GCSE English Literature: Lord Of The Flies - AQA - COMPLETED

Question 1

Who is the author of Lord of the Flies?

Answer 1

William Golding

Question 2

Briefly summarise the plot of Lord of the Flies:

Answer 2

Lord of the Flies is about a group of boys who are stranded on a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. The absence of any authority figures causes the civilised public schoolboys to descend into savagery, highlighting mankind’s essential illness

Question 3

What did William Golding believe about evil?

Answer 3

Golding believed that evil exists in everyone and people are only constrained by the rules of society and the threat of punishment. He thought that under the ‘right’ conditions the darkness of man’s heart would rise to the surface, and even the most ‘normal’ civilised people would become capable of committing terrible crimes - including murder

Question 4

What year was Lord of the Flies published?

Answer 4

1954

Question 5

Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in the early 1950s - just a few years after the end of World War II. Describe how Golding was deeply impacted by his experience of war:

Answer 5

Golding joined the Royal Navy in 1940, leaving his teaching career behind to fight in World War II. He was involved in the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. He worked his way up the naval ranks to Lieutenant. He left the Navy in 1945, after World War II ended.
Golding was shocked by the horrors of World War II, which he realised were carried out ‘coldly’ and ‘skilfully’ by educated people who came from a ‘tradition of civilisation’. Although the Nazis were defeated, he believed that similar evil could resurface at any time

Question 6

When and where was Golding born?

Answer 6

1911 - Born in Newquay, Cornwall

Question 7

What year did Golding win the Nobel Prize in Literature?

Answer 7

1983

Question 8

What year did Golding pass away?

Answer 8

1993

Question 9

What is the name of the somewhat similar children’s book (referenced multiple times in the text) which Golding believed to be unrealistic?

Answer 9

The Coral Island
Golding believed adventure books like this were unrealistic in their hopelessly optimistic view of how young boys would act without adult supervision or rules - as he observed throughout his teaching career

Question 10

Describe Golding’s experience of teaching:

Answer 10

Golding started his career in teaching in 1935 and retired in 1962 to become a full-time writer (with a break during World War II when he served in the Navy). He taught boys in private schools for many years before he wrote Lord of the Flies, observing how they interacted (especially with those who were less ‘normal’ or popular - similar to the characters of Piggy or Simon). Golding later wrote that he understood boys with ‘awful precision’.

Question 11

List the main characters of Lord of the Flies:

Answer 11

Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Simon, Roger, the littluns, Sam and Eric (SamnEric), the Lord of the Flies

Question 12

Summarise the main plot points of chapters 1 - 3:

Answer 12

1. A group of school boys become stranded on an island with no adults as a result of their evacuation plane crashing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean
2. They have a meeting - Ralph is elected chief (Jack also wanted the job) because of his appearance and the fact that he blew the conch to assemble the group
3. When Ralph, Jack and Simon go exploring, Jack nearly kills a piglet but he hesitates (‘the unbearable blood’) and it escapes
4. The littluns are afraid of a beast that one of them thinks he saw at night (the boy with the birthmark)
5. Ralph uses Piggy’s glasses to light a fire to signal to ships. The boys are excited by the chaos of the fire but it gets out of control and the littlun with the birthmark is killed (presumably, they never find his body - not that they’re brave enough to go looking)
6. Ralph spends all of his time building shelters with Simon. He gets angry that all Jack and the other boys want to do is hunt (despite never catching anything as of yet). Jack argues back but they eventually make up, and Simon goes off into the forest to be by himself

Question 13

Why might Golding have chosen to represent his views on evil in a story focused on schoolboys as opposed to a story about grown men participating in actual warfare?

Answer 13

By setting his story among schoolboys, rather than grown men fighting an actual war, Golding made his themes of brutality and the breakdown of civilization innate and inevitable

Question 14

Summarise the main plot points of chapters 4 - 6:

Answer 14

1. Roger is still bound by the constraints of society, as proven by how he can only throw stones AROUND a littlun - ‘his hand trained by a society that knew nothing about him and was in ruins’. He is called over into the forest by Jack, where the hunters are applying face paint and preparing to kill a pig
2. Jack recruits SamnEric to help him, who were supposed to be watching the fire. A ship passes - Ralph sees the ship and runs up the mountain with Piggy and Simon. With no fire it passes without noticing them
3. The hunters come back chanting with a pig that Jack has killed
4. Ralph and Jack argue - Jack hits Piggy, breaking is glasses
5. The boys hold a meeting to discuss their fears - SamnEric were up the mountain when a dead airman landed nearby. It was dark and they panicked, telling the others what they had seen ‘the beast’ and describing its teeth and claws
6. The boys trek across the island to hunt the beast - instead they find Castle Rock

Question 15

Summarise the main plot points of chapters 7 - 9:

Answer 15

1. Ralph joins the other boys in a hunt for the first time and gets overly excited after managing to hurt it. The boys re-enact the hunt - Robert pretends to be the pig and is slightly hurt
2. Ralph, Jack and Roger climb the mountain in the dark and see the dead airman, slouched over and still occasionally blown around by his parachute. They think it’s the beast
3. Jack declares ‘Bollocks to the rules!” and forms his own tribe. Gradually the other boys join him - besides Ralph, Piggy, Simon and some littluns
4. Simon is crouched in the undergrowth when he witnesses Jack’s tribe viciously kill a pig, maximising its torture before its death. Jack and Roger leave the pig’s head on a stick as an offering to the beast
5. Simon has an epileptic episode and hallucinates that the pig’s head (covered in flies) is the Lord of the Flies and is talking to him. He goes up the mountain, finds the dead airman and rushes back to tell the others what the beast really is
6. Ralph and Piggy go to Jack’s feast and join in their dance. Simon stumbles out of the undergrowth and into the middle of the dance - the tribe thinks he is the beast and kill him

Question 16

Summarise the main plot points of chapters 10 - 12:

Answer 16

1. Jack’s tribe attack Ralph’s group one night and steal Piggy’s glasses so that they can light and control the fire
2. Ralph, Piggy and SamnEric go to Castle Rock to ask for them back but Jack refuses. SamnEric are captured by the tribe and eventually forced to join them. Amidst the chaos of Ralph and Jack fighting, Roger levers a boulder off the cliff above. Piggy, who is clutching the conch and cannot really see, is thrown off of the cliff and killed
3. The tribe begin to hunt Ralph and he runs into the forest to hide. He finds the pig’s head from earlier and destroys it
4. While Ralph hides in a thicket, Jack’s tribe roll boulders in his direction and light a fire to smoke him out. The fire starts to spread all around the island, even killing their food sources. Ralph flees to the beach, pursued by the tribe
5. Ralph runs into a naval officer who saw the smoke from the burning island. The officer jokes that they are probably civilised British boys playing a game ‘like The Coral Island’. Ralph and the other boys begin to cry - ‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence’

Question 17

What is the name of Chapter 1?

Answer 17

The Sound of the Shell

Question 18

When Jack cannot kill the pig in Chapter 1, he thinks that ‘Next time there would be no mercy’. What does this hint at?

Answer 18

Jack cannot kill the pig because of the ‘enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh’. He is still somewhat bound by the rules of society - but he promises himself that he will kill next time, hinting at how he will soon descend further into savagery

Question 19

What is the name of Chapter 2?

Answer 19

Fire on the Mountain

Question 20

What is the name of Chapter 3?

Answer 20

Huts on the Beach

Question 21

What is the name of Chapter 4?

Answer 21

Painted Faces and Long Hair

Question 22

What is the name of Chapter 5?

Answer 22

Beast from Water

Question 23

What is the name of Chapter 6?

Answer 23

Beast from Air

Question 24

What is the name of Chapter 7?

Answer 24

Shadows and Tall Trees

Question 25

What is the name of Chapter 8?

Answer 25

Gift for the Darkness

Question 26

What is the name of Chapter 9?

Answer 26

A View to a Death

Question 27

What is the name of Chapter 10?

Answer 27

The Shell and the Glasses

Question 28

What is the name of Chapter 11?

Answer 28

Castle Rock

Question 29

What is the name of Chapter 12?

