Information about Lord of the Flies

Dr. Grimaldi’sEnglish 2 Honor’sClass Notes

Themes

The most obvious of the themes is man's need for civilization. Contrary to the belief that man is innocent and society evil, the story shows that laws and rules, policemen and schools are necessary to keep the darker side of human nature in line. When these institutions and concepts slip away or are ignored, human beings revert to a more primitive part of their nature.

Themes

Evil (the beast) is within man himself.

Golding implies that the loss of innocence has little to do with age but is related to a person's understanding of human nature. It can happen at any age or not at all. Painful though it may be, this loss of innocence by coming to terms with reality is necessary if humanity is to survive.

Themes

Fear of the unknown on the island revolves around the boys' terror of the beast. The recognition that no real beast exists, that there is only the power of fear, is one of the deepest meanings of the story.

They’re the real thing

Golding establishes a sense of reality by his descriptions of the boys and by the language of their conversations with each other.

The boys have ordinary physical attributes and mannerisms of young boys. The group includes a variety of physical types: short, tall, dark, light, freckled, tow-headed, etc…

...They’re the real thing

To stress the universality of their later actions, Golding takes great pains to present the boys as normal. The ‘littluns” suck their thumbs, eat sloppily, etc…, while the older ones roll about in the sand, stand on their heads, and swim.

...They’re the real thing

Even their unkindness to Piggy is credible, for children often display a natural cruelty to anyone they consider different or inferior.

Life among the savages

Nor does their metamorphosis from ordinary schoolboys into bloodthirsty savages seem unlikely, for Golding has taken the descent one step at a time.

Characters as symbols

Ralph=common sense, and responsibility

Jack=immediate gratification and irresponsible authority

Piggy=ineffective intellectualism

Simon=mystic, religious side of man. Understands good and evil but no communication.

Samneric=incapable of acting independently. They represent loss of identity through fear of the beast.

Characters as symbols

Dead parachutist= the “sign,” evil developing on the island

Each of the characters represents a part of man.

...Characters as symbols

We all have good, evil, common sense, intelligence, a sense of nature within us.

Objects as symbols

Conch shell law and order The shell loses

authority as anarchy grows.

The conch fades in color and power. Its power is broken with the “fall of piggy.”

Lord of the Flies Refers to the head of

the pig which Jack has left as an offering to the “beast”

Literal translation of the “Beelzebub”, prince of demons

Symbolizes man’s capacity for evil

Objects as symbols

Huts represent the desire

to preserve civilization

When Jack gains power they move into caves like the animals they have become.

Fire Its use divides

civilization from savagery.

Ralph uses it for hope; Jack for cooking.

It is Jack’s group that allows the fire (hope) to go out.

Objects as symbols

Piggy’s glasses They signify man’s

ability to perceive, to think. That thought can be misused for destructive purposes is shown when Piggy’s glasses are used to smoke Ralph out.

Night and Darkness an archetypal symbol

of evil, “the powers of darkness”

The boys would have recognized the parachutist in the daylight, as would they have Simon. The beast is more real at night.

Objects as symbols

Face paint The paint helps the

boys hide from their own consciences, turning them into anonymous savages who are freed from the restraints of “civilized” behavior.

Stick sharpened on both ends

represents how much evil has taken the boys over

First it was used to offer the beast the pig sacrifice.

It would have been used to offer Ralph.

Jack

Jack, chief representative of evil in the novel, is too inhibited by society’s teachings to slay the piglet the first day. He later progresses to exhilaration in his first kill.

…Jack

Eventually he comes to kill for the sheer thrill of slaughter rather than the need for meat, and this becomes the motive for hunting.

Ralph

Ralph, a tall, blond twelve year old, establishes himself as the leader of the boys when he blows the conch shell to call the first assembly. Throughout the story, he struggles to maintain order and is forced to compete with Jack for respect.

Dynamic character

A dynamic character is one who undergoes a change during the story because he learns a truth or comes to a realization about himself.

Ralph is such a character.

A. His initial character

1. Enjoys the absence of adults on the island

2. Popular3. Indifferent to Piggy4. Enjoys the island5. Likes Jack6. Trusts others7. Refuses to accept

the beast.

B. What changes him

1. Decay of order2. Insistence on rules3. Need for intelligence4. Brutal behavior

revealed5. Savagery in Jack6. Betrayed by all7. Savagery in himself

and other

C. Character change

1. Wishes adults were present on the island

2. An outcast3. Appreciates and misses

Piggy4. Hates the island5. Fears Jack6. Trusts no one7. Knows the beast is

within