Lord of the Flies - Revision

1. Lord of the Flies - Revision

2. Key Characters

3. Character Appearance Confident, seems to be a good leader. Tall, blonde hair, athletic. Background Father a Naval officer. Relationshipswith others Piggy and others look up to him, friendly with Jack.

4. Ralph – Key Points • He is an example of the stereotyped protagonist –tall, fair-skinned, blonde hair, blue-eyed. • Elected leader, but not forceful enough to maintain the position. • An idealist and a dreamer – it is Piggy who does all of the thinking for him. • At the end of the novel he is a disillusioned realist, who now sees the world and its inhabitants for what they really are.

5. Piggy profile Character Appearance Intelligent and sensible – teaches Ralph how to blow the conch, suggests making a list of names. Fat, asthmatic and short- sighted. Background Orphan, lives with aunt. Different accent to others. Relationshipswith others Fears Jack, is taunted by others because of nickname.

6. Piggy – Key Points • Piggy is the stereotypical ‘victim’ in the novel – overweight, fat, asthmatic and short-sighted. His presence initially makes the other boys either wince or make fun of him. • He is represented as being of a lower class than the other boys, and consequently speaks and acts differently. • Ironically, he is the boy who speaks the most sense – he is intelligent, thoughtful and able to reason. • He is a paternal figure who looks after and supports the littluns. • He becomes a wise counsellor who supports Ralph’s attempts at democratic, parliamentary rule.

7. Jack profile Character Appearance Bossy and rude – orders the choir about. Thin, red hair and freckles, mean expression. Background Leader of the choirboys. Relationshipswith others Dominates the choir. Likes Ralph but takes an immediate dislike to Piggy.

8. Jack – Key Points • His physical appearance serves as a warning sign – the flame red hair, the pale face that blanches with displeasure. • He is used to taking up a leadership position – first leader of the choir, he becomes leader of the hunters. • He is responsible for splitting the group – he does this by terrorisingthem and offering them a tempting life of hunting and plenty of meat. • His leadership results in a dictatorship, where he rules ‘his’ tribe with fear. • He doesn’t think through the consequences of his actions (as Ralph does), but puts himself first at all times.

9. Simon profile Character Appearance Kind and helpful. Introverted – doesn’t like to speak in assemblies. Likes nature. Small, physically frail, black hair and bright eyes. Background Choirboy. Relationshipswith others Loyal towards Piggy and Ralph. Looked on as strange by the other boys.

10. Simon – Key Points • He is a mystical boy who the other boys find ‘odd’ or ‘queer’. • He goes barefoot and is an isolated figure – Golding deliberately makes Simon a Christ-like figure, the analogy is not coincidental. • He is helpful and cooperative, and the only boy to help Ralph build the shelters. • It is interesting that he is one of the three boys who initially explores the island (with Jack and Ralph – would we overtly notice that he’s there?) • He has a marked physical weakness in that he appears to suffer from epilepsy. • He has a high level of intuitive intelligence and this allows him to confront the boys’ fears about the ‘beast’ • An original member of the choir, he is ultimately killed by the choir in a ritual frenzy (murder/ manslaughter?)

11. Roger profile Character Appearance Quiet and secretive. Cruel – enjoys picking on the littluns. Black hair, gloomy face. Background Is a choirboy. Relationshipswith others Allied with Jack.

12. Roger – Key Points • He is mysterious, secretive, slight . • As Jack’s lieutenant, he comes to think like Jack and does not question the consequences of his actions. • He is a sadist who delights in inflicting pain – he is unnecessarily cruel in the sow killing incident. • He prepares the stick ‘sharpened at both ends’ to mount Ralph’s head.

13. Symbolism – using things or people to represent ideas Fire The fire has good and bad uses. It is useful for attracting rescue, gives warmth and can be used for cooking, but it can be very destructive as we see at the end of the novel. It’s ironic that although Ralph insisted on fire, he was the one who was almost killed by it.

14. LOTF Symbols Piggy’s GlassesThe last surviving evidence of the lawful,structured World. Piggy’s glasses represent intelligence and clear thinking. They are useful for the boys to get the fire started both to attract rescuers and for cooking the meat. When one lens is smashed it represents the lack of clear thinking of the others. The glasses are completely destroyed when Piggy dies and this is Golding’s way of representing the further fall of the boys into chaos and darkness. Conch ShellNew democracy andorder on the island. Colour changes to show a loss of innocence in the boys. Loses its importance as the novel progresses as Jack and his ‘Tribe’ take over. Smashed into a thousand pieces at the end to show loss of order and civilisation

15. Important Images The Beast : The beast is different for different boys. It is represented as the dead parachutist, snakes, the pig’s head and noises heard in the night. The real beast is our deep, dark primeval urges. Lord of the Flies: A pig’s head on a stick that becomes the physical acceptance of evil on the island.

16. Let’swrite!PEEL your answer and use examples OR quotes. Whyis LOTF so popular around the world and why the students think it is important to read and study LOTF?