Notes on Lord of the Flies

1. Notes on Lord of the Flies • Themes: • The Need for Social Order • Power • Vision • Fear of the Unknown • Loss of Identity • Loss of Innocence

2. Notes on Lord of the Flies • The Need for Social Order • The boys are separated from civilization • They attempt to create their own form of order and government • Without someone to enforce the rules, the boys fail to observe their own rules • The boys eventually abandon the rules of civilization • Without social order, the boys commit acts of savagery and murder

3. Notes on Lord of the Flies • Power • To Ralph, power is democratic • The conch becomes a symbol of power • To Jack, power is authoritarian • Jack treats the members of his choir cruelly • The littluns begin to exercise power of small creatures • Roger enjoys unrestrained power

4. Notes on Lord of the Flies • Vision • Mirages impair the boy’ vision • Although Piggy’s vision is poor, he can see most clearly what they need to do to survive • Piggy is blind to the reality that evil exists in the boys themselves • Simon has the clearest vision of the true nature of evil on the island • Only Simon sees the “Lord of the Flies” • Only Simon goes to the mountaintop to see the beast clearly in the daylight.

5. Notes on Lord of the Flies • Fear of the Unknown • The boys are afraid because they do not know where they are, why their plane crashed, or what will happen if they are not rescued. • The littluns fear the beastie or snake-like thing that comes in the dark • The bigguns fears beasts that are still unknown • “The Beast” – Snake-like thing – the dead parachutist – The Lord of the Flies – Simon - The boys themselves

6. Notes on Lord of the Flies • Loss of Identity • The boys begin to lose their individual identities: littluns, bigguns, samneric • The choir becomes hunters • The mask allows the boys to become someone else • Jack’s followers become a savage tribe • Ralph has difficulty remember he is the leader and why rescue is important • Percival forgets his own name

7. Notes on Lord of the Flies • Loss of Innocence • Ralph’s faith in democracy is shattered • Following the rules offers no protection • Piggy’s belief in fairness is proven false • Violence takes the lives of three boys • The boys come to accept the notion that the world is not completely good

8. Notes on Lord of the Flies • The Symbol of the Shell • The shell sybolizes power and order on the island • The boy holding the shell has the floor to speak at assemblies • When the shell is shattered, any semblance of order is gone

9. Notes on Lord of the Flies • The Characters • Ralph – “counsel” • Good-natured, fair, uses common sense • Jack – “one who takes over by force” • Uses fear and threats to control the boys • Simon – “listener” • Most spiritual character, not afraid to go alone into the jungle, understands the reality of the “beast”

10. Notes on Lord of the Flies • The Characters 4. Piggy – obvious meaning • The most intelligent on the island, outcast, outsider, his death is foreshadowed by the killing of pigs on the island • 5. Roger – “Spear” • the cruelest character, uses brute force at whim, dislodges the boulder that kills Piggy, represents the worst in people when there is no society to keep people in check

11. Notes on Lord of the Flies Simon as a “Christ figure”: Simon goes alone into the jungle and confronts evil. Simon comes down from the mountain bringing news that will save the boys from their fear. Instead of listening to Simon, the other boys kill him. • For Consideration:

12. Notes on Lord of the Flies “Lord of the Flies” – A literal translation of “Beelzebub,” a Hebrew name for the devil. The “Lord of the Flies” represents the incarnation of evil itself. • For Consideration:

13. Notes on Lord of the Flies Natural Goodness of Man Theory: Left to themselves, humans would live good lives, and it is the influence of civilization that corrupts people. • For Consideration:

14. Notes on Lord of the Flies Golding has said that Lord of the Flies is “an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” He acknowledges evil as a force that lurks within every person. • For Consideration: