Lotf test review

Lord ‘

of the Flies’

TEST REVIEW

William Golding

Title Translation

“Beelzebub” a Hebrew word for

LUCIFER

However, the literal translation of “Beelzebub”

into English is LORD OF THE FLIES

About William Golding

• British novelist

• Born on September 19, 1911, died 1993

• Studied Science and English at Oxford

• Fought in Royal Navy during WWII

• Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day

• At war’s end, returned to teaching and writing

• Earned the Nobel Prize in Literature

In the decade before LOTF was published, Britain had been involved

in two wars:•WWII •Korean War

LORD OF THE FLIES

Influences on the Book

WWII Nazism & the The Third Reich

As a child, Golding had witnessed WWI, which was referred to as “the war to end all wars”

However, 22 years later Britain was again involved in ANOTHER WAR to end all wars, which caused more devastation than was imaginable

Through LOTF, Golding is making the statement that we cannot escape our

savage, violent tendencies…

…and without social order,we devolve

into a state of chaos

Point of View…

• Lord of the Flies is

told in the

omniscient point of

view.

• The narrator is “all-

knowing” and tells of

the events as they

unfold.

Setting There are several key ideas in

Lord of the Flies that are

revealed by setting.

Lord of the Flies

The Island• The island is a perfect

microcosm. It is like an ant-farm.

• A microcosm is a mini-society.

• Limited resources.

• Population of leaders/followers.

Lord of the Flies

The Symbolism of the Island • Different areas of the island are

associated with different ideas.• Beach = Dreams/hope of rescue

• Mountain = Mystery, truth, spiritual place

• Bush = Ritual, concealment, The boys’ reaction to

the bush is symbolic of how the boys will ultimately

respond to the desperate situation that they are in.

• Rocky-outcrop = savagery, death

Lord of the Flies

The Setting…

• After being evacuated during an atomic war, the boys in

the novel crash land on a tropical island. They are thought

to be somewhere in the Pacific or Indian Ocean.

• The events of the novel take place on this island, as the

boys are stuck there in hopes of being rescued.

The Island Personified

1. Personification is used throughout the

text to make the natural world seem

sinister. Find 3 examples of

personification used to describe a

feature of the island.

2. Why might Golding have used

personification to this effect? What is

his purpose?

Lord of the Flies

Allusions• Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the

main characters from The Coral Island.

• Simon from the Bible “Simon called Peter”,

Peter was the other boy’s name in The

Coral Island

• Mention of Coral Island and Treasure

Island

• Numerous biblical allusions throughout

Character Analysis

• Ralph ~ Main character described as “fair haired,” having “broad shoulders…[like a] boxer’s,” and has a face that “proclaims no devil”

Committed to civilization and morality

Translation = GOOD

Character Analysis

• Piggy \ Described as

“fat,” “intellectual,”

asthmatic, and needs

glasses

Represents scientific,

rational side of

civilization, and social

order

Character Analysis

• Jack ~ Described as having red hair, wears black with a snake clasp, ugly, cruel and manipulative

Represents our savageinstincts played out

EVIL

Character Analysis• Simon ~ Described as

a skinny, vivid little boy, who“meditates;” and he faints, which some cultures have believed is a sign of connecting with the spiritual world

Seems to be connected with nature, and he has an innate, spiritual goodness

Character Analysis

• Roger ~ “Silent”

and sadistic

Targets the “littluns”

The only one to

premeditate murder

Kills without

conscience

Pure evil

Character Analysis• Sam and Eric (Samneric) ~

Twins

Described as barely having enough skin to cover both, bullet-headed, and they finish each other’s sentences

The last to remain loyal to Ralph

Represent the tug-of-war

within us to remain good

Character Analysis

• “Littluns” ~ The younger kids

Represent the common folk,

who easily follow the lead of

others into savagery when

there is no enforced structure

in society

LORD OF THE

FLIES INTRODUCTION

THEMES & IMAGERY

LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTION

THEMES & IMAGERY

Evil / Fear of the Unknown

Lord of the Flies• Fear of the Unknown

1. 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.

