Lord of the Flies.

Analysis.

The basis of the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, finds all of the horrible aspects of society and links it back to original human nature. We follow the group of English school boys as they lose their humanity and minds and we are constantly reminded of our capacity for violence. A prominent example of this in the text is the part where Simon has a fit and believes that the pig head on the stick, recently killed by Jack and his gang of hunters, spoke to him and refereed to itself as the Lord of the Flies. “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill […] you knew didn’t you, I’m part of you. Close. close. close. I’m the reason why it’s no go why things are what they are.” It is highly likely that Golding is conveying that the speaking pig head of Simon’s imagination is representing the moral decay and waking hunger for violence and death of the boys on the island. The Lord of the flies, also known as Beelzebub, meaning the devil.

The continual decay of the boys is shown in two main ways. The first being all of the falling throughout the book, the boys falling out of the sky in the plane, the rock falling into the jungle off the cliff, the parachuter falling into the trees from the sky, the conch falling and breaking and most importantly Piggy falling off the rock and Ralph falling at the navy mans feet. These all emphasis the falling of human kind and civilization. The second is the loss of Piggy’s sight and it comes as loss of reason. Jack takes the glasses in order to a make fire for his feast, disregarding the signal fire which needs to be lit, it represents the transition from reason to savagery.

Allegory

William is linking the small society of the island back to human society in the world and using small scale events and characters to represent larger constitutions in the outside world. The demoralization of the boys because of loss of law and order only barely measure the effects of the same conditions would have on the world.

 

Object Analysis

Fire.

  • How is it described/introduced in the text?
  • How is it used? It is a signal beacon for passing ships as a sign of life on the island in hope that it will come and rescue them. The boys relied on it for any hope of survival.
  • Find quotes where it is mentioned?
  • What ideas does it convey? The fire is symbolizing civilization and the children’s hope of being rescued. Ralph grasps to keep the fire going as he believes so strongly as it’s their only hope. When the fire is disregarded by Jack and his group they are throwing out civilization.

Pig Head.

  • How is it described/introduced in the text?
  • How is it used? It is stabbed by a two ended stick and stuck in the ground by the hunters as a gift for the beast.
Character analysis.

Name: Ralph

Appearance: Fair Hair, Male, Young, Taller than Piggy, Past Childhood, Boxers Body.

Language: “Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things.”

Origins: English Countryside.

Relationships:

  • with Piggy ( intellect and reason ) : cooperative relationship.
  • with Jack ( competitive / rival ) : evil.
Quotes.

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.”

“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.”

“We did everything adults would do. What went wrong?”

“The rules!” shouted Ralph, “you’re breaking the rules!”
“Who cares?”

“The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream.”

Quote weaving.

The boys try to establish order but without adults or a higher power they are always “breaking the rules!”. They did everything the “adults would do” yet they still feel into a state of savagery.

Practice Exam. Not Finished.

Question 1: Describe at least one important object in the written text. Explain why that object was important.

In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the main theme finds all of the horrible aspects of society and links it back to original human nature, this is portrayed through the important object, the pig’s head on the stick. Throughout the novel, Golding imposes little clues and symbols conveying that as the boys spend more time away from civilization and as they lose their humanity, original human nature comes through and they turn to violence and savagery.

The important object in the text revolves around the idea of the boys living in a small scale society but without rules or laws they quickly descend into savagery, and the pig’s head on the stick is this center of this symbolism. In Chapter 9 when Simon has a fit and believes that the pig’s head stabbed upon the stick, recently killed by Jack and his gang of hunters, spoke to him and referred to itself as the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the flies, also known as Beelzebub, meaning the devil which is Golding placing a large clue towards the intentions of the scene. The Lord of the Flies goes on to say “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill […] you knew didn’t you, I’m part of you. Close. close. close. I’m the reason why it’s no go why things are what they are.” This shows that Golding is conveying that the speaking pig head of Simon’s imagination is representing the moral decay and waking hunger for violence and death of the boys on the island.