Answer 29

Cry of the Hunters

Question 30

Describe Ralph’s physical appearance/traits:

Answer 30

1. ‘fair boy’ - democratic, loses fairness of hair throughout book, ‘fat boy’/’fair boy’ comparison
2. ‘might make a boxer’ - seems powerful to the other boys, respect - could put up a fight
3. ‘mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil’ - suggests he is kind and good-natured, will take longer to give in to inherent evil of humanity

Question 31

Describe Piggy’s physical appearance/traits:

Answer 31

1. ‘fat boy’ - ‘fat boy’/’fair boy’ comparison, comical to the other boys, frequently compared to a pig - victims - e.g. ‘grunted’ ‘plump’
2. ‘thick spectacles’ - wears glasses, seen as weaker, despite this he is one of the only boys who can see what is happening
3. ‘Sucks to your ass-mar!’ - asthmatic, seen as weaker, cannot help with laborious tasks or hunt
4. ‘shorter than the fair boy’ - shorter, less of a threat

Question 32

Describe Jack’s physical appearance/traits:

Answer 32

1. ‘tall, thin and bony’ - opposite of Piggy
2. ‘his hair was red’ - red = danger, warning connotations
3. ‘his face crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness’ - not as physically attractive as Ralph despite size, littluns’ less impressed by him
4. ‘two light blue eyes…ready to turn to anger’ - fickle, used to getting his way
5. ‘his cap badge was golden’ - introduced as superior to other choir members (eventual hunters)

Question 33

Describe Simon’s physical appearance/traits:

Answer 33

1. ‘skinny, vivid little boy’ - not a threat,
2. ‘black and course’ hair - links to his comparison with Christ
3. ‘fell down and lost consciousness’ - prone to fainting
4. ‘one of his times was coming on’ ‘eyes were half-closed’ - implied to be epileptic, has a physical weakness so (like Piggy) he is made fun of and is worth less to the group

Question 34

Describe Roger’s physical appearance/traits:

Answer 34

1. ‘not noticeably darker than when he had dropped in’ - does not physically change as much as the others, implied to have been most ‘evil’ all along but masks that he is somewhat more evil than Jack with ‘avoidance and secrecy’
2. ‘shock of black hair’ - ‘seemed to suit his gloomy face’ and turned an ‘unsociable remoteness into something forbidding’

Question 35

Explain the Id in Freud’s theory and decide which character best represents this:

Answer 35

The Id- Carnal desires, desires for food, warmth, clothing, etc. The Id is like a small child with no sense of delayed gratification and conscience. The Id wants things and wants them now. The Id does not think of how this could be bad in the long term or to others. When the Id wants something the Id does not listen to any objections.

The Id = Jack

Question 36

Explain the Ego in Freud’s theory and decide which character best represents this:

Answer 36

The Ego- The Ego plays the part of the middleman; the Ego must balance the desires of the Id, the conscientiousness of the Superego and what is available.

The Ego = Ralph

Question 37

Explain the Superego in Freud’s theory and decide which character best represents this:

Answer 37

The Superego- The Superego is conscience, when you are little and entirely ruled by the Id, the Superego is like your parents saying, “That isn’t right”. The Superego is like the rules that you must follow, this is basically morality. The Superego is the opposite of the Id.

The Superego = Piggy

Question 38

What does the conch symbolise?

Answer 38

The conch represents order, civilization, democracy, and structure. Whoever has the conch is able to speak and be acknowledged. Piggy often bears the conch, which represents how logical, intellectual thought leads to these things. Jack does not respect the conch which shows the way that he is the opposite of civilized. The conch represents the “Ego” side of everyone. The blowing of the conch is what caused Ralph to be chief in Chapter 1. It’s presence is more or less the only thing which will cause the other boys to listen to Piggy. The conch is Ralph’s symbol, as opposed to Jack’s - the pig’s head on a stick. The conch being a delicate shell indicates how delicate the established order really is - if it breaks, the boys will likely join Jack and descend into savagery. When Piggy dies in Chapter 11, he falls with the conch which shatters into millions of shards - this represents how their democracy has truly fallen and is beyond saving - the boys’ savage instincts and ‘mankind’s essential illness’ have won.

Question 39

What does the fire symbolise?

Answer 39

As long as the fire burns that means that the boys still want to be rescued and they still remember their old homes. If they allow the fire to go out that means they have stopped caring. Whoever is the one to step up and work to keep the fire is the one holding onto hope of a rescue and fighting for civilization. When the fire goes out that means that science is dead and savagery has won. When the fire is first lit, the boys become overly excited and enjoy the chaos, acting ‘like a pack of kids’. When Jack orders Samneric to help him hunt instead of tending to the fire, this leads to there being no smoke when a ship passes. This shows Jack’s ultimate desire to hunt and kill as he forgets what rescue really is. The fire is both a rescue symbol and a symbol of chaos. Once the boys have started killing the pigs, the fire is a method of cooking the meat - this requires Piggy’s glasses. When Jack steals the glasses, he takes away any hope of keeping the fire going and thus being rescued (while also meaning Piggy can no longer help with anything). At the end of the novel, Jack and the hunters use fire as a weapon to try and kill Ralph by burning the island down. This is mutually assured destruction - the fire would have killed Jack, Ralph, the savages, the pigs and any plants they could have eaten to survive.

Question 40

What does the pig’s head on a stick symbolise?

Answer 40

The Lord of the Flies is the bloody, severed sow’s head that Jack impales on a stake in the forest glade as an offering to the beast. The pig was murdered in a way similar to rape. The murder takes place in Simon’s clearing - the clearing (even more so than the island) is symbolic of the Garden of Eden. The killing of an innocent is like Original Sin. The way Simon encounters it is like in the Bible where Jesus is in the wilderness and is tempted by the Devil. This complicated symbol becomes the most important image in the novel when Simon confronts the sow’s head in the glade and it seems to speak to him, telling him that evil lies within every human heart and promising to have some “fun” with him. (This “fun” foreshadows Simon’s death in the following chapter.) In this way, the Lord of the Flies becomes both a physical manifestation of the beast, a symbol of the power of evil, and a kind of Satan figure who evokes the beast within each human being. Looking at the novel in the context of biblical parallels, the Lord of the Flies recalls the devil, just as Simon recalls Jesus. In fact, the name “Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the name of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself.

Question 41

How and why do the boys’ appearances and behaviours change throughout the novel?

Answer 41

The boys’ school uniforms represent discipline. They get dirty and torn as the boys lose their old values, and eventually cease to wear them altogether due to the island’s heat. When the hunters paint their faces, this provides a ‘liberation into savagery’ - ‘the mask compelled them’. Masking their faces is not only like their new uniform, but it makes them feel anonymous - nobody has to take individual responsibility for their violent actions. Note that Jack’s mask is red and white, the colours of the English flag. When Ralph’s group confront the savages in Chapter 11, they try to ‘smarten up a bit’ in the naïve hope that Jack’s tribe will respect them more. This represents civilisation trying to fight back against Jack’s barbarity. The longer the hunters’ are ‘painted’, the more they indulge in the anonymity of their violent actions - gradually they are referred to as ‘savages’ as their names have become irrelevant in the face of their pack mentality. Nobody is responsible or held accountable anymore. The officer who rescues them at the end of the novel wears a clean white uniform, but the world he represents is at war, just like the boys. This shows that civilised appearances are used to mask the ‘darkness of man’s heart’.

Question 42

What are the reasons Jack initially gives as to why he should be elected chief in Chapter 1?

Answer 42

1. He was head boy
2. He was chapter chorister
3. He could sing C-sharp

Jack believed that these made him superior and staked his claim as the natural leader of the boys based on these somewhat arbitrary prerequisites.

Question 43

What does the beast symbolise?

Answer 43

The beast represents the boys’ fear. The idea that there is a ‘beastie’ on the island is first suggested by a littlun and laughed at by the older boys, but gradually they start to believe there may be something to be afraid of. As more boys start to believe in the beast, the atmosphere becomes more tense and fearful. As the beast is first brought up in the nightmares of the littluns, it is clear to the reader early on that it exists in the boys’ imagination. Ralph challenges the beast in terms of recognising the threat of fear and the need to agree that there is no reason to be afraid. Piggy challenges the beast in terms of the scientific impossibility presented. Simon suggests that the only evil they should fear is the evil in human nature - maybe it’s only us’. They don’t realise that the boys’ fear is stronger than their ability to think logically. Jack uses the fear of the beast to encourage others to join his tribe out of fear - the hunters will protect them. He also tells them that the beast can disguise itself and they can never truly kill it. When Ralph, Roger and Jack go up the mountain to see the beast they find the rotting corpse of the parachutist swaying in the wind - this fuels their denial of reality and true belief in the beast. When Simon sees the parachutist himself and finally understands, he has faced this fear and rushes to prove the beast is not real. When he reaches the beach, the dancing tribe instinctively think he is the ‘beast’ in the dark. They kill Simon with ‘teeth and claw’ - fear makes them like wild animals themselves. The savages sacrifice pigs’ heads to the beast for protection - the pig’s head represents The Lord of The Flies (The Devil, Beelzebub, etc.).

