Lord of the Flies Analysis

1. Lord of the Flies Analysis

2. Themes • Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

3. Civilization vs. Savagery • to live by rules, moral commands or • to gratify immediate desires, • obtain supremacy • control power

4. Contd. • civilization vs. savagery, • order vs. chaos • reason vs. impulse • law vs. anarchy • good vs. evil.

5. Examples • P. 1: Introduction to characters • Ralph • Piggy • P. 40 the dissolution of the young English boys' civilized, moral, disciplined behavior to a wild, brutal, barbaric life in the jungle.

6. Examples contd. • Ralph, the protagonist, who represents order and leadership; • Jack, the antagonist, who represents savagery and the desire for power.

7. The Wreckage • Piggy, no savage feelings • Roger seems barely capable of comprehending the rules of civilization. • Golding: savagery more primal and fundamental • Civilization: moral behavior forced upon the individual rather than a natural expression of human individuality.

8. The Human Heart • revert to cruelty, savagery, and barbarism. • innate human evil • finds expression: the beast, the sow's head on the stake. • only Simon seems innately good.

9. Loss of Innocence • well-behaved, orderly • to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters • Chapter 12:hunted, tortured, and killed animals and human beings • Chapter 3: guileless children swimming in the lagoon. • What other ways have the boys lost innocence?

10. Motifs • Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes.

11. Biblical Parallels • subtle motif in the novel, adding thematic resonance to the main ideas of the story. • The island: Eden • the Lord of the Flies: Beelzebub • Simon: Martyr or Christ figure. • Conversation: forty days in the wilderness.

12. Symbols • Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

13. The Conch Shell • powerful symbol of civilization and order, democratic power. • Shows demise: deeper savagery ignores • The conch is crushed in a violent act • Consider how nature is forced to be an instrument of society and science. 

14. Piggy's Glasses • glasses represent the power of science • Science versus nature: new theme 

15. The Signal Fire • barometer of the boys' connection to civilization. • Early, the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued • Burn out: lost sight of their desire to be rescued • Now the fire is a measurement of the strength of the civilized on the island. • Ironically, the forest fire Jack's gang starts to hunt and kill Ralph summons a ship. 

16. The Beast • stands for the primal instinct of savagery • more savage, the beast grows stronger. • leaving it sacrifices and treating it as a god.

17. The Lord of the Flies • The Lord of the Flies is the bloody, severed sow's head that Jack impales. • complicated symbol: Simon confronts the sow's head telling him that evil lies within every human heart and promising to have some “fun” with him. • What is the Fun?

18. Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, Roger • many of its characters signify important ideas or themes. • Ralph represents order, leadership, and civilization. • Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization. • Jack represents unbridled savagery and the desire for power. • Simon represents natural human goodness. • Roger represents brutality and bloodlust at their most extreme.

19. Political State • the littluns might be seen as the common people, • the older boys represent the ruling classes and political leaders. • Ralph and Simon use their power to protect the younger boys and advance the good of the group; • Jack and Roger use their power to gratify their own desires, treating the littler boys as objects for their own amusement.