Characters
Who is the fair-haired boy elected chief at the beginning who represents order and civilization?
Who is Ralph?
What object is used to call meetings and comes to symbolize authority and democratic order?
What is the conch?
How do the boys arrive on the island at the start of the novel?
What is they are evacuated from a war zone in a plane that crashes on the island?
The conflict between Ralph and Jack can be read as an allegory for the struggle between which two societal forces?
What is Civilization/order (Ralph) vs. savagery/chaos (Jack)?
Identify the literary device used in the phrase “the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments.”
What is Hyperbole / vivid imagery (either is acceptable)
Which character becomes the leader of the hunters and gradually embraces savagery?
Who is Jack?
What does the signal fire primarily symbolize for the boys?
What is the hope of rescue (or connection to civilization)?
Why do the boys fail to maintain the signal fire at an early point, and what consequence follows?
What is Jack and the hunters allow the fire to go out while hunting; a ship passes and the boys miss being rescued?
In allegorical terms, Piggy often stands for which aspect of society or human nature?
What is Intellect and rationality (or the scientific-minded, logical side of society)?
Around what mid-20th-century global event was Lord of the Flies written, which influences its themes of violence and human nature?
What is World War II (post–World War II era)
Name the intelligent, asthmatic boy who tries to maintain rationality and is associated with the conch.
Who is Piggy?
Which symbol on the island represents the descent into savagery and the boys’ belief in a terrifying force?
What is the “beast” / fear (also the dead parachutist as its false form)
Describe the sequence that leads to the first real death on the island.
What is the boys mistake Simon for a beast, killing him in a frenzy?
How can Simon’s role and fate be interpreted in a Christian-allegorical reading?
What is a Christ-like or prophetic figure who understands truth and is killed by the society that cannot accept it?
What type of figurative language is used here, "" Anyone who breaks the rules Whee-oh, Wacco, Bong, Doink!
What is onomatopoeia?
Which boy is gentle, shy, and killed by the frenzied group; his death marks a point of no return?
Who is Simon?
What does Piggy’s glasses represent, especially when they are damaged or stolen?
What is rationality, science, and the power of intellectual thought?
What event or discovery causes the boys to split into two distinct groups?
What is the division after the hunt and debate over priorities when Jack forms his own tribe after stealing fire and Piggy’s glasses
What larger political or social system is suggested by the boys’ attempts to form rules, vote, and elect leaders?
What is democratic government / social contract (and the challenges of maintaining it)
This object is described as being “as fragile as a soap bubble,” symbolizing both democracy and the boys’ fading hope for order.
What is the conch?
This character in Lord of the Flies begins with subtle cruelty—throwing stones near, but not at, the littluns—foreshadowing his later embrace of complete savagery and violence.
Who is Roger?
The “Lord of the Flies” itself (the sow’s head on a stick) most directly symbolizes what idea or concept?
What is the innate evil or corruption within humans / the devil or satanic presence?
What ends the boys’ rule on the island and forces them to confront what they’ve become?
A naval officer arrives (attracted by the massive fire) and rescues them—this intervention exposes the boys’ savage state
Explain how the island’s breakdown can be read as an allegory for the fragile nature of civilized society when removed from legal or institutional constraints.
What is it shows that civilized norms are fragile; without institutions and shared agreements, human impulses can lead to violence and tyranny.
This item becomes a symbol of power when Jack uses it to assert control and authority over his hunters.
What is the spear?