Question 44

Earlier on in the novel, Piggy notes that their democracy will remain fairly stable ‘unless we get frightened of people’. When the boys are becoming more and more afraid of the beast, Simon says ‘What I mean is…maybe it’s only us’. What message is Golding trying to express here?

Answer 44

Golding believed that evil exists inside everyone (‘mankind’s essential illness’) and is only contained by the rules of society. He thought that, under the right conditions, evil could come to the surface and ‘normal’ people would become capable of committing terrible crimes. Golding is trying to express that the beast is not real, but they are afraid of it because it is the undeniable primal instinct of savagery that exists within each of them. By the end of the novel, they leave sacrifices for the beast as if it is a totemic god. The boy’s behaviour causes the beast to manifest - the more they descend into savagery, the more real it seems to become.

Question 45

What does Jack do to try and scare the other boys into joining his tribe?

Answer 45

Golding does not make it clear how much Jack actually believes in the beast, and how much he is just using the fear to control others. Jack encourages others to join his tribe by saying that his hunters will protect them from the beast. He tells them that the beast can disguise itself and that they can never really kill it. This keeps them feeling insecure and threatened, which increases Jack’s power over them.

Question 46

Describe Ralph’s personality at the beginning of the novel:

Answer 46

Ralph’s appearance makes the other boys elect him as chief because he looks physically the most like a responsible adult. He is depicted as confident - he takes charge of the boys and gives them jobs to make the island a better place to live. He is also fair (hair comparison) - he says they’ll use the conch to take it in turns to speak. Ralph is shown to be somewhat arrogant when we first meet him, as we are presented with his initially judgemental thoughts on Piggy. He (like many of the other boys) also starts off enjoying the lack of parental control - ‘No grownups!’. Ralph is presented as less intelligent than Piggy - he himself does not realise the value of the conch. Finally, Ralph is not always portrayed as pure and perfect - he gets involved in laughing at Piggy and Simon as he is capable of hurting others (and is drawn to their pack mentality).

Question 47

What are Jack and the choir boys wearing on the beach when we first meet them?

Answer 47

Jack and the choir boys (all future hunters, besides Simon) arrive wearing long black choir robes. They are described as a mysterious black mass and ‘something dark’ - this indicates from the offset that there may be an evil side to them.

Question 48

Describe Piggy’s personality at the beginning of the novel:

Answer 48

Piggy’s appearance makes him comical to the other boys - he is weak (prey). Piggy is overweight, clumsy, asthmatic and wears glasses. He is also not as well-spoken as the others, speaking with a less posh accent. Piggy tells Ralph that his parents are dead and he lives with his ‘auntie’ in a lower class area. He starts a lot of sentences with ‘my auntie’, suggesting that he still clings to the safety of the adult world. We never find out Piggy’s real name and this fact dehumanises him - he is defined by his appearance. This name is also what bullies used to call him - he is defined by being the victim. His ‘name’ also has parallels with Jack’s determination to kill and sacrifice pigs, and that pigs are prey acting as collateral damage. Piggy is vulnerable to bullying and the other boys don’t take him seriously despite his clear intelligence - but they listen to his ideas when said by other people. Piggy is also presented as more mature, scrutinizing the other boys for acting ‘like a pack of kids’. He is also kinder to the littluns (and more confident around them), but is frustrated by their lack of reason in terms of believing in the beast. Piggy is loyal to Ralph as (while he himself lacks leadership qualities) he sees his values in Ralph’s democratic approach and defends Ralph when others interrupt him. Piggy’s intelligence is demonstrated by his awareness of the conch’s value, his ideas (such as the sundial) and his ways to make the fire smoke more.

Question 49

Describe Jack’s personality at the beginning of the novel:

Answer 49

Jack’s volatile personality is immediately shown through his appearance - his face is ‘ugly without silliness’ and his eyes are ‘turning, or ready to turn to, anger’ - this shows he can be bad-tempered and nasty. This is a major factor in why the littluns vote for Ralph as Chief in Chapter 1 - Jack’s appearance does not make him look physically attractive or mature like an adult. Jack bosses the choir around - ‘the boy who controlled them’ - but none of them actually like him, voting with ‘dreary obedience’. In turn, Jack lacks compassion (even for the choir boys) - this is immediately addressed when Jack is disdainful of the other boys for being concerned with Simon when he faints (‘Let him alone’). Jack is well-spoken and believes that fairly superficial reasons (he is head boy, choir chorister and can sing C-sharp) mean that he ‘ought’ to be Chief. He also uses very direct and forceful language - ‘Choir! Stand still!’ - because he is used to being in charge. He resents Ralph when he loses the vote to be Chief, starting an ongoing conflict of interest between the two boys. Jack only likes rules because he wants to punish others when they break them - however, he also makes up rules to suit himself (such as declaring the conch does not count on the other end of the island). This shows he is childish and sees their situation as a dark game. He is first to forget the possibility of rescue, and is driven mad by his lust for blood - ‘the madness came into his eyes again’ - and need to prove himself. This starts to drive his obsession with hunting and control/power.

Question 50

Describe Simon’s personality at the beginning of the novel:

Answer 50

Simon is shy and physically weaker than the other boys - described as ‘skinny’ and ‘vivid’ with ‘course black hair’. He is implied to be epileptic, and faints at multiple points throughout the novel (sometimes referred to as his ‘times’). Simon finds it hard to express himself and struggles to speak aloud in front of others - his awkward nature is amusing to the boys and makes him an outcast. Simon is described by the other boys as ‘batty’ and ‘cracked’. He is perceptive - he recognises what ‘mankind’s essential illness’ is, but his failure to express this easily reminds the reader that he is just a young boy trying to summarise a complicated idea. Simon is also strangely prophetic - he senses Ralph’s despair and tells him that ‘you’ll get back alright’, which turns out to be true and also vaguely implies that Simon will not (foreshadowing his own death). This links to Simon being portrayed as a spiritual figure similar to Jesus - he is kind, hands out food to the littluns (like feeding the 5000) and predicts the future. He dies because he tries to tell others the truth and they reject it - but Simon’s death leads only to more savagery, not to salvation. Finally, Simon is easily overwhelmed by the hostility and emotions around him when arguments break out - ‘passions beat about Simon with awful wings’.

Question 51

Describe Roger’s personality at the beginning of the novel:

Answer 51

Roger is described as (even before the island) a boy “who kept to himself with avoidance and secrecy.” His secret is that he is, in some ways, more evil than even Jack. All his life, Roger has been conditioned to leash or mask his impulses. The “irresponsible authority” of Jack’s reign offers him the chance to unleash his innate cruelty. Roger suggests that the boys vote for Chief - perhaps this is because he enjoys watching the chaos unfold. Roger begins to experiment more and more with violence as the novel progresses. He first throws stones at Henry on the beach - but is still too conditioned by ‘a society that knew nothing of him and was in ruins’ to hit him. Once protected by the anonymity of the masks, Roger shows his true colours. He hunts a sow and sticks a spear up the mother sow’s backside purely for the satisfaction of hearing a living creature in pain. He actively kills Piggy by levering a boulder from Castle Rock. He takes on the role of torturer to force Samneric to help the tribe. His key quote is that he ‘sharpened a stick at both ends’. This suggests that Roger intends to kill either way and will show no mercy. It could also suggest that during Chapter 12’s hunt, Roger was intending to stick Ralph’s head on it as they did with the pig. Roger is suggested to have always been inherently evil, and the freedom of the island is what allows him to explore his darker side - he fits quite well into Jack’s brutal dictatorship.

