Lord of the Flies

Characters
1. The littluns'
  1. Live in a little world of their own
    1. Spend most of the day playing
      1. Makes them vunerable
        Don't notice important things like when Roger is following them
      2. Games become less innocent as they join in with the hunting dance
  2. Quickly lose civilised values
    1. Difficult to organise
    2. At the beginning of book Percival can say his full name and address
      1. By the end his whole identity has "faded away" and he can't remember his name
    3. Don't help build the shelters and go to the loo anywhere
  3. Represent the theme of fear
    1. Their fear brings the idea of the beast to life
      1. It was a littlun who first mentioned seeing a "snake thing"
    2. Death of littlun in fire shows LOTF might not be a normal adventure story
2. Ralph
  1. Represents theme of civilisation
    1. Law and order
      1. Takes charge of the boys and gives them jobs so the island a better place to live
      2. They have a conch so everybody gets the chance to speak
    2. Clings to the hope of rescue
      1. So they can be retured to civilisation
  2. Fair
    1. "The choir belongs to you, of course"
    2. Sense of fair play
      1. Shocked when Jack punches piggy
      2. Feels angry when Jack steals piggy's glasses
        If they'd asked for fire he would have given it to them
  3. Shows there is both good & evil in everyone
    1. Laughs at both Piggy and Simon
      1. Shows he's capable of hurting others
      2. Tells everybody Piggy's nickname
        When he'd been specifically asked not to
    2. Gets involved in the dance that kills Simon
      1. Shows a sign even Ralph is slipping to savagry
      2. However he is later ashamed of this
        Allows Piggy to persuade him that it wasn't his fault
    3. Sometimes gives in to instincts
      1. Gnaws his meat "like a wolf"
  4. Can't always think straight
    1. Reminds up they are all only children
    2. Tries to plan an important speech
      1. Finds himself in a "maze of thoughts"
    3. Near the end of the book Piggy has to keep reminding him why they need the fire
3. Sam and Eric
  1. Cheerful, good natured and loyal
    1. Joining Jacks tribe is "shameful" for them
    2. Explain they only joined Jacks tribe as they were forced to
    3. Give Ralph food and warnings
    4. However they give away Ralphs hiding place whilst being tortured
  2. First to see dead airman
    1. They exaggerate what they saw convincing everyone the beast is real
4. Roger
  1. Is a violent bully
    1. Described as "slight" and having an "inner intensity"
      1. Makes him sound secretive and threatening
    2. Merciless and cruel
      1. "Roger sharpened a stick at both ends"
      2. "You don't know Roger. He's a terror."
    3. The violence is often carried out by Roger
      1. Shows how far it's possible to get from civilisation
  2. Does what is asked of him by Jack
    1. Is 1st to call him "chief"
    2. Golding describes a "darker shadow" crossing his face when called by Jack
      1. Suggests there could be rivalry between them
    3. His power increases when Jack takes control
  3. Gets progressively vicious
    1. He throws stones "to miss"
      1. Because "the taboo of old life" stops him
      2. Is playing/trying out violence
    2. Levers the boulder that kills Piggy
    3. Takes on the role of torturer of Sam and Eric
Themes
1. Civilisation and Barbarity
  1. At first cling to rules from their old life
    1. They make rules similar to those followed at school
      1. Piggy takes names
      2. They have assemblies
      3. Conch is like a hands up rule
    2. Conch
      1. Symbol of civilisation
        It's power decreases
        Reflects the weakening of civilisation
        Its destruction represents victory of barbarity over civilisation
    3. The rules from home stop them being too violent to begin with
      1. Roger doesn't throw stones directly
        Because of the "taboo of old life"
  2. Boys react differently to the rules
    1. Ralph wants to have fun
      1. But does think they need rules
        To make them act responsibly
    2. Jack wants rules so he can punish rulebreakers
      1. He also wants rules as he says their "not savages" which is ironic
    3. Piggy is anxious to protect the rules
      1. Gets upset when the other boys won't follow them
        He calls them a "pack of kids"
  3. Civilised values begin to fade
    1. The littluns start going to the toilet everywhere
      1. Forgot the civilised values taught at home
    2. Jack lets the fire go out
      1. Forgotten there's a chance of returning
    3. The guilt they might of felt in an act of violence is gone
      1. Therefore they get more violent
        The 1st act of violence is when Jack hits Piggy
        The breaking of the glasses could represent society starting to break apart
  4. The new society is selfish and violent
    1. Jacks new group is to "have fun"
      1. Not interested in rescue or what's best for the group
