Lord of the Flies

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Lord of the Flies
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William Golding

• Goldings first and most successful novel, Lord
  of the Flies, was published in England in 1954
  but its popularity was not established until five
  years later when it appeared in paperback.

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William Golding

• This book was followed by a series of other
  novels, each concerned in one way or another with
  the theme of mans capacity for evil The
  Inheritors, Free Fall and The Brass Butterfly.

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Themes

• The most obvious of the themes is man's need for
  civilization. Contrary to the belief that man is
  innocent and society evil, the story shows that
  laws and rules, policemen and schools are
  necessary to keep the darker side of human nature
  in line. When these institutions and concepts
  slip away or are ignored, human beings revert to
  a more primitive part of their nature.

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Themes

• Evil (the beast) is within man himself.
• Golding implies that the loss of innocence has
  little to do with age but is related to a
  person's understanding of human nature. It can
  happen at any age or not at all. Painful though
  it may be, this loss of innocence by coming to
  terms with reality is necessary if humanity is to
  survive.

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Themes

• Fear of the unknown on the island revolves around
  the boys' terror of the beast. The recognition
  that no real beast exists, that there is only the
  power of fear, is one of the deepest meanings of
  the story.

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Theyre the real thing

• Golding establishes a sense of reality by his
  descriptions of the boys and by the language of
  their conversations with each other.
• The boys have ordinary physical attributes and
  mannerisms of young boys. The group includes a
  variety of physical types short, tall, dark,
  light, freckled, tow-headed, etc.

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...Theyre the real thing

• To stress the universality of their later
  actions, Golding takes great pains to present the
  boys as normal. The littluns suck their
  thumbs, eat sloppily, etc., while the older ones
  rolling about the sand, stand on their heads, and
  swim.

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...Theyre the real thing

• Even their unkindness to Piggy is credible for
  children often display a natural cruelty to
  anyone they consider different or inferior.

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Life among the savages

• Nor does their metamorphosis from ordinary
  schoolboys into bloodthirsty savages seem
  unlikely, for Golding has taken the descent one
  step at a time.

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Characters as symbols

• Ralphcommon sense, and responsibility
• Jackimmediate gratification and irresponsible
  authority
• Piggyineffective intellectualism

• Simonmystic, Religious side of man. Understands
  good and evil but no communication.
• Samnericincapable of acting independently. They
  represent loss of identity through fear of the
  beast.

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Characters as symbols

• Dead parachutist the sign, evil developing on
  the island

• Each of the characters represents a part of man.

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...Characters as symbols

• We all have good, evil, common sense,
  intelligence, a sense of nature within us.

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Objects as symbols

• Conch shell
• law and order. The shell looses authority as
  anarchy grows. The conch fades in color and
  power. Its power is broken with the fall of
  piggy.

• Lord of the Flies
• Refers to the head of the pig which Jack has left
  as an offering to the beast. Literal
  translation of the Beelzebub, prince of demons.
  Symbolizes mans capacity for evil

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Objects as symbols

• Huts
• represent the desire to preserve civilization
  when Jack gains power they move into caves like
  the animals they have become.

• Fire
• its use divides civilization from savagery.
  Ralph uses it for hope Jack for cooking. It is
  Jacks group that allows the fire (hope) to go
  out

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Objects as symbols

• Piggys glasses
• They signify mans ability to perceive, to think.
  That thought can be misused for destructive
  purpose is shown when Piggys glasses are used to
  smoke Ralph out.

• Night and Darkness
• an archetypal symbol of evil, the powers of
  darkness. The boys would have recognized the
  chutist in the daylight, as would they have
  Simon. The beast is more real at night

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Objects as symbols

• Stick sharpened on both ends
• Represents how much evil has taken the boys over.
  First it was used to offer the beast the pig
  sacrifice next to offer it Ralphs.

• Face paint
• The paint helps the boys hide from their own
  consciences, turning them into anonymous savages
  who are freed from the restraints of civilized
  behavior.

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Jack

• Jack, chief representative of evil in the
  novel, is too inhibited by societys teachings to
  teachings to slay the piglet the first day, he
  later progresses to exhilaration in his first
  kill.

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Jack

• Eventually he comes to kill for the sheer thrill
  of slaughter rather than the need for meat, and
  this becomes the motive for hunting.

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Ralph

• Ralph is a tall, blond twelve year old,
  establishes himself as the leader of the boys
  when he blows the conch shell to call the first
  assembly. Throughout the story, he struggles to
  maintain order and is forced to compete with Jack
  for respect.

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Dynamic character

• A dynamic character is one who undergoes a change
  during the story because he learns a truth or
  comes to a realization about himself.
• Ralph is such a character.

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A. His initial character

• 1. Enjoys the absence of adults on the island
• 2. Popular
• 3. Indifferent to Piggy
• 4. Enjoys the island
• 5. Likes Jack
• 6. Trusts others
• 7. Refuses to accept the beast.

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B. What changes him

• 1. Decay of order
• 2. Insistence on rules
• 3. Need for intelligence
• 4. Brutal behavior revealed
• 5. Savagery in Jack
• 6. Betrayed by all
• 7. Savagery in himself and other

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C. Character change

• 1. Wishes adults were present on the island
• 2. An outcast
• 3. Appreciates and misses Piggy
• 4. Hates the island
• 5. Fears Jack
• 6. Trusts no one
• 7. Knows the beast is within