1. ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding
Characterisation and Foreshadowing
and
Chapter 1 Overview

2. Setting
From reading Chapter One, what do we know about where and when Lord of the Flies is set?
We are not told anything specific about the place and time of year in which events of the story happen. But what basic things do we know?
There is a queen in England.
The enemy are the “Reds”.
Nuclear war has destroyed much of the world.
They are on a tropical island with a coral base so it is probably in the Indian or Pacific oceans.
Are we told anything else about the setting?
Worksheet One accompanies this slide.
These basic facts should prompt discussion about how the novel is set during/after wartime and how it reflects the period in which it was written.

3. Setting Golding does not provide a map for his readers to show us
what the island is like. We learn about the setting as the boys move about the island exploring their new
surroundings.
Draw your own map of the island, adding on all the
significant places so far. You will be able to add to this
map as we read the novel.
Worksheet Two accompanies this slide.

4. Foreshadowing What is foreshadowing?
It is a technique of suggesting to the reader that something will happen later in the story.
This is usually something bad, and therefore foreshadowing creates a sense of tension and anticipation.
At the end of Chapter One, Jack has failed to kill the pig:
‘He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy. He looked round fiercely, daring them to contradict.’
Worksheet Six accompanies this slide.
This event foreshadows Jack’s increasingly savage behaviour throughout the novel, beginning when he first succeeds in killing a pig. Students might like to refer back to their predictions and see if they were right.
What does this tell us about Jack?
What could this event be foreshadowing?

5. Characterisation as a technique
Golding’s skill in creating characters we can respond to as complex individuals AND as representative types.
Methods of characterisation:
- Description of actions and thoughts.
- Description of physical appearance.
- How characters react to each other/ Portrayal of relationships.
- Word choice.
- Use of differing points of view.
- Speech and dialogue

6. The four central characters and their development .
The discussion of the development of a character or characters could form part or all of a critical essay answer.
It is hard to imagine how any critical essay on ‘Lord of the Flies’ could avoid dealing with characterisation.
Chapter One
The attributes Golding gives his characters in Ch1 are crucial for their later development and the development of plot and theme.

7. 2. Characterisation and theme contd.
Golding’s four central characters are created and developed in order to communicate his theme. In brief:
Jack embodies evil and allows his potential for cruelty to be exercised as he responds to island life by allowing his behaviour to degenerate. He dominates those around him by violent means.
Ralph attempts to oppose this evil using democracy and bring order to the chaos of island life.
Piggy tries to counteract Jack’s savagery with his intellectual and reasoned approach but becomes the victim of evil.
Simon offers a spiritual or religious opposition to savagery and understands the source of evil on the island : not the Beast but the boys themselves. However he is rejected and like Piggy becomes a victim of evil.

8. Piggy profile Character Appearance Intelligent and sensible –
teaches Ralph
how to blow the
conch, suggests
making a list
of names.
Fat, asthmatic
and short-
sighted.
Background
Worksheet Five accompanies this slide.
Orphan, lives
with aunt.
Different
accent
to others.
Relationships with others
Fears Jack, is taunted by others because of nickname.

9. Piggy in Chapter 1–‘the fat boy’
Social inferiority
Lack of physical strength
Unattractiveness
Reliance on others
Intellect and sensible approach
Caring nature
Association with pigs
Later in the novel...
Piggy is rejected and ridiculed by the other boys even in chapter one – the beginning of the bullying which becomes physical, then fully disabling and culminates in his death.

10. Ralph profile Character Appearance Confident, Tall, blonde
seems to be a
good leader.
Tall, blonde
hair, athletic.
Background
Worksheet Four accompanies this slide.
Students might like to return to the character profiles and add to them after reading each chapter.
Father a
Naval officer.
Relationships with others
Piggy and others look up to
him, friendly with Jack.

