Characters
Who is the first boy to blow the conch and call a meeting?
Ralph
What is the main idea being conveyed in the novel?
Savagery vs Civilization
What does the conch symbolise?
Law, order, authority
How do the boys end up on the island?
Their plane crashes during an evacuation for war
Who says:
“Which is better – to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
Piggy
What character represents reason and logic?
Piggy
How is the loss of innocence represented and recurring in the novel?
- Simon and Piggy's death
- giving into their primal instincts
- increasing violent tendencies (Robert scenario)
- descending into savagery
What do Piggy's broken glasses symbolise?
- Decline of reason/intellect/rational thinking
- Deterioration of order
- Increasing helplessness within the group (glasses = fire = rescue)
What causes the initial rift between Ralph and Jack?
when Jack prioritizes hunting over maintaining the signal fire, which leads to the fire going out and the boys missing a chance at rescue.
What do Jack and his hunters like to often chant?
"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood"
Who pushed the boulder that killed Piggy?
Roger
How does Ralph implement leadership amongst the group vs Jack?
- Ralph values order, cooperation and democratic leadership
- Jack values fear, violence and authoritarian leadership (control)
How does the fire symbolise hope and destruction at the same time?
- symbolises hope for rescue and connection to civilisation
- goes out: represents fading hope, loss of rescue and beginnings of the descent
Name all the characters, in order of when we're introduced to them
1. Ralph
2. Piggy
3. Jack
4. Simon
5. Roger
6. Sam & Eric
"Ralph wept for the end of _________, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”
Innocence
Explain the conflict/s Ralph is struggling with in reference to the novel
- struggling to maintain order and civility on the island whilst grappling with his own temptations of savagery
- conflict with jack and their opposing leadership styles
- the burden of being a leader and the isolation following no one else sharing his values
How does the theme of fear help to push the story forward?
- fear of remaining on the island (starting the fire)
- fear of the unknown (acting irrationally)
- fear of the beast (ensuing violence and chaos)
- exploitation of fear that pushes the boys' into savagery
What does the Lord of the Flies (pig head on a stick) symbolise?
- the boys darkness/savagery (the beast) within themselves
- physical representation of 'The Beast' that the boys are scared of
- inherent evil or the 'Devil'
What are Ralph's 4 rules?
1. Keep the signal fire burning
2. Whoever has the conch can speak without being interrupted
3. Build shelters
4. Designated bathroom (rocks)
What does Simon's final vision of “The Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon” represent?
The growing/expanding force of the boys' inner savagery
Simon's character is often referred to as 'Christ-like' or compared to Christ. How does Simon's character warrant this comparison?
- represents human goodness by showing kindness, wisdom and insight over the others
- sacrifices his time, food and life
- aware the "beast" is not a literal monster but something within them.
- becomes martyred. Killed while trying to reveal the truth about the "beast"
Name 5 themes Goulding explores in LOTF
*excluding savagery and civilisation
- loss of innocence
- identity, power, fear
- religion, nature, evil
- law & order, knowledge, dark side of human nature
Why did Goulding name the pig head 'Lord of the Flies'?
- direct reference to the Bible. Beelzebub who presides over the 'Order of the Fly'
- the Bible refers to Beezlebub as the prince of devils or as another name for Satan. Inherently evil
- often referred to as Lord of the Flies
How does the escalation of violence parallel the boys descent into savagery?
- small acts of hunting in the beginning (pig/requirement to eat)
- escalation into violence against each other (Robert/boar situation)
- brutal killings of Simon and Piggy (full descent into savagery)
Explain this quote: “The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness,” with reference to Jack's character transformation
- the transformation of Jack as he completes his descent into savagery
- mask allowed him to shed his civilised identity and embrace being a 'savage'
- hid behind the mask so he could embrace his primal instincts without guilt or shame