2. The littluns fear the beastie or snake-like thing that comes in the dark

3. The bigguns fears beasts that are still unknown

4. “The Beast” – Snake-like thing – the dead parachutist – The Lord of the Flies –Simon - The boys themselves


THEMES & IMAGERY

ORDER

Lord of the Flies

• The Need for Social Order

1. The boys are separated from civilization

2. They attempt to create their own form of order and government

3. Without someone to enforce the rules, the boys fail to observe their own rules

4. The boys eventually abandon the rules of civilization

5. Without social order, the boys commit acts of savagery and murder

LORD OF THE FLIES

THEMES & IMAGERY

POWER/LEADERSHIP

Lord of the Flies

• Power1. To Ralph, power is democratic

2. The conch becomes a symbol of power

3. To Jack, power is authoritarian

4. Jack treats the members of his choir cruelly

5. The littluns begin to exercise power of

small creatures

6. Roger enjoys unrestrained power

LORD OF THE FLIES

THEMES & IMAGERYSavagery / Loss of Identity

and Innocence

Notes on Lord of the Flies• Loss of Identity

1. The boys begin to lose their individual

identities: littluns, bigguns, samneric

2. The choir becomes hunters

3. The mask allows the boys to become

someone else

4. Jack’s followers become a savage tribe

5. Ralph has difficulty remember he is the

leader and why rescue is important

6. Percival forgets his own name

Notes on Lord of the Flies

• Loss of Innocence

1. Ralph’s faith in democracy is shattered

2. Following the rules offers no protection

3. Piggy’s belief in fairness is proven false

4. Violence takes the lives of three boys

5. The boys come to accept the notion that

the world is not completely good

LORD OF THE FLIES

THEMES & IMAGERY

NATURE/ISLAND

Lord of the Flies• Vision

1. Mirages impair the boy’ vision

2. Although Piggy’s vision is poor, he can see most clearly what they need to do to survive

3. Piggy is blind to the reality that evil exists in the boys themselves

4. Simon has the clearest vision of the true nature of evil on the island

5. Only Simon sees the “Lord of the Flies”

6. Only Simon goes to the mountaintop to see the beast clearly in the daylight.

THEMES

• Human Evil – Evil is a part of human nature, and it lies within us. It is not a force of civilization. Society’s welfare depends on man’s idea of right and wrong, not on outside forces.

• Savagery – Golding believes that humans, when forced to live in nature, revert to savagery.

• Loss of Innocence – The boys, young and innocent at the time they arrive on the island, are forced to deal with situations that are normally associated with adult life. As a result, many of the boys lose the innocence that comes as a part of childhood.

LOTF Symbols(Objects, characters, figures, or colors that represent ideas or concepts)

Piggy’s Glasses = The last surviving evidence of the lawful, structured world

Conch Shell = New democracy on the island

Snake = Evil…reference to the serpent in the garden of Eden

TERMS to REMEMBER

• Microcosm = A

small world that

represents the world

at large

• Edenic = Eden like,

paradise like, a

setting that has not

yet been spoiled by

man


Parallels To Be MadeLord of the Flies is an allegorical novel. It is an allegory on

several levels: political, religious and psychological. On its

most basic level it is an allegory of human society today.

Writers use allegory to illustrate abstract meanings by using

concrete images. Often, characters in allegories personify some

abstract quality. While it is possible to read Lord of the Flies as

allegory, the work is so complex that it can be read on many

levels.


Parallels To Be Made

LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTIONParallels To Be Made

LOTF is an allegory of the political state of the world in the post

war period; as a Freudian psychological understanding of

human kind; or as the Christian understanding of the fall of

humankind, among others. The novel serves as a warning to the

leaders of the world , implying that man’s destructive nature will

ultimately be his undoing . Just like Adam and Eve from the Old

Testament’s Book of Genesis, the “Lost Boys” will be cast from the

Garden of Eden due to their sinful nature.