Question 52

Explain Ralph’s style of leadership:

Answer 52

Ralph believes that the island should be a democracy. He is fair (fair hair comparison) and uses the conch to allow everyone to make their opinions heard - ‘We’ll have hands up like at school.’ When the boys first land, they want a society that’s similar to what they’re used to - their goals are rescue and rules so Ralph’s leadership style appeals to them. Ralph protects the rules because they’re ‘the only thing we’ve got’ - the only thing that links them to their past lives. However, as the boys forget about rescue and begin to prioritise survival and certainty, Jack’s style of leadership begins to look more appealing. Ralph consistently denies the beast because he recognises the threat that false fears and superstitions pose to their survival - ‘But there isn’t a beastie!’. He works vigilantly and utilises Piggy’s intelligence to take control and keep the group’s focus on rescue, which results in the signal fire. The problem with Ralph’s belief that voting and democracy are of the utmost importance becomes apparent when he prioritises voting over logic - ‘I guess we could vote on them…ghosts I mean’. This is a slippery slope because the boys are becoming more and more certain of the beast’s existence; if most of them vote that the beast is real, Ralph’s leadership will immediately break down as fear takes over.

Question 53

Explain Jack’s style of leadership:

Answer 53

Jack believes that the island should be a dictatorship, and holds a very autocratic totalitarian point of view. He wants rules, but only so that he can punish those that break them - ‘And if anyone breaks them, we’ll-‘. However, Jack consistently refuses to follow the rules and makes them up on the spot - for example, he randomly decides that the conch is invalid on the other side of the island to suite his own interests. Jack is controlling and believes he ‘ought’ to be chief for superficial reasons - head boy, choir leader, can sing C-sharp. He thinks he would be the best leader but doesn’t look after the younger/weaker boys as a good leader would - he bullies Piggy and Simon, calls the littluns ‘cry-babies’ and refuses to help sort out the shelters in Chapter 3. He uses the fear of the beast to get the other boys to join his tribe, and they treat him like he is superior. As the boys become more savage, their desires become more basic - they want food, safety and certainty. This means that Jack’s dictatorial style appeals more to them - he gives them meat and orders them around so that they don’t have to think for themselves. Jack is the first one to forget about the priority of being rescued as he descends into savagery. He prioritises fun, and the lack of parental control and authorities allows him to explore his darker side. Jack punishes the members of his tribe to deter them from disobeying him - at one point, he beats a boy named Walter without naming any reason. Once Jack has lost his identity in the anonymity of the masked tribe, he is referred to as The Chief.

Question 54

Why might the island be compared to the Garden of Eden?

Answer 54

The island is beautiful - the lagoon is described as almost magical, the beach and palm trees are like a playground for the littluns and there is freshwater and plenty of fruit - it should be easy to survive there. The Garden of Eden is the perfect place in the Bible where Adam and Eve live until they learn about good and evil and lose their blind innocence. In the novel, the boys learn about the good and evil inside themselves and (by the end) their innocence is also lost - ‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence’.

Question 55

Why does Golding show the boys playing and exploring the island so much at the start of the novel?

Answer 55

At the beginning of the novel, the boys act as they would at home, playing happily and exploring the island - ‘Whizzoh!’. Golding is trying to emphasise that the boys are just young children, but that they too are not immune to ‘mankind’s essential illness’. He also shows their childish nature when:
1. Ralph and the others dive and swim in the lagoon.
2. The littluns build sandcastles.
3. They hold an election for chief, but it still feels like a game - they ‘toy’ with the idea of voting.
4. Exploring the island is exciting and they don’t think about long-term survival. Ralph thinks that they can just get some food and wait ‘until the grown-ups come to fetch us’.

Question 56

Summarise the whole book in one sentence:

Answer 56

A group of boys are stranded on a desert island; over time the absence of social constraints and authority figures causes them to descend into savagery, losing their innocence and eventually giving in to mankind’s essential illness.

Question 57

Why does Golding not include many indicators as to how much time has passed (and what does he include)?

Answer 57

The boys don’t keep track of time. There are only clues about how long the story takes, such as the boys’ ‘long hair’, the decomposition of the parachutist’s body and the fact that they lose their identities and forget their old lives.
Losing track of time symbolises their abandonment of the civilised world. Piggy’s suggestion that they build a sundial shows that he is still clinging to science and the old life. This is further shown by how Piggy’s hair does not really grow at all.

Question 58

What kind of language do the boys use to remind the reader that they are 1950s public schoolboys?

Answer 58

The boys say things like ‘Wacco’, ‘Wizard’ and ‘Whizzoh’ to show how excited they are. It’s the sort of slang that public schoolboys would use in the 1950s and makes them seem very innocent. They sometimes sound like comic-book characters, using words like ‘Bong’ and ‘Doink’ as they imagine punishing rule breakers. Cartoon violence like this is unreal - they have no idea that they are capable of inflicting real pain. The boys also begin to swear more as they descend into savagery - ‘Bollocks to the rules!’ - as they enjoy their freedom from the normal conventions of politeness. After the first pig hunt, they start up a violent chant which brings them together as a mob without individual responsibility so that they can commit more savage acts. At the start of the novel, the boys do a lot of shouting and whooping when they’re excited or angry. The sounds get less human and more chilling as their behaviour gets more violent - as they hunt Ralph, they make an ‘ululation’ (a howling noise) to communicate at distances.

Question 59

What does it mean to say that Jack burning the island is ‘mutually assured destruction’?

Answer 59

While Jack burning the island would have smoked out and/or killed Ralph, it would also result in the death of he and his tribe. If they were not killed in the flames, the fire destroys the fruit trees so they would have starved to death. Jack also clearly establishes that he has no remaining interest in being rescued, to the point that he steals Piggy’s glasses to prevent them from keeping up the signal fire. Ironically, him burning the island down in a desperate attempt to kill Ralph creates so much smoke that it draws the attention of a passing ship resulting in their rescue. Essentially if Jack sets the island on fire to kill Ralph, he and his tribe will definitely also die - this has certain parallels with the fallout of nuclear war.

Question 60

By the end of the novel, the tribe members are all referred to as savages. What effect does this have?

Answer 60

At the start of the novel, the boys are ‘children’ and their meeting is an ‘assembly’. By the end of the book the group is called the ‘tribe’ and each child is a nameless ‘savage’. They’ve lost their identities as a result of the lack of social constraints and from overindulging in the anonymity from their tribe’s pack mentality. When the naval officer sees them, they become ‘little boys’ again. This contrasts with Ralph’s inner conflict in this moment, where he weeps ‘for the end of innocence’. By the end of the novel, the tribe all have their faces painted and are referred to as ‘savages’, because their names are no longer important as they all behave in the same primitive way.

Question 61

What is the significance of Piggy’s name?

Answer 61

Piggy’s name automatically establishes him as both weak and a victim for the other boys to prey on. Coincidentally, Ralph (against Piggy’s wishes) is the one who reveals that the kids at Piggy’s old school used to call him that to bully him - this shows one of Ralph’s worser moments. As a result of this episode, Piggy is always called Piggy by the other boys on the island. His humanity is somewhat taken away from him from the offset as (alongside all the parallels made to being/acting like a pig) nobody on the island ever offers Piggy the curtesy of asking him what his actual name is. We do not get to know who he is, and he is literally defined by that he is a bullied overweight victim. This contrasts with Piggy almost immediately asking Ralph his name when they meet in Chapter 1 (only to not be asked his in return).

Question 62

What is the significance of Piggy losing his glasses and the chaos that ensues?

Answer 62

Despite requiring glasses, Piggy manages to resist ‘mankind’s essential illness’ because he is both intelligent and can metaphorically ‘see’ correctly. He recognises the threat of acting ‘like a pack of kids’ to their survival, and makes suggestions of ways to aid their rescue (moving the fire, the sundial, etc.). However, Piggy is shown to be capable of evil under certain conditions as he does participate in the violent murder of Simon. Not long after this point, Jack steals Piggy’s glasses and he loses this more mature insight into human nature. He desperately clings to logic and civilisation (in the form of the conch), and somehow manages to convince himself that they can just reason with Jack to give back the glasses. This misplaced trust in human nature ultimately leads to Piggy’s death at the hands of Roger.

Question 63

What does the name ‘Roger’ mean?

Answer 63

Spear

Question 64

How does Piggy’s way of speaking differ from the other boys and how does this affect how much they respect him?

Answer 64

Piggy’s way of talking shows that he’s different. He isn’t as well-spoken as the others, using improper grammar such as ‘Them fruit’. Piggy is from a much less upper-class background than the other boys - he can not afford private education and lives with his aunt as his parents are both deceased. His background, appearance and dialect all cause the other boys to not respect him. This is clearly shown as they refuse to pay attention to Piggy’s points UNLESS they are presented or backed-up by Ralph (who is a privately-educated boy with a more upper-class dialect and a rich enough family to keep ‘ponies’).

