Background
Characters
Characters
Theme
Symbols
100

Author of Lord of the Flies

William Golding 

100
The novel’s protagonist, the twelve-year-old English boy who is elected leader of the group of boys marooned on the island. _______ attempts to coordinate the boys’ efforts to build a miniature civilization on the island until they can be rescued. ______ represents human beings’ civilizing instinct, as opposed to the savage instinct that Jack embodies.
Ralph
100
A pair of twins closely allied with Ralph. Sam and Eric are always together, and the other boys often treat them as a single entity, calling them. Part of the group known as the “bigguns.” At the end of the novel, they fall victim to Jack’s manipulation and coercion.
Sam and Eric
100
What makes the boys revert to an inferior state of life?
Savagery and fear
100
Represents authority, power, and order
Conch shell
200
The novel’s antagonist, one of the older boys stranded on the island. _____ becomes the leader of the hunters but longs for total power and becomes increasingly wild, barbaric, and cruel as the novel progresses. ____, adept at manipulating the other boys, represents the instinct of savagery within human beings, as opposed to the civilizing instinct Ralph represents.
Jack
200
The name given to the sow’s head that Jack’s gang impales on a stake and erects in the forest as an offering to the “beast.” The Lord of the Flies comes to symbolize the primordial instincts of power and cruelty that take control of Jack’s tribe.
Lord of the Flies
200
The novel suggests the the defects of society can be traced back to the defects of what?
Human nature
200
Represents hope and salvation, but also destruction
fire
300

The year Lord of the Flies was published

1954

300
A shy, sensitive boy in the group. ________, in some ways the only naturally “good” character on the island, behaves kindly toward the younger boys and is willing to work for the good of their community. Moreover, because his motivation is rooted in his deep feeling of connectedness to nature, _______ is the only character whose sense of morality does not seem to have been imposed by society. ______ represents a kind of natural goodness
Simon
300
the younger boys who are among those marooned on the island. They are in the younger ages, about 6 and below. They have not yet transitioned into the older group which has its adventures with the older boys who become more savage as the novel goes on and Jack leads them
Littluns
300
How does Jack control the other boys?
through fear and manipulation
300
Represent fear and evil
the beast/Lord of the Flies
400

What was William Golding's profession, from which he gathered quite a bit of inspiration for the book?

English teacher for high school boys

400
Ralph’s “lieutenant.” A whiny, intellectual boy, ______’s inventiveness frequently leads to innovation, such as the makeshift sundial that the boys use to tell time. _________ represents the scientific, rational side of civilization
Piggy
400
A bigun who becomes one of Jack's key supporters, accompanying him on the raids on Ralph's camp.
Maurice
400
According to the novel, what is man's natural state?
Cruel and savage-- animalistic
400
Represent reason and science
Glasses
500

What was William Golding's OTHER profession and what event caused him to write Lord of the Flies?

Naval Officer

Holocaust 

500
Jack’s “lieutenant.” A sadistic, cruel older boy who brutalizes the littluns and eventually murders Piggy by rolling a boulder onto him.
Roger
500
A littlun who has a nervous breakdown and is often picked on by the other littluns. He introduces the idea that the beast might arrive from the sea.
Percival
500
What does Golding constantly compare the boys to and why?
animals--to illustrate their savage/animalistic nature
500
Represents the garden of Eden
the island
M
e
n
u