LORD OF THE FLIES

AN ARCHETYPE OF THE POST- APOCALYPTIC AGE

TRIBES society has a choice Society Civilization Rules Laws Long term goals Plans PIGGY= Intelligence RALPH= fun Group think Power Violence Humiliation Blood-lust Control Military Immediacy Brute force JACK= evil

CHARACTER CONNECTIONS

CHARACTERS AS TYPES / SYMBOLS Intelligence Society, thinker Helps Ralph Goodness / spirituality / mystic = solves the mystery of the beast The dirty Work Sadist Savage loner Brutality Force Violence Division Us vs. them Model boy / democracy followers / traitors

BEFORE AND AFTER What changes the boys? Nature vs. Nurture? Do adults prevent bad behaviour? Socialization? Specific incidents in the novel that change the boys? Personality traits or strength of character?

TRANSFORMATION remove civilization / society and what happens to people? From civilized English schoolboys to violent, murdering savages…

THE ISLAND Idyllic place that provides all the food & water necessary for survival, decent climate, shelter… it should be a great place to be so what goes wrong? It’s not about geography or location…

VISION / CIVILIZATION Piggy’s glasses are a technological invention, a tool for seeing, and a way to start the fire. They represent the power of reason and intelligence. How do the glasses change throughout the novel? What happens to them in the end?

THE CONCH = CIVILIZATION The conch represents order, civilization, democracy, and all the good things about laws in society. Trace the way the conch is treated throughout the novel.

FIRE Destructive but practical, the fire is like a barometer of the boys’ ties to civilization. Maintain signal fire & hope to get rescued = still want to go back to civilization. Trace the development of the symbol throughout the novel.

THE BEAST There is something primal, evil, violent, rude, uncivilized, in all of us. The BEAST is all of us, inside all of us… The beast is everywhere. It comes from the air, the water. It’s in Simon’s glade during their chat. The beast is the physical embodiment of fear.. Shadows, creeper vines, the parachute, things that go bump in the night…

THE BEAST - Beelzebub Literally, when Jack & the choir kill the sow, they put the pig’s head on a stick. It’s left there, rotting, circled with flies, as an offering to the “beast” “The Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the Hebrew word BEELZEBUB which is a derogatory term for the devil, one of the seven princes of hell.

WAR & CHILDREN Are children naturally evil? Did they become this way because of a flaw in human nature? Was it done to them? The loss of innocence. Growing Up. How society changed post- WW2 (genocide, war, totalitarianism)

WEAKNESS & BULLIES Stereotypes of bullies and victims. Ages of the boys. Social structure & pecking order of popularity. Why does no one stand up for Piggy? Why does no one stop Jack? Why is it so hard to build a good world?

ADULTS VS. CHILDREN Would children behave differently if there were adults around? Girls vs. boys? Does their youth makes them less responsible? Is the adult world any different? What controls our actions? What lessons can we take away from this?

THE END OF INNOCENCE The world has forever changed. Post- island, post- WW2 What will they be like in the future? True innocence really means purity, lack of corruption, not being guilty of a crime.

CIVILIZED SOCIETY Golding’s premise is that laws, society, civilization, rules, democracy, and order prevent us from falling into chaos. Our humanity is saved by the rule of law. Discuss!

REASON & FEAR Acting on facts, reasons, proof, evidence, truth is a good thing in a civilized society. Acting on fear, anxiety, paranoia, superstition, primitive urges, rituals designed to placate imaginary beings…

BIBLICAL PARALLELS Garden of Eden = island Serpent = devil Beastie = devil Simon = Christ figure who understands the beast Definitely a “European, Judeo- Christian, white guy, democracy & capitalism are awesome” view of the world.

THE LORD OF THE FLIES “… maybe it’s only us… Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness…” Beast from the Air Ch.5, p. 97

WHY IS THIS AN IMPORTANT NOVEL?