Question 65

True or False: Golding was optimistic about human nature.

Answer 65

False. Golding was pessimistic about human nature, likely as a result of his own experiences in WWII (and there are clear parallels between the Nazi party and some of the characters in Lord of the Flies). He believed that evil couldn’t be defeated because it exists inside everyone and is only contained by the rules of society. Golding saw in the war
that, under the right conditions, evil could rise to the surface and ‘normal’ people would become capable of committing terrible crimes.

Question 66

After the war there was tension between the USSR and the West. How is this reflected in the novel by the way the characters act?

Answer 66

The USSR (the Soviet Union) and the USA had fought together in World War II, but they disagreed about how to divide up Europe afterwards. They also had very different political beliefs - America was a democracy, and the USSR was a communist dictatorship. This led to almost 50 years of hostility between the 2 states - the Cold War. Both sides had huge stocks of nuclear weapons - they thought that having the most weapons would protect them from being attacked. If conflict had broken out, it could have destroyed the world.
The conflict between Ralph and Jack is like the tension between America and the USSR. Ralph represents democracy and Jack represents dictatorship. When conflict breaks out, the resulting fire destroys the whole island - it becomes a burning wreckage and nobody wins.

Question 67

What is the impact of the fact that they are BRITISH boys from 1950’s England descending into savagery?

Answer 67

Being British used to mean being in charge. In the 1950s, Britain still had a large empire across the world. For hundreds of years, British forces had been moving into countries and taking over, building up the British Empire. The boys treat the island in a similar way. Ralph confidently says that the island belongs to them and the boys ‘savoured the right of domination’. Being British implied certain standards and values. Jack says, ‘We’re English; and the English are best at everything’. Their behaviour later on in the story challenges this idea. When the book was written, the British Armed Forces were no longer such a supreme power. Ralph has total confidence that his father, who is in the Navy, will come to rescue them, but Piggy points out that nobody knows where they are. The British Empire had begun to break up by the 1950s - in the novel, the boys’ society breaks into pieces.

Question 68

What were Golding’s views on social class in the 1950’s?

Answer 68

A lot of people believed that a privileged background and good schooling automatically produced decent human beings. Likely because of his experience as a private school teacher, Golding conveys that he disagrees with this world view in many ways. The boys are from middle and upper class backgrounds, and have orderly, respectable upbringings. They would be expected to be self-disciplined and reasonable at home. Their savage behaviour by the end of the story shows that these values aren’t instinctive - the boys could only keep their violent instincts under control when they had to obey outside rules and social constraints. Piggy is less posh than the other boys - he often uses improper grammar and double negatives - ‘Aren’t I having none?’. But he turns out to be one of the nicest, most intelligent characters. Golding is showing that social class does not determine how good or worthwhile a person is. Jack and the choir seem to have come from an elite public school - they wear formal uniforms and use words like ‘matins’ (morning prayer) and ‘precentor’ (choir teacher). The boys would have had a very strict hierarchy and a controlled existence. The strict discipline hasn’t given them self-control though. It has just made them more likely to obey a vicious leader like Jack and enjoy being wild and free for a change (which has dire consequences for the groups’ survival).

Question 69

How does Lord of the Flies compare with The Coral Island? Name 3 similarities/differences:

Answer 69

THE CORAL ISLAND:
1. The boys light a fire by rubbing two sticks together. They have all the skills they need.
2. Jack is a natural leader. He always knows what to do and is brave, decent and fair. There is no conflict between him and Ralph - just friendship and support.
3. The boys kill a pig together with hardly any noise or mess.
LORD OF THE FLIES:
1. At first, Jack and Ralph don’t know how to light a fire without matches. Jack eventually uses Piggy’s glasses.
2. Jack and Ralph start to become friends but they have very different personalities and values. This soon causes conflict between them which turns to hatred.
3. The killing of the sow is bloody and grotesque, with the boys enjoying torturing her before she dies.

Question 70

Why might Golding have decided to name the antagonist of his novel ‘Jack’ and the protagonist of his novel ‘Ralph’?

Answer 70

Golding deliberately uses the same names as in The Coral Island (Ralph and Jack). He wanted a more realistic version which reflected how he believed British boys would behave if stranded on a desert island.

Question 71

What is the impact of Lord of the Flies having no clear villain (no pirates, no sea monsters, no cannibals, etc.)?

Answer 71

Lord of the Flies makes people think. Books like The Coral Island often portrayed native people who behaved in brutal ways and British people who were very civilised. Golding challenges these stereotypes showing British schoolboys behaving in a barbaric way - they are capable of savage behaviour. In Lord of the Flies, there are no enemies such as pirates or cannibals to fight. The evil is within the boys themselves (‘mankind’s essential illness’) which is much more difficult to both come to terms with and defeat.

Question 72

What kinds of animalistic language are used to emphasise the theme of fear?

Answer 72

As the boys become more frightened, they act more savagely. This makes them more scared, because they think the beast is getting stronger. When they kill Simon with ‘tooth’ and ‘claws’, Golding shows that fear has made them behave like wild animals and act on instinct without consideration.

Question 73

Why do we never find out Piggy’s real name?

Answer 73

We never find out Piggy’s real name because none of the other boys ever return the curtesy of asking Piggy his name. (despite him individually asking for each of theirs). Ralph introduces him as Piggy (against Piggy’s express wishes) as this was the name which kids at his old school used to call him because of his appearance. Alongside other parallels with pigs, Piggy is even more dehumanised by Golding in thee sense that we don’t get to know his name. He is referred to as ‘Piggy’ for the entire novel - for the months leading up to his death, he is literally defined by the fact that he is a bullied victim. This causes the other boys to respect him less and use his ‘name’ as an insult. Essentially, Piggy’s name further takes away from his humanity and establishes him as the clear victim for the boys to bully (and eventually murder).

Question 74

What does the name ‘Simon’ mean?

Answer 74

He who listens

Question 75

What does the name ‘Jack’ mean?

Answer 75

One who supplants/usurper (one who overtakes/takes by force)

Question 76

What does the name ‘Ralph’ mean?

Answer 76

Counsel

Question 77

What does the presence of the naval officer at the end of the novel represent?

Answer 77

The naval officer who arrives to rescue them is wearing a clan, white uniform which should symbolise order and purity. Ralph has lost his confidence in the adult world though - he knows the uniform only hides the evil that is in human nature and cries for the loss of his innocence and ignorance to this fact. The officer sees the boys from an outsider’s point of view - ‘little boys’. His viewpoint emphasises how savage the boys have become. He has his hand on his revolver - this shows that the outside world is actually just as war-torn and uncivilised as the island.

Question 78

Describe the physical appearance/traits of the naval officer who shows up at the end of the novel:

Answer 78

The naval officer who arrives to rescue them is wearing a clean, white uniform which should symbolise order and purity. Ralph has lost his confidence in the adult world and is now aware that uniforms only further hide the evil that exists within all of mankind. He cries as he will never be able to forget that fact and enjoy childish innocence (or ignorance) ever again - he is saved from death but not from the newfound knowledge of ‘mankind’s essential illness’.

Question 79

What is a deus ex-machina?

Answer 79

An unnatural or very unlikely end to a story or event, that solves or removes any problems too easily.

Question 80

Analyse the quote: ‘Jack seized the conch.’

Answer 80

The use of the verb ‘seized’ portrays Jack as greedy and desperate - he is prepared to take control/power (in the form of the conch) by using brute force.

Question 81

Analyse the quote: ‘What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.’

Answer 81

Simon echoes Piggy’s line of ‘unless we get frightened of people’ in a more thought out and developed way - this line essentially encapsulates the message that Golding is trying to convey. The beast is not a physical being and thus cannot be easily killed. ‘The beast’ is the evil that lurks within mankind (‘mankind’s essential illness’). Their fear of the beast is causing them to descend further into savagery and lose their humanity - they are returning to their primal instincts. Golding believed that evil exists within everyone and, under the right conditions, evil would come to the surface and seemingly ‘normal’ people would reveal themselves to be capable of committing terrible crimes.

Question 82

Analyse the quote: ‘Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness.’