    2. When Simon is killed the boys are like animals
      1. "tearing of teeth and claws"
    3. Jack uses violent punishment to enforce the rules
      1. Boys are beaten and tortured for no reason
  5. Appearances change and behaviour becomes more savage
    1. Their uniforms become torn and dirty
      1. As the boys lose their values
    2. Painted faces frees them from rules
      1. It makes them anonymous so no one has responsibility for the violence
    3. Ralph tries to smarten up to fight against Jacks tribe
    4. The navel officer wears a "clean white uniform"
      1. However he is from somewhere that is at war
        Civilised appearances just hide the "darkness of a mans heart"
2. Fear
  1. The beast is used to present fear
  2. Fear of the beast isn't rational
    1. Descriptions of it keep changing
      1. The reader knows it only exists in the boys imagination
    2. The 3 most rational characters are P,R&S
      1. Simon suggests that the only thing they should fear is evil in human nature
        "only us"
  3. Jack uses fear to control behaviour
    1. Tells the others that the beast can disguise itself and they can never kill it
      1. Keeps the boys feeling insecure and threatened increasing Jacks power over them
3. Power and leadership
  1. Power changes hands throughout the novel
    1. When they 1st arrive they want to be rescued and have a society similar to before
      1. Therefore Ralphs leadership style appeals to them
    2. As they become more savage their desires become more basic
      1. Food, safety and certainty
      2. Jacks dictatorial leadership is now more appealing
  2. Ralph is the closest to an adult leader
    1. Responsible
      1. Use the power to protect everyone
    2. Wants to live by the rules
      1. Because they're the "only thing we've got"
        Only thing that links them back to their old lives
    3. The other boys don't see why it is important to have shelter and fire
  3. Jacks leadership is violent and irresponsible
    1. Jack craves power but doesn't want the responsibility that comes with it
    2. Is not democratically elected
    3. Becomes a dictator who abuses his power
      1. With no adults he can enforce obedience in violent ways
4. Nature
  1. Isn't always friendly
    1. At the beginning R&P are already being scratched by thorns
    2. Weather represents mood
      1. It is wild and thundery when Simon is killed
  2. Is like a tropical paradise
    1. Is like the garden of Eden
      1. Where A&E live until they learn of good and evil and lose innocence
        Happens to the boys as well
5. Evil
  1. Darkness is used to represent evil
    1. Choir are described as "something dark...fumbling along""
      1. Becomes Jacks tribe
    2. In the dark younger boys have nightmares
      1. Leads to a bigger fear of beast
    3. Simons murdered on a dark night
      1. Darkness panics the boys into thinking he's the beast
    4. Ralph weeps at end of the novel for the "darkness of a mans heart"
      1. The navel officers suit hides what Ralph now understands
        That evil exists in all human beings
  2. Some characters have stronger evil instincts in them
    1. Jack is obsessed with hunting and killing
    2. Roger likes to destroy things
      1. At first its the sand castles
      2. This later turns to peoples lives
    3. P&R usually show the good side of human nature
      1. They recognise their evil instincts and try to contain them
    4. Simon is the least evil
      1. His goodness is overpowered by others evil
  3. Pigs head on a stick
    1. Is left as an offering to the beast
      1. This represents the boys fear
    2. It tells Simon "I am part of you"
      1. This is Golding showing there is no beast
      2. It is their own fear that causes the evil inside them to emerge
    3. Called Lord of the Flies
      1. Which is the name of the demon: Beelzebub means
      2. When it talks to Simon it is like the voice of evil talking
        Voice of a school master
        Simon is realising the adult world is corrupt too
      3. When Ralph is being hunted he breaks the LOTF stick
        He destroys the symbol of evil
        Yet is still prepared to attack the others
        He has been corrupted by evil
6. Games
  1. Innocent games are played first
    1. To begin with they play like they would at home
      1. The littluns build sand castle
      2. Ralph and the others swim and dive in the lagoon
      3. Exploring the island
      4. "Have fun" "until the grown ups come to fetch us"
  2. Violence soon creeps in
    1. Sand castles are destroyed
      1. Rejection of civilisation
    2. Hunting dances begin
      1. They get more savage
      2. After Robert is hurt it is suggested they use a liitlun incase they want to kill
        Foreshadows death of simon

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Lord of the Flies

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	Created by roxy123 over 10 years ago