Philosophical Influence

• John Hobbes

– English Philosopher: 1588- 1679

– Man is by nature selfishly individualistic

– Man constantly at war with other men

– Fear of violent death is sole motivation to

create civilizations

– Men need to be controlled by absolute

sovereignty to avoid brutish behavior

LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 1

William Golding sets his novel Lord of the

Flies at a time when Europe is in the midst of

nuclear destruction. A group of boys, being

evacuated from England to Australia, crash

land on a tropical island. No adults survive the

crash, and the novel is the story of the boys'

descent into chaos, disorder, and evil.

LORD OF THE FLIES

CHAPTER 1As the story opens, two boys emerge from the

wreckage of a plane which is eventually dragged out to

sea. The boys, Ralph and Piggy, begin exploring the

island in hopes of finding other survivors. Because of

the nuclear bomb's devastation, it's likely that no one

knows the boys' whereabouts. Ralph is delighted to be

on a pristine tropical island without adults, but Piggy is

less pleased because he believes that without adults

present the other boys will make fun of him.

LORD OF THE FLIES

CHAPTER 1The novel opens with a description of the "long scar

smashed into the jungle," a reference to the snake-like

damage done by the plane as it crashed into the island.

Here civilization with its technology has dealt a blow to

nature; nature counters by sweeping the wreckage out

to sea. Yet the conflict is not so simple. While the jungle

may represent nature, the beach provides the conch

and the platform, both of which symbolize

institutionalized order and politics (civilization).

Chapter 2: “Fire on the Mountain”

• Ralph sets rules

– No one can talk, unless they’re holding the conch.

• A Boy proclaims that there is a “Beastie” or “Snake-Thing”

– Ralph says there’s no such thing.

– Jack says him and his hunters will kill it if there is.

• The boys talk about getting rescued.

• Decide to make a fire and make sure it never dies.

– On the top of the mountain that Jack, Ralph, and Simon all found.

• The Fire gets too big, and starts to burn down the island.

• The boy who proclaimed about the “Beastie” is not in the story…They believe he got killed in the Fire.

Ashley Foster

Chapter 3: “Huts on the Beach”

• Jack tries to catch a pig, but misses.

• Ralph and Simon start to build shelters.

• Simon is still convinced that the “Beastie

or Snake-Thing” is real.

• Simon is shown for the first time to have a certain power and wisdom of his own.

Ashley Foster

Chapter 4: “Painted Faces and Long Hair”

• Things between the boys start to change.

• Jack, Samneric, and Bill, all put clay on their faces, and go on a pig hunt.

• Ralph sees a ship while swimming with Piggy, The fire is out.

• Jack smacks Piggy across the face, breaks one of Piggy’s Lenses.

• Jack won’t give Piggy any meat so Simon gives his to Piggy. Jack tosses another piece to Simon.

• Ralph calls an assembly.

Chapter 5: “Beast From Water”• Ralph is deep in thought about what he should do as chief and seems to

be losing his authority over many of the boys, especially Jack and the

hunters. Ralph too is growing more and more susceptible to the beast’s

power of persuasion and is forgetting about the signal fire.

• Another meeting is called to discuss matters but the main concern for

most of the boys is their fear of the beast.

• One of the littluns believes that the beast comes from the sea. This fear is

further strengthened when Simon, the first of the biguns to do so, admits

the possibility of there actually being a beast on the island.

• Soon killing the pigs is associated with killing Piggy because with each

successful hunt, Piggy loses more and more power as an advocate for

order. This is evident from the partial breaking of his glasses. Giving into

the beast by hunting is parallel to betraying Piggy, who rejects hunting as

a worthwhile endeavor. Piggy confides to Ralph his fear of Jack.

• Ralph realizes that indeed he is hated by Jack. It’s at this time that Ralph

clearly sees the distinction between Jack and himself.

Chapter 6: “Beast From Air”

• Golding details the night-time arrival of a dead parachutist onto the

mountain of the island. It’s often speculated that this is the plane’s pilot,

yet Golding never confirms this one way or the other.

• "Samneric, who are tending the fire, see this figure and run down to the

shelters to tell the frightening news to Ralph. When morning comes.