Answer 82

‘Inarticulate’ shows how awkward and overwhelmed Simon becomes when he is in a situation involving social pressure. If Simon had been able to properly articulate his observation, he may have stood more of a chance at convincing them that the beast was not real. Instead, they tear him apart in an act of animalistic violence on the beach when he tries to tell them about the parachutist. His failure to explain himself reminds the reader that he is just a young boy trying to express a complicated idea. The others laugh at him and Piggy says he’s ‘cracked’ - their attitude towards him hints that they won’t accept that the beast is inside them in time to control it either way. ‘Mankind’s essential illness’ is the idea the Golding tries to convey throughout the novel. It is the primal evil lurking in the hearts of everyone which, under the right conditions, can come to the surface and make a seemingly ‘normal’ person become capable of committing terrible crimes. This has parallels with the horrors Golding would have seen ‘noble’ soldiers commit in World War II.

Question 83

Analyse the quote: ‘We may stay here till we die.’

Answer 83

Piggy is portrayed as a harsh realist - he is mature in the sense that he is not panicking at this point despite being aware that the logical odds of them being rescued are insanely low. He notes that nobody knows where they are and that the people who sent them on the plane are likely all dead - this is one of the main points where it is clear that Lord of the Flies is set to a background of nuclear war. Piggy’s pessimistic nature however is also one of the key reasons why he would not make as good of a leader - he would likely struggle to motivate the boys to remain positive and keep up their hopes of rescue. When the boys forget about rescue, they begin their descent into savagery.

Question 84

Analyse the quote: ‘The boy who controlled them…’

Answer 84

The introduction of Jack portrays him as “the boy who controlled [the choir],” foregrounding his desire for power and ability to lead. However, the choir do not respect him - they vote for him ‘with dreary obedience’. His desire for control and his obsessive need to prove himself as equal to/superior to Ralph after being outvoted leads him to form his dictatorial tribe where he is The Chief.

Question 85

Analyse the quote: “Shut up, Fatty!”

Answer 85

The direct tone of ‘shut up’ shows Jack’s controlling nature. The fact that he refers to Piggy as ‘Fatty’ is a clear demonstration of why he would not make a good leader - he discriminates against and bullies those who are weaker. The exclamation mark shows how forceful Jack is.

Question 86

Analyse the quote: ‘the unbearable blood…’

Answer 86

When Jack first tries to kill a pig, he cannot deal with the guilt of the knife descending into living flesh and the ‘unbearable blood’. This shows that, in Chapter 1, he is still somewhat constrained by the rules of the society he has left behind. However, he is clearly embarrassed by his inability to kill the pig, which gradually causes him to descend into ‘madness’.

Question 87

Analyse the quote: “But there isn’t a beastie!”

Answer 87

Ralph loses the faith and trust of the littluns because, while he does not refer to them as ‘cry-babies’, he refuses to take their concerns seriously. His denial of the beast (as opposed to acknowledging the threat that the fear of it poses to their fragile society) leads to the other boys eventually seeking the safety promised by Jack’s tribe.

Question 88

Analyse the quote: ‘The madness came into his eyes again.’

Answer 88

After failing to kill the pig in Chapter 1, Jack is driven mad by a lust for blood - he needs to prove himself as respected as Ralph and (despite having been designated the role of hunter) he has failed to kill a pig. His obsession with trying to kill drives him mad and leads him to forget about rescue - ‘Jack had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was’.

Question 89

What does Simon’s death symbolise?

Answer 89

Simon’s death is horrific - the boy’s use their bare hands and teeth to tear and bite at Simon. This mirrors how instinctual and animalistic their attack on him is - it is wild animal-like savagery which both Piggy and Ralph get swept up in. The boy’s evil by this point has progressed from killing a pig for food, to laughing as they slaughter one, to violent murder. When they kill him, despite the confusion and far from the dark and the dance and the storm, he is at one point described as ‘Simon’ - deep down they recognise him but are too frenzied to stop. His death is the point of no return - the boys cannot go back to being civilised. Ralph is the only one who acknowledges their responsibility in Simon’s death - even Piggy is in denial, likely as he desperately clings to the logic of civilisation throughout the novel. Simon’s death shows what even the most decent human beings are capable of - it is the beginning of open savagery. It is also significant that Simon is the first to die. Unlike the others, Simon does not struggle with inner evil - he is a pure, kind figure often thought as even spiritual. Golding is trying to show that, even if there are a few truly good well-meaning people in the world, they will be subjected to and preyed on by others as they will not fit in. Simon represents the goodness inside all humans - his weak nature and eventual death show that, although we all have good in us, the evil is stronger. After Simon’s death, the weather becomes very calm and the sea gently takes his body away - it’s as if nature is mourning Simon’s death. This is an example of pathetic fallacy - Golding describes nature as if it has human feelings. As his body is washed out to sea, it seems to turn ‘silver’ and ‘marble’ as if it’s something heavenly. The water surrounds his head with a ‘brightness’ like an angel’s halo. Despite religious connotations of Simon’s character, his death is different from the sacrifice of Jesus. Simon’s death only leads to mor savagery, not to the boys’ salvation.

Question 90

What kinds of descriptive language does Golding include to make Simon seem more spiritual and angelic? How does this impact his role in the story?

Answer 90

Some people think Simon represents a figure like Jesus. He never does anything to harm people, he hands out food to the littluns’ ‘outstretched arms’ and makes a prediction about the future - ‘you’ll get back alright’. He dies because he tries to tell the others the truth and they reject it. But unlike the death of Jesus, Simon’s death only leads to more savagery, not to the boys’ salvation. The descriptions of Simon sometimes sound religious. His body seems to turn silver and ‘marble’ as it’s washed out to sea, as if it’s something heavenly. The water surrounds his head with ‘brightness’ like an angel’s halo. After Simon’s death, the weather becomes very calm and the sea gently takes his body away, it’s as if nature is mourning his death and reclaiming his corpse. This is an example of pathetic fallacy - Golding describes nature as if it has human feelings. Simon’s secret place in the forest is full of ‘candle buds’ which open wide as he sits alone at dusk. It makes you think of candles in a peaceful church - it is spiritual and calm. Simon’s secret part of the forest is beautiful until the hunters leave the pig’s head there. This symbolises the way evil destroys innocence.

Question 91

What does Piggy’s death symbolise?

Answer 91

Piggy’s death symbolises the death of logic and reason. Similar to Simon, he ‘fell’ before he died - Piggy fell from the cliff, Simon ‘fell’ when he passed out after speaking to The Lord of The Flies. Falling has religious connotations in relation to Heaven and Hell, or the fall from grace. When Piggy dies, he is still desperately clutching the conch as a symbol of civilisation and Ralph’s democratic leadership. Its delicate nature causes it to smash into a thousand pieces - it is irreparable, all Ralph can do is flee. The tribe fall silent when they realise Piggy is dead out of shock, but Jack and Roger are gleeful - Jack even declares that ‘I meant that!’. They are so detached from their previous identities that they feel no guilt about the murder - Simon was killed in a frenzy of fear but Piggy was actively murdered. From this point on, Jack is referred to as The Chief and the tribe are referred to as nameless savages. When Jack tries to kill Ralph, he escapes out of ‘instinct’ - Ralph is like a scared animal to be hunted, not a civilised human. Piggy’s death is so shocking because it is described so simply - ‘his head opened and stuff came out and turned red’. This emphasises Ralph’s horror and disbelief at what he has just witnessed.

Question 92

What is ‘mankind’s essential illness’?

Answer 92

Mankind’s essential illness is the evil which Golding believed was in everyone on Earth, however well disguised. Under the ‘right’ conditions (such as in a war), this evil would rise to the surface and seemingly ‘normal’ people would reveal themselves to be capable of committing terrible acts.

Question 93

Analyse the quote: ‘Whizzoh!’

Answer 93

‘Whizzoh’ sounds like something which would have been said by a 1950s public school boy. It shows Ralph’s initial excitement due to the beauty of the island and lack of parental control. This contrasts with how he later misses the logic and safety of the adult world as the atmosphere becomes darker and more hostile.

Question 94

Analyse the quote: ‘Jack had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was.’

Answer 94

Jack could serve as an enforcer of rightful authority and necessary discipline, but he does not share Ralph’s civilized vision. He is fast losing the traces of civilization and tuning into his animal self: crouched ‘dog-like’ and reacting to a sudden bird cry with ‘a hiss of indrawn breath . . . ape-like among the tangle of trees.’ Jack seems to be losing his powers of rational thought, as well: Not only does he not share Ralph’s priority on rescue, he ‘had to think for a moment before he could remember what rescue was.’. This indicates he is forgetting about their goal - keep up the fire to signal ships and be rescued. Forgetting about rescue in favour of hunting leads a ship to pass without noticing them in Chapter 4 - Jack is blamed for this, which strengthens the conflict between him and Ralph.

