LORD OF THE FLIES

SUMMARY:

The book indicates that it takes place in the midst of an unspecifiednuclear war. Some of the marooned characters are ordinary students, while others arrive as a musical choir under an established leader. Most (with the exception of the choirboys) appear never to have encountered one another before.

The book portrays their descent into savagery; left to themselves in a paradisiacal country, far from modern civilisation, the well-educated children regress to a primitive state.

ALLEGORY:A STORY WITH TWO LEVELS OF

MEANING.At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conflicting human impulses toward civilization—living by rules, peacefully and in harmony—and toward the will to power. How these play out, and how different people feel the influences of these, form a major subtext of Lord of the Flies.

1950S- POST WWII AND THE COLD WAR

PLOT British plane crashes on or near an isolated island Two boys—the fair-haired Ralph and an overweight, bespectacled boy

reluctantly nicknamed "Piggy"—find a conch Ralph is elected chief despite boys choir, led by Jack Merridew Two primary goals: have fun and maintain smoke signal Ralph, Jack and Simon form the troika of leaders: Jack hunting, Ralph

leader, Simon construction/protection Paranoia seeps in – the BEASTT Jack arranges hunting party to slay the wild pig, consequently missing the

ship. Ralph is convinced by Piggy to keep his leadership

PLOT Sam and Eric discover corpse of pilot and parachute – mistake as THE BEAST Tensions raised between Jack and Ralph during meeting Schism at Castle Rock. The introduction of Jack’s tribe. (RISING ACTION) Simon’s visions and discovery of the truth. Simon’s death by the frenzied boys: descend into savagery. (CLIMAX) The theft of Piggy’s glasses Ralph confronts the tribe Tribe captures Sam and Eric The murder of Piggy by Roger. (NO TURNING BACK – DELIBERATE) Torture of Sam

and Eric Conclusion: The end of innocence

IMPORTANT CHAPTERS

Chapter 1: Parameters by which civilisation functions2: Conflict between order and chaos3: Conflict between R and J7: The boar hunt : descend8: The SOW and Simon’s confrontation with LOTF9: Death of Simon (Climax)10: Death of Piggy, Conch and SOW (No Return)12: The ironic conclusion. (Loss of innocence)

A WORLD GOVERNED BY:

FEARDEATHVIOLENCEINHUMANITY

DYSTOPIAS: DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICSEE Attached Worksheet.

CHARACTERS ARCHETYPES

SAVIOR INNOCENTORPHANHEROCAREGIVERREBELVILLAIN

RALPH

RALPH THE RATIONAL LEADER Ralph is described as having "the directness of genuine leadership“ Ralph suggests that a fire be lit because "if a ship comes near the island

they may not notice us“ However, towards the end of the book he forgets the initial reason for

maintaining the fire  It should be noted that Ralph has a tendency to be polite and logical in the

tensest of moments; for example, when the children are obliged to investigate Castle Rock, Ralph takes the lead despite being afraid of "the beast".

Ralph embodies good intentions in the implementation of reason, but ultimately fails to execute these plans soundly. Ralph's refusal to resort to violence throughout the novel is counterpoised by Jack's inherent love of violence

PIGGY

PIGGY THE INTELLECTUAL

Old archetype used to represent knowledge and wisdom beyond physical sight

Piggy has been described as "the only adult-type figure on the island“

His intellect benefits the group only through Ralph; he acts as Ralph's adviser. He cannot be the leader himself because he lacks leadership qualities and has no rapport with the other boys.

Piggy relies on the power of social convention. He believes that holding the conch gives him the right to be heard. He believes that upholding social conventions produces results.

he is the most intellectual of the boys, frequently appealing to reason

PIGGY THE BLIND PROPHET Even up to the moment of his death, Piggy's perspective does not

shift in response to the reality of their situation. Because his eminently intellectual approach to life is modelled on

the attitudes and rules of the authoritative adult world, he thinks everyone should share his values and attitudes as a matter of course.

When Ralph and Piggy confront Jack's tribe about the stolen spectacles, Piggy asks "Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill? ... law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?"[18] as if there is no doubt that the boys would choose his preference.

JACK

JACK THE PRIMAL Jack epitomises the worst aspects of human nature when

unrepressed or un-tempered by society. Like Ralph, Jack is a natural leader.

Unlike Ralph, Jack appeals to more primal desires in the children and relies on his status as leader of the choirboys to justify his authority.

Although his way of behaving is neither disruptive nor violent at the beginning of the book, he does, at that time, express an unquenchable desire to hunt and kill a pig and spends hours in solitude traversing the island.

 During Jack's metamorphosis, he begins to paint his face with clay and earth, masking his humanity from the pigs and inspiring terrible awe amongst the boys.

