Notes on Lord of the Flies Themes: The Need for Social Order Power Vision Fear of the Unknown Loss of Identity Loss of Innocence

Notes on Lord of the Flies The Need for Social Order The boys are separated from civilization They attempt to create their own form of order and government Without someone to enforce the rules, the boys fail to observe their own rules The boys eventually abandon the rules of civilization Without social order, the boys commit acts of savagery and murder

Notes on Lord of the Flies Power To Ralph, power is democratic The conch becomes a symbol of power To Jack, power is authoritarian Jack treats the members of his choir cruelly The littluns begin to exercise power of small creatures Roger enjoys unrestrained power

Notes on Lord of the Flies Vision Mirages impair the boy’ vision Although Piggy’s vision is poor, he can see most clearly what they need to do to survive Piggy is blind to the reality that evil exists in the boys themselves Simon has the clearest vision of the true nature of evil on the island Only Simon sees the “Lord of the Flies” Only Simon goes to the mountaintop to see the beast clearly in the daylight.

Notes on Lord of the Flies Fear of the Unknown The boys are afraid because they do not know where they are, why their plane crashed, or what will happen if they are not rescued. The littluns fear the beastie or snake-like thing that comes in the dark The bigguns fears beasts that are still unknown “The Beast” – Snake-like thing – the dead parachutist – The Lord of the Flies – Simon - The boys themselves

Notes on Lord of the Flies Loss of Identity The boys begin to lose their individual identities: littluns, bigguns, samneric The choir becomes hunters The mask allows the boys to become someone else Jack’s followers become a savage tribe Ralph has difficulty remember he is the leader and why rescue is important Percival forgets his own name

Notes on Lord of the Flies Loss of Innocence Ralph’s faith in democracy is shattered Following the rules offers no protection Piggy’s belief in fairness is proven false Violence takes the lives of three boys The boys come to accept the notion that the world is not completely good

Notes on Lord of the Flies The Symbol of the Shell The shell sybolizes power and order on the island The boy holding the shell has the floor to speak at assemblies When the shell is shattered, any semblance of order is gone

Notes on Lord of the Flies The Characters Ralph – “counsel” Good-natured, fair, uses common sense Jack – “one who takes over by force” Uses fear and threats to control the boys Simon – “listener” Most spiritual character, not afraid to go alone into the jungle, understands the reality of the “beast”

Notes on Lord of the Flies The Characters 4. Piggy – obvious meaning The most intelligent on the island, outcast, outsider, his death is foreshadowed by the killing of pigs on the island 5. Roger – “Spear” the cruelest character, uses brute force at whim, dislodges the boulder that kills Piggy, represents the worst in people when there is no society to keep people in check

Notes on Lord of the Flies For Consideration: Simon as a “Christ figure”: Simon goes alone into the jungle and confronts evil. Simon comes down from the mountain bringing news that will save the boys from their fear. Instead of listening to Simon, the other boys kill him.

Notes on Lord of the Flies For Consideration: “Lord of the Flies” – A literal translation of “Beelzebub,” a Hebrew name for the devil. The “Lord of the Flies” represents the incarnation of evil itself.

Notes on Lord of the Flies For Consideration: Natural Goodness of Man Theory: Left to themselves, humans would live good lives, and it is the influence of civilization that corrupts people.

Notes on Lord of the Flies For Consideration: Golding has said that Lord of the Flies is “an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” He acknowledges evil as a force that lurks within every person.