Jack and Ralph decide to seek out the beast at Castle Rock, and if they

don’t find him there, they will search the mountain.

• Ralph leads the way, and Jack follows, yet when they reach the top no

beast is in sight. This frustrates all the boys, but especially Ralph, who

vents his frustrations.

• The hunters want to stay at Castle Rock to build a fort and roll more

rocks, but Ralph convinces them to follow him to the mountain.

CHAPTER 8

Gift for the Darkness


Back on the beach, Piggy can’t

believe the beast is real. He

asks what they should do.

Ralph isn’t sure. He says the

beast is sitting up by the signal

fire as if trying to intercept their

rescue.

The intellectual Piggy can’t fathom the beast’s

existence. Ralph considers the beast an enemy

of civilization and rescue.


Jack says his hunters could kill the beast.

Ralph says they’re just boys with sticks.

Infuriated, Jack blows the conch to call a

meeting. Ralph begins to talk but Jack says he

called the meeting with the conch, so he

should get to speak. Ralph lets him. Jack says

they’ve seen the beast: it’s a hunter.

By blowing the conch to call a meeting, Jack

shows he’s still playing by civilization’s rules.

Jack links himself & his boys to the beast by

calling it a hunter.


Jack accuses Ralph of belittling the hunters. He

says Ralph is like Piggy and isn’t a proper

chief. Jack calls for a vote to remove Ralph and

make Jack chief. Nobody votes for Jack.

The boys’ allegiance still remains with

civilization and order. They’re unwilling to

surrender to savagery…so far.


Jack storms off, humiliated and crying. He vows to

form a new group, and says anyone can join him

when he hunts. He disappears into the forest.

Everyone is stunned, but the meeting continues.

Simon suggests they climb the mountain. Piggy

considers the suggestion insane. He says they

should just build a signal fire on the beach.

Jack (savagery) forms his own tribe outside

civilization. Simon (spirituality) suggests they

confront the beast. Piggy (civilization) strives to

find a way to ignore and hide from the beast.


The boys build the fire and

the littleuns dance and sing.

After the fire, Ralph realizes

that all the biguns but

Samneric and Piggy have

disappeared. Most have

gone to join Jack.

A turning point: publicly the biguns are

unwilling to oppose civilization, but privately

they choose Jack, the beast, and savagery.

LORD OF THE FLIES NOTES - CHAPTER 8

Simon has

wandered alone

into the forest. He

enters a secret

glade and sits there

in the sun. Though

he gets thirstier and

thirstier, he

continues to sit. Like other religious mystics,

Simon fasts and meditates.


Elsewhere in the jungle, Jack declares himself

chief of the boys who have joined him. As chief,

he says he’s going to get more “biguns away

from the conch” and when his tribe hunts they’ll

leave some of the kill for the beast. That way, it

won’t bother them. Jack leads the boys into the

forest.

Jack now treats the beast like a god. The other

boys’ fear of the beast increases their loyalty to

Jack. Savage chiefs both fear the beast and

use it to gain power


The boys track, corner, and kill a big sow (a

female pig). Jack cuts off its head. He decides

they’ll raid Ralph’s camp for fire to cook the

pig, and invite everyone to a feast. Roger,

meanwhile, sharpens a stick at both ends.

They stake the pig head on the stick and leave

it as an offering to the beast.

Jack and his tribe decide to attack Ralph’s

civilization. Their offering makes clear that to

them the beast is now a god who demands

sacrifice.


Simon witnesses the killing and staking of the pig

from his secret spot in the glade. Simon is thirsty

and exhausted, and the pig’s head seems to talk to

him. It tells him to leave and go back to the others.


Simon recognizes that the offering to the beast actually

is the beast. In trying to appease the beast by sacrificing

to it, Jack’s tribe is actually making the beast more

powerful.

"Fancy thinking the Beast

was something you could

hunt and kill! You knew,

didn't you? I’m part of you”

He stares at the pig’s head, at the Lord of the

Flies,and seems to recognize it.


