Lord of the Flies
By William Golding
Study Guide
Key Ideas:
1. The title of the novel, Lord of the Flies, refers literally to the translation of the word Beelzebub, which can mean: the devil, Satan, or chief devil. When the head of a pig is impaled on a stick and begins to attract flies, the boys refer to it as the Lord of the flies. It represents the devil in form, though throughout the book, Golding shows how evil is present in all of us and within the boys themselves.
2. In the beginning the mood is one of joy and freedom as the boys discover an island paradise without adults. The mood, however, slowly turns to one of darkness and fear, as everything breaks up. At the end, there is no authority or discipline, only savagery, evil, death, and destruction.
3. From beginning to end, Golding has structured Lord of the Flies around the ideas of man's fallen nature and his basic inhumanity to his fellow man. The novel begins with a group of boys who have tried to escape the ravages and savagery of a nuclear war. They crash on an island, a beautiful, tropical paradise. The boys are delighted to be there, away from adults and rules. But they quickly turn their freedom into a nightmare, reverting from civilized to primitive; in the process they become savages and two boys are killed.
4. The symbolic outcome of the story is tragic. The boys revert to a base state of evil and savagery. They ignore the rational advice of Ralph and Piggy and begin to relish brutality, killing Simon and Piggy in the process. Through the outcome, Golding says that mankind often reverts to evil and savagery when placed in a natural, uncivilized environment.
SYMBOLISM
The novel is full of colorful symbolism. Some of the symbols are interpreted below:
The Island - It represents a Garden of Eden, then after the boys arrive, it represents the corrupt nature of mankind.
Piggy's eyeglasses - represents wisdom and knowledge.
The conch shell - represents civilization and authority. It is also a symbol of democracy.
The Signal fire - represents hope and salvation; rescue.
The death of Piggy and the destruction of the conch - represents the absolute breakdown of society and reason.
The pig's head on the spear - represents evil/Satan/darkness.
Lord of the Flies page 2
LIST OF MAIN CHARACTERS:
Ralph
Jack Merridew
Piggy
Simon
USE OF LITERARY DEVICES:
Dramatic Irony
Jack says, “We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages.”
Hyperbole
“They walked along, two continents of experience and feeling…”
Foreshadowing
Simon says twice to Ralph, “You’ll get back all right.”
Personification
“Authority sat on his shoulder and chattered in his ear…”
“The sun gazed down like an angry eye.”
Simile
“The sun gazed down like an angry eye.”
Alliteration
“…hopeless fear on flying feet rushing through the forest.”
Metaphor
“He…became fear: hopeless fear…”
Lord of the Flies page 3
IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER:
● This story is written from the all-knowing narrator, third person point of view.
● The setting of the story is an uninhabited island in the South Pacific.
● The fire on the mountain is a means of signaling to passing ships. It also symbolizes civilization.
● Piggy contributes to the signal fire by allowing his glasses to be used as a fire starter.
● Jack and Ralph are at odds because they have different goals. Jack feels hunting for meat is the most important thing and Ralph wants to provide shelter for the boys and plan a rescue.
● Ralph, Piggy, and Simon are in conflict with the rest of the boys because they are the voices of reason trying to re-establish a society that will result in their working together to be saved.
● The beast from the air is a dead pilot that has landed on the island. His parachute is caught in the trees and flaps in the wind creating the illusion of a living breathing creature.
● Simon hallucinates that the pig’s head is speaking to him.
● Simon climbs the mountain, sees the beast for what it is and returns to the group to tell them. The hunters are dancing and chanting around the pig’s head and when Simon stumbles out of the forest, they mistake him for the beast and kill him in a frenzy of spears, claws, and teeth.
● Piggy is the next boy to die. Roger pushes a large rock and knocks Piggy over the side of the cliff. The conch shell is crushed as well signifying the end of law and order.
● Ralph realizes that he is in danger and hides in the underbrush. The boys set fire to the underbrush to draw Ralph out and set fire to the entire island.
● The boys are rescued by a naval officer that was attracted to the island by the smoke.
Be prepared to discuss one of the following:
● The three beasts and what they appear to be as well as the source of the real beast.
● The progression of savagery of Jack and the hunters.
● The natural condition of man: are we inherently good or evil?
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