11. Ralph in chapter 1 – ‘the fair boy’
Physically attractive and fit.
Delighted at the freedom and beauty of the island.
Positive and determined.
A leader.
Has some imperfections so appears human.
Perceptive – response to Jack/Piggy.
Later in the novel...
Ralph has the bravery and determination to stand up to Jack and try to preserve civilised behaviour. He shows responsibility as leader though does involve himself in violence. Also he has the physical capability to defend Piggy and escape the tribe when he is hunted down at the end of the novel.Finally understands the nature of evil through his encounter with the Lord of the Flies and the deaths of Simon and Piggy.

12. Jack profile Character Appearance Bossy and Thin, red hair
rude – orders
the choir about.
Thin, red hair
and freckles,
mean
expression.
Background
Worksheet Seven accompanies this slide.
Leader of the
choirboys.
Relationships with others
Dominates the choir. Likes
Ralph but takes an immediate
dislike to Piggy.

13. Jack in chapter 1-’the boy who controlled them’
domineering
fierce
a bully
arrogant
violent
Later in the novel…
Jack develops an obsession with hunting and a remorseless bloodlust. Satisfies his need for dominance by becoming the painted Chief of Castle Rock, violently eliminating any opponent.

14. Simon in chapter 1 -’a skinny vivid little boy’
Vulnerable
physically weak
thoughtful and sensitive
Later in the novel...
Simon withdraws from the group to explore the island alone. As early as chapter 5 he tries to suggest the beast is ‘only us’. Simon understands the nature of evil having witnessed the killing of the sow and by discovering the airman’s body. Murdered by the boys when mistaken for the beast.

15. Ralph and Piggy
Ralph and Piggy are the first people we meet in the novel
and are very different in background and character.
We can see this in their contrasting reactions to being
stranded on the island:
Ralph’s excitement suggests he is
adventurous
and fearless
‘…the delight of a realised ambition overcame him…“No grown-ups!”’
Piggy repeats himself, indicating
he is very
anxious
‘“They’re all dead,” said Piggy, “an’ this is an island. Nobody don’t know we’re here. Your dad don’t know, nobody don’t know…’’’
Worksheet Three accompanies this slide.
Possible quotes to show Piggy and Ralph’s feelings about their situation:
Ralph – ‘…he dreamed pleasantly’; ‘Here at last was the imagined but never fully realised place leaping into life.’
Piggy – says repeatedly “We got to do something”; reference made to ‘Piggy’s ill-omened talk’.

16. Top 4 Quotations
Piggy :‘Which is better- to have rules and agree or to hunt and kill?’ (Ch10)
Ralph : ‘…Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart and the fall through the air of the true wise friend called Piggy.’(Ch 12)
Jack: His mask is ‘a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid,liberated from shame and self-consciousness.’(Ch 4)
Simon : ‘However Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick.’(Ch 6 )

17. 4. Characters as representative types or symbols.
Ralph - democracy, the ‘everyman’.
Piggy - the intellectual, knowledge.
Jack- dictatorship/primitivism.
Simon - the spiritual or religious nature of man.

18. Conclusions.
Golding’s four central characters are created and developed in order to communicate his theme.
Our emotional reaction - the horror that young boys can behave in such a way - as we respond to these characters as human beings makes us aware of the inherent evil of mankind.
Our understanding of the boys as representative types or symbolic characters widens the scope of the novel : this novel has a universal theme and continuing relevance today.

19. Chapter 1: “ The Sound of the Shell”
Plane full of British school boys crash.
Somewhere (maybe an island).
Ralph and Piggy meet each other and talk about what to do.
Piggy tells Ralph How he got his nickname.
Ralph’s father is a commander in the Navy.
Piggy finds a conch (When you blow into it, survivors will come).
Ralph becomes chief, Jack becomes choir leader.
Ralph, Simon, and Jack go exploring. They go up a mountain and see their crash site, and the entire island.
They find a pig, and Jack attempts to capture it.
Ashley Foster