pig. They decide to hunt it. A boar is found and Ralph wounds him with his spear. He is delighted that he made the only strike on the animal. The boar gets away and the hunters begin to dance again, but this time it is a little different. Robert is playing the part of the pig, but the kids are a slightly out of hand and some of the fake blows to the "pig" are landing hard. Even Ralph, who previously shunned the dance and chanting feels that, "...the desire to squeeze and hurt was overmastering." Here is the first time we see Ralph having trouble suppressing the Beast.

They continue to the mountain and Simon is sent through the forest to tell Piggy and the others that the hunting party will not be back before dark. Night falls as they reach the base of the mountain and the boys argue about whether or not they should wait until morning to scale it. Jack goes to the top and comes back down, reporting that he saw something billowing up on top. They all climb to the summit and see the Beast. Instead of fighting it and finding out that it is only a man, they run. As they flee, "...the creature lifted its head, holding toward them a ruin of a face."