JACK THE SAVAGE?

Jack's transition puts him on a collision course with Ralph's elected authority.

As Jack leaves and takes the majority of the boys with him, lured by the promises of meat, play, and freedom, there has arisen a clear dividing line between the two.

Jack represents the irrational nature of the boys, while Ralph represents rationality.

Under Jack's rule, the baseness of human nature is unleashed, and he initiates a period of inter-tribal violence, punishing other children, inciting the frenzy that leads to the 

ROGER

ROGER THE BULLY, MURDERER

Roger, at first, is a simple "bigun" who is having fun during his stay on the island

 The book states that Roger threw the stones to miss, and felt the presence of civilization and society preventing him from harming the children.[22]

 Later, once he feels that all aspects of conventional society are gone, he is left alone to his animal urges.

In the final hunt for Ralph at the end of the novel, Roger is armed with "a stick sharpened at both ends,"[24] indicating his intentions of killing Ralph and offering his head as a sacrifice to the "beast".

He represents the person who enjoys hurting others, and is only restrained by the rules of society.

SIMON

SIMON THE SAVIOR Simon is a character who represents peace and tranquillity and positivity. 

He is often seen wandering off by himself in a dreamy state and is prone to fits of fainting and hallucination, likely epileptic in nature.

Earlier in the novel Simon himself also predicts his own death when he tells Ralph that he will "get back all right",[26] implying that, of the two of them, only Ralph will be saved.

Simon's death represents the loss of truth, innocence, and common sense

Strong parallel to the martyr, or Christ figure. Sacrifices himself for the greater good.

THEMES YOU NEED TO KNOW

THE INDIVIDUAL VS SOCIETYSociety is decided by LAWS, CODES, RULES and STANDARDS.

The individual is governed by FREE WILL.

What will come out of this conflict?

Lord of the Flies shows what happens when children make adult decisions and face adult consequences.

THE DARKNESS OF HUMAN NATURE (VS THE COMMON GOOD)

Is man inherently good or evil?What acts defy the boys as human or inhuman?

Moral dilemmas : Facing evil but not seeing it for what it is

Do we all descend when left to our devices?

Symbols: Beast, Sow’s head

THE LOSS OF INNOCENCE

WHAT IS BEING LOST?WHAT HAPPENS WHEN CHILDREN REALISE THAT PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS?

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENCE ON CHILDREN AND THEIR PROCESS OF MATURATION?

Symbols: Face paint, forest glade (chap 3)

MORALITY VS IMMORALITY WHAT IS OUR CULTURAL VALUES, CODES OF CONDUCT OR SOCIAL

NORMS? WHAT IS RIGHT AND WHAT IS WRONG?

RATIONALITY VS EMOTIONS Rationality is the quality or state of being reasonable, based on

facts or reason. Rationality implies the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons to believe, or of one's actions with one's reasons for action.

QUALITIES OF A LEADER

What makes a good leader?

What are the qualities that make a leader?

What are the different types of leaders in the text?

SYMBOLS

GLASSESMASKSBEELZEBUBTHE CONCHTHE ISLAND

• THE FIRE

• ADULTS

• THE SCAR

• THE OCEAN

THE CONCH

When first blown, it calls the children to an assembly, where Ralph is elected leader. They agree that only the boy holding the conch may speak at meetings to forestall arguments and chaos, and that it should be passed around to those who wish to voice their opinion.

The conch symbolises democracy and, like Ralph, civility and order within the group.

When Piggy is killed, the conch is smashed into pieces,[18] signalling the end of order and the onset of chaos. 

Originally the conch is portrayed as being very vibrant and colourful, but as the novel progresses, its colours begin to fade, the same way society begins to fade on the island.

PIGGY’S GLASSES

Represents the power of science, intellect and societal convention.

Hope and salvation = power.

THE SIGNAL FIRE the signal fire becomes a barometer of the boys’ connection to civilization

What changes from the start to the end?  The signal fire thus functions as a kind of measurement of the strength of the civilized instinct remaining on the island. 

Ironically, at the end of the novel, a fire finally summons a ship to the island, but not the signal fire.

Instead, it is the fire of savagery—the forest fire Jack’s gang starts as part of his quest to hunt and kill Ralph. (THINK! :P)

THE BEAST (WITHIN)

A figment of the imagination

Simon claims it is only as real as what is inside

How does it grow?

THE LORD OF THE FLIES

Where was it placed?Symbol of the power of evilBiblical parallels: Satan, the Devil, Beelzebub

NAVAL OFFICER – THE IRONY Symbol of law and order, society Yet, also the cause of everything. In the last sentence, the officer, embarrassed by the distress of

the children, turns to look at the cruiser from which his party has landed—a symbol of his own adult war.