George Suchy Sophomore English Lord of the Flies

Order versus chaos As we saw in our discussion of The Hobbit we noted the theme of order versus chaos, while reading Lord of the Flies I hope you have noted a similar theme. We see the group of boys separate into order (Ralph and Piggy) and chaos ( Jack and Roger). What Golding tries to accomplish is to show the duality of the boys as each resort to violence while still maintaining order. Jack and Roger have their own group with obvious ranks and positions but it is still utter chaos while on the other hand we see Ralph and Piggy argue and fight but still maintain order. This illustrates the duality of modern society which rages wars and is constantly in a state of flux but still keeps order. -What other themes does Golding use throughout the novel?

Religion Golding uses a combination of satanic imagery such as death, torture and of course the literal Lord of the flies. This is set against the Christ like Simon, who in death is seen with a halo of light over his head. We also see the conversation between Simon and the pig head which is a parallel between Jesus’ and Satan's conversation during Jesus’ 40 day trek into the wilderness. Where does this parallel fall apart ? What other religious imagery is used in the novel?

Symbolism The Conch is seen as two things hope and despair. This ties back into Golding's use of duality within the characters to give even the nonhuman characters dual sides. We see the conch as the initial signs of control in the first several chapters and it slowly morphs into a position of power itself. It is hope that one day they will be saved after their ordeal. Once it broke it shows how the horrors of the island have overtaken it. Piggy's glasses are another symbol. They symbolize what Piggy symbolized; science, control, thinking. We see that they are some of the only technology on the island and are used to start fires and cook with. Then when Jacks gang steals them and they end up broken we see how little thinking is actually being done, at that point it is all about survival. Here is the scene from the 1990 movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =zqrREfjDS-c

Citations Slide three pig head drawing courtesy of ~TDSpiral on DeviantART.com Slide 3 features a clip from the 1963 Lord of the Flies film on Youtube Slide 4 features a clip from the 1990 Lord of the Flies film on Youtube Slide 1 features clipart from Powerpoint