Jack emerges

from the forest

into Ralph’s

camp. As his

followers steal

fire from the

signal fire, he

invites Ralph’s

group to come

his feast, then

disappears.

The purpose of fire has

changed from rescue to

cooking for survival.


Simon is on the verge of

having a fit in the forest.

The pig’s head, the Lord of

the Flies, speaks to him.

“We are going to have fun

on this island!” The beast

warns Simon that if he tries

to interfere that Jack, Roger,

Maurice, Robert, Bill, Piggy,

and Ralph will “kill” him.


The beast links itself to

“fun” (savagery) and

confirms it exists within

men. The beast’s threat is

surprising: it says Piggy

and Ralph will act with

Jack and his tribe to kill

Simon. The beast claims

both civilization and

savagery as allies against

Simon’s spiritual truth.

NOTES - CHAPTER 8

The Lord of the Flies (the title of Beelzebub, a demon from Hell)

speaks to Simon inside of his mind and warns him that he is a

threat and "is not wanted on this island." The threat stems

perhaps from his goodness and inability to be transformed into a

hunter as the other choirboys had been. For his resistance,

Simon must die, The Lord of the Flies tells him. Presumably, this

is the voice of the beast within him that speaks; it is that very

same "sickly part" of the human he had envisioned earlier. Being

the most religiously good of the boys, he is understandably an

obstacle in order for the primal, wicked aspects of the boys to

come into full control.

CHAPTER 8 • Just like we saw back in Chapter 7, Simon continues to not

be concerned with his own safety. It’s as if Simon knows that he will die soon. Regardless of the outcome, Simon is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to learn the truth and reveal it to the others. Similar to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Simon struggles with temptation, trying not to let the beast (Beelzebub) get the best of him. He will be strong in the face of evil and pay any price to save the others, even though the beast tells him that they are all against him.

Chapter 9

• Simon wakes up from his encounter with the lord of the flies,– then climbs to the summit of the mountain.

– He looks at the dead pilot, then sees no beast in it

– then he goes to the others to tell them there is no beast on the mountain.

• In the same timeframe, Ralph and Piggy go to Jack’s pig roast, and eat.– Ralph tries to call another meeting, and is humiliated.

– Piggy and Ralph also join in Jack’s chant, but denies that account.

– Ralph reprimands jack for not having shelters when it rains at this roast.

The pilot's body breaks free from the mountain & goes down into the sea.

• When Simon goes into the chant, he is mistaken for the beast, then killed. His body also goes out into the sea.

Philip

Matuskiewicz

Chapter 10

• At this point, only a few of the kids remain in Ralph’s group.

• Jack sort of has created a “Tribe” of hunters– The kids call him the “proper chief”

– He has strict control over everyone in that tribe

– No one orders Jack around

– Jack explains the beast came as Simon disguised and they have to keep alert at all times.

– Jack plans on steeling Piggy’s glasses with Roger, and Maurice

• Jack and his helpers attack Ralph’s men, and steal Piggy’s glasses.

Philip

Matuskiewicz

Chapter 11

• Ralph lets the signal fire go out

• Ralph is convinced by Piggy to blow the conch,

which does nothing

• Piggy shows bravery as he wants his glasses,

and is willing to go to Jack to get them back

– All 4 of Ralph’s gang go to Castle Rock to get Piggy’s

glasses back

– Samneric is captured (the twins are as 1 identity)

– Piggy is killed

Philip

Matuskiewicz

Chapter 12

• Ralph settles into a wooded area on the island– he eats fruit

– He messes around with the pig head where Simon encountered the beast

– Ralph is viewed by Jack’s tribe as a pig now

• Ralph becomes savage when the others find his hiding place revealed by Simneric

• Jack and his clan starts the big fire on all the island– A ship office arrives at a burning island to find out what was

wrong

– The fire saved the kids, and the ships take them home

Philip

Matuskiewicz

The End

“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."

- William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Chapter 12

Conclusion

• Reflection of how our society really works

• Proves how a situation can reveal a

person’s dark side

Philip and Julia

Education

Lotf test review