Question 95

Analyse the quote: “Grown-ups know things…They’d meet and have tea and discuss. Then things ‘ud be alright…They wouldn’t set fire to the island.”

Answer 95

Piggy clings to the hope of civilisation throughout the novel (likely as an anarchy would pose a threat to him, having been singled out as weaker and picked on by others). Him talking about how civilised the adult world is is morbidly ironic to the reader. The grownups did not and are not meeting to have tea and discuss - they are brutally murdering one another, often hurting innocent people in the process. They long for the civilised adult society which they have grown up to believe in - but the reality is that adult society caused them to be shot down and crash on the island. They are in this situation because of an adult society which has broken down and resorted to extreme violence, mirrored in boys’ behaviour on the microcosm of the island. The quote also foreshadows the savages setting light to the island at the end of the novel as a form of mutually assured destruction.

Question 96

Analyse the quote: “We began well. We were happy. And then-“

Answer 96

Ralph cannot really pinpoint what went wrong. He implemented rules but is frustrated and confused by the lack of efficiency. He does not understand the role that punishment, threat and social constraints play in modern society so cannot see that the boys are not motivated to help. They do not see themselves in imminent danger from anything other than the beast, which Ralph consistently denies (likely, in their eyes, without any real justification). The boys are reminiscing on the naïve nature of Chapter 1, where their plans were optimistic but inconsequential.

Question 97

Analyse the quote: “Unless we get frightened of people.”

Answer 97

Piggy voices a scientific, civilized and mature thought. He doesn’t believe in the ‘beast’, like the other kids do and he did not loose his civilization and what society taught him. ‘Unless we get frightened of people’ is a great foreshadowing about the fear he will experience with Jack and his tribe in the final chapters. He knows that there is nothing to fear on the island except themselves. This precedes Simon’s observation which sums up Golding’s entire message - ‘What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.’

Question 98

Analyse the quote: “Because rules are the only thing we’ve got!”

Answer 98

This shows the only major problem with Ralph’s democracy. He does not voice his concerns that the fear of the beast is posing a threat to his control to anyone other than Piggy (whose opinion is intelligent but universally disregarded). The quote portrays him as desperate in this moment for the boys to listen and follow the somewhat naïve plan laid out in the optimistic opening. He fails to adapt or intervene as Jack steps in to use the fear of the beast as a tool to get others to join his tribe - ‘If there is a beast, we’ll hunt it down!’. This makes Jack’s ‘demented but partly secure society’ appeal more to the hunters (and Ralph and Piggy in Chapter 9). Other boys gradually follow suite as they are drawn to the sense of community and security offered by Jack’s new tribe. Ralph fails to implement the rules hard enough - he is not superior enough to impose punishment for not following them but this is a key aspect of society. People are controlled by social constraints and the threat of punishment - it is very challenging to motivate young boys to work together for the good of the group when they do not see themselves as in imminent danger from anything other than the beast. Ralph’s authority lacks the threat possessed by parents and schoolmasters to enforce the rules and resolutions. Although he doesn’t like building huts any better than any of the others, he is able to control his impulses and do what is necessary - but cannot discipline the other boys. He is clearly confused by the lack of efficiency in terms of the rules they make and the few they follow through on - he ‘bitterly’ states - ‘Meetings. Don’t we love meetings?’.

Question 99

Analyse the quote: “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!”

Answer 99

Immediately after their first successful hunt, Jack’s hunters chant as a group, showing that they prefer to enact violence as a mob, rather than as individuals. Their chanting shows their cohesion, and their delight over killing becomes ritualistic. The pronouns of the chant change throughout the book - initially they are killing a ‘the’ or an ‘it’. Later on, the pronouns become more human (foreshadowing murder) - ‘his’. Eventually, the chant adds a fourth section - ‘Do him in!’. This has parallels with the Lord of the Flies threatening Simon to give in to the beast - ‘or else, we shall do you? See?’.

Question 100

Analyse the quote: “Roger sharpened a stick at both ends.”

Answer 100

A stick sharpened at both ends isn’t a tool used for hunting/protection, it is used for killing. This shows how bloodthirsty and evil Roger has become. At this point, they are hunting Ralph for sport - they are not hungry and have no need to resort to cannibalism, they just dislike him and would get pleasure from brutally maiming him. Roger means to put one sharpened end into the ground and put Ralph’s severed head on the other sharpened end, like their sacrifices to the beast - the ‘pig’s head on a stick’. A stick sharpened at both ends can brutally kill, torture and display the kill as a symbol for all to see.

Question 101

Analyse the quote: “Let’s have a vote!”

Answer 101

This is said by Roger, perhaps because he wants to probe the growing conflict between Jack and Ralph for his own entertainment. It also indicates that Roger himself doesn’t wish to be in charge, but rather wants to be told who to follow, and how. This desire to follow a leader makes him the perfect lieutenant for Jack, and an apt torturer and terrorizer of other boys on the island.

Question 102

Analyse the quote: ‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy.’

Answer 102

These lines from the end of Chapter 12 occur near the close of the novel, after the boys encounter the naval officer, who appears as if out of nowhere to save them. When Ralph sees the officer, his sudden realization that he is safe and will be returned to civilization plunges him into a reflective despair. The rescue is not a moment of unequivocal joy, for Ralph realizes that, although he is saved from death on the island, he will never be the same. He has lost his innocence and learned about the evil that lurks within all human beings. Here, Golding explicitly connects the sources of Ralph’s despair to two of the main themes of the novel: the end of innocence and the ‘darkness of man’s heart’ - the presence of savage instincts lurking within all human beings, even at the height of civilization. The boys are saved from the island, but must live with the burden of the newfound knowledge of their own evil.

Question 103

Why might Golding have decided for the corpses of Piggy and Simon to be washed away by the sea?

Answer 103

It is as if nature is reclaiming them. Their bodies being washed away also indicates their insignificance in the grand scheme of things. While both Simon and Piggy were mostly good-hearted and perceptive, their good is overwhelmed by the massive amount of evil on the island in the hearts of the other boys. Their bodies being washed away so quickly shows how, despite their best efforts, they could not conquer the evil and will be swiftly forgotten. This helps the boys with denial of the act. When Simon dies, Ralph is the only one to acknowledge their responsibility, calling it ‘murder’. Simon’s body being quickly washed away means that they do not have to face the reality of their actions - Piggy continues to cling to the hope of a civilisation by convincing himself that Simon’s death was an accident. This misplaced optimism in humanity ironically leads to his death as well.

Question 104

Analyse the quote: ‘Piggy and Ralph, under threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take place in this demented but partly secure society.’

Answer 104

Ralph and Piggy join the dance because they feel more secure and comfortable around the other boys in the midst of a frightening tropical storm. They are lonely, afraid, and desire the company of Jack and his hunters. The two boys are also exhilarated by the frenzy and desire to embrace their primitive instincts by participating in the ritual. ‘Under threat of the sky’ could also allude to the war being fought in the sky above them (the dead parachutist). Jack’s group is barbaric, undiplomatic, and nearly dangerous to the two boys, but the number of people radiates a sense of temporary security. To Ralph and Piggy, nature’s mighty power is far more intimidating than the menace of Jack’s group. The nature of the island is vast, dark, unexplored, and apparently infinite because of the uniformity and succession of its elements. Facing both the island and the imagination of the beast, Ralph and Piggy perhaps feel too despaired to remain as individuals - they are drawn in by the freedom and chaos. Jack is also framed as an abusive but benevolent leader - he does provide the two boys with cooked food which is something they cannot do themselves. ‘Eager’ shows how desperate they really are for security and a sense of community (however much the community contradicts their moral beliefs).

Question 105

Analyse the quote: ‘The mask compelled them.’

Answer 105

In Lord of the Flies, the mask becomes a new persona for Jack, one that enables his violent tendencies and puts him in conflict with Ralph’s rationality. The boys wear the masks as a way to hide from the guilt which would likely come from killing a pig. The pack mentality combined with the anonymity provided by the masks relinquishes them of guilt or responsibility. From this point onwards, the boys begin to descend into savagery - in Chapter 8 they kill a pig and actively torture her before she dies because they develop a lust for blood. They are ‘compelled’ by their newfound sense of freedom which comes from a lack of need to take responsibility for their actions. The mask is also almost personified in this phrase - it is influencing the group, persuading them to kill and hurt. It should be noted that Jack’s mask is actively described as red and white - the colours of the English flag. This has parallels with wars, where ‘normal’ people become capable of committing terrible acts of violence in the name of patriotism (represented by their national flag).

Question 106

Analyse the quote: “Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong - we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!”

Answer 106

In Chapter 5, Jack feels that being a hunter is more important than following Ralph’s rules. He values killing and hunting more than contributing to the order and civilization of the island. Jack demonstrates his growing desire for power over the others as he begins establishing an authoritarian system focused on hunting and barbarity.
The other boys react to Jack’s outburst with overwhelming excitement - ‘At once the platform was full of noise and excitement, scramblings, screams and laughter’. The boys are drawn in by the fact that Jack recognises the fear of the beast (while Ralph denies it) and declares ‘Bollocks to the rules!’. Golding deliberately makes it unclear as to whether or not Jack really believes in the beast. He initially thinks that the littluns are just ‘cry-babies’, but is is unclear as to whether or not he is just using the collective fear of the beast to tear down Ralph’s civilisation without actually believing in the beast. To the other boys, Jack appears to be listening to their concerns - Ralph just consistently denies the concept on principle. ‘Bollocks’ also shows that the freedom from social constraints is allowing Jack to let go and use language which he would normally be punished for saying. The exclamation marks indicate that Jack is yelling - it is almost as if he is rallying a rebellion among the boys. They also highlight his forceful nature.

Question 107

Analyse the quote: ‘…infinite cynicism of adult life…’

Answer 107

The staked sow’s eyes are ‘dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life’ - a view of adults not defined by the civilized politeness and capability the boys imagine. Cynicism comes from cynic, which is a person who believes that selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view.
Simon later hears the head speak with a schoolmaster’s voice, telling him to accept the presence of evil on the island. This view of adults is not defined by the civilized politeness and capability the boys imagined just two nights before, after the assembly. Cynicism results from gaining experience while losing optimism; having witnessed the pig’s slaughter and defacement has given Simon experience in death and brutality and caused him to lose hope. Yet he soldiers on in his quest to discover the identity of the beast on the mountain top, the beast he knows is false because he has just had a conversation with the true beast. In this chapter, Simon’s ‘gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition’ as he looks upon the Lord of the Flies. Both Simon and Jack are connecting with the savagery that begets evil, but Jack revels in it while Simon is undone by it, trapped by his vision of the Lord of the Flies in his hidden spot until he passes out.

Question 108

Analyse the quote: ‘However Simon thought of the beast there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick’

Answer 108

Simon knew that the only beast lay inside the human soul. Simon knows that humanity has the capacity for good and evil. Humans are capable of kindness but possess a sickness that draws them to darkness. It is a paradox that Simon struggles with throughout the novel. The word ‘heroic’ has parallels with the ‘heroic’ soldiers who were out fighting and committing acts of extreme violence, only to be rewarded and respected for their patriotism. Comparing ‘mankind’s essential illness’ with a sickness also depicts the evil as inescapable - everyone is capable of giving in to their inner evil and nobody can resist this under the ‘right’ conditions.

Question 109

Analyse the quote: ‘The fire was dead. The ship was gone. Anger instead of decency passed his throat.’

Answer 109

‘The fire was dead.’ This is clear and simple, like Ralphs anger at the confirmation of his fears about the fire being out; this is exaggerated further by the use of the word ‘dead’, suggesting a tone of death around the boys - ‘We may stay here till we die’. The ship has passed without being signalled - civilisation is moving further and further away from them as the days go by, and their chances of rescue are depleting as they forget their initial purpose (rescue). The use of the word ‘death’ is linked to later when Jack leads a procession of boys out of the jungle up to the mountain with ‘the gutted carcass of a pig hanging from a stake’. This is ironic because the boys only miss the ship passing because they are out hunting – emphasizing the move further from civilisation towards savagery. They prioritized non-urgent survival on the island over getting off the island. The argument that follows is partly due to the fire but also because Piggy’s glasses were broken from Jack assaulting him. Ralph stood up to Jack as they gave very different and clear points of view; it is this that leads to the eventual complete meltdown of relations between the two. Ralph has learnt to value Piggy’s intelligence and grows closer to him through sharing a similar viewpoint. ‘Anger instead of decency passed his throat’ - Ralph is so angry that he loses his sense of fair democracy and just wants to yell at Jack. This would feel good, but would also get them nowhere (and just strengthens the divide between the two).

Question 110

Why is the destruction of the conch when Piggy is killed symbolic?

Answer 110

Piggy’s death symbolises the end of logic and civilisation. In the events leading up to his death, he literally and metaphorically clings to the conch as a lifeline back to civilisation - it represents the optimistic society formed and led by Ralph in Chapter 1. When he was brutally murdered by Roger, Piggy fell to his death still clutching the conch and it ‘exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’. This shows the culmination of the emphasis on the fragility of the conch - it is an easily broken power symbol showing that Ralph’s ‘civilisation’ was doomed from the start due to ‘mankind’s essential illness’. The destruction of the conch is the point of no return - the savages cannot be reasoned with and their past civilisation is permanently in ruins. When Piggy is killed the language contrasts with the usually very in depth descriptions - he falls, hits his head and ‘red stuff’ comes out. This shows Ralph is frozen in shock and horror at what he has just witnessed. He instinctively flees after this point, pursued by the savages - he now knows for certain that their previous ‘civilisation’ is over - the conch was what formed it and elected him as chief, and there is no way to reassemble it and try to reason with Jack anymore.

Question 111

What does the dead parachutist represent?

Answer 111

At the beginning of chapter six, Ralph and Piggy’s prayers are answered when a paratrooper is shot out of the sky and descends onto the top of the mountain, where the corpse is caught in the treetops and lifelessly sways in the wind.
The dead parachutist is a brutal reminder to the boys that they’re on their own. No one in the adult world is going to come to their rescue any time soon. To the reader, the dead parachutist is a connection to the outside world of adults, which exists beyond the island. To the boys on the island, the parachutist is a fearsome, nightmare-provoking beast. Simon is the only character to realize that the true beast is the darkness that lives in each of them. He sees the parachutist for what it really is, but is killed before he can share this information with the others. The dead paratrooper also symbolically represents the presence of evil on the island and alludes to Satan’s descent from heaven. It also symbolizes the adult world and its chronic inability to achieve peace. The boys may have crash-landed on a remote desert island, but even here they cannot escape the belligerence that originally sent them there.

Question 112

Analyse the quote: “Let’s vote on it…ghosts I mean.”

Answer 112

This highlights the problem with Ralph’s democratic way of running the island - he believes that everything should be absolutely fair and all decisions should be made by vote. However, he leaves no margin for logic (unlike Piggy). Ralph is gradually losing power as the fear of the beast grows and the boys gradually turn to the security and pack mentality of Jack’s tribe. If the majority voted that ghosts were real, this would have only sped up this descent into savagery. Essentially, just because the majority of people vote that something is real/true, that does not make it so - this would only act to speed up the group’s hysteria surrounding the beast.

Question 113

Analyse the quote: “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close!”

Answer 113

The Lord of the Flies speaks these lines to Simon in Chapter 8, during Simon’s vision in the glade. These words confirm Simon’s speculation in Chapter 5 that perhaps the beast is only the boys themselves. This idea of the evil on the island being within the boys is central to the novel’s exploration of innate human savagery. The Lord of the Flies identifies itself as the beast and acknowledges to Simon that it exists within all human beings: “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” The creature’s grotesque language and bizarre appropriation of the boys’ slang (“I’m the reason why it’s no go”) makes the creature appear even more hideous and devilish, for he taunts Simon with the same colloquial, familiar language the boys use themselves. Simon, startled by his discovery, tries to convey it to the rest of the boys, but the evil and savagery within them boils to the surface, as they mistake him for the beast itself, set upon him, and kill him. Repetition of ‘close’ shows the urgency of the situation - there is not much time left as the boys become more and more savage each day.

Question 114

Analyse the quote: “We’ll have hands up like at school.”

Answer 114

At the first meeting, Ralph creates rules that mimic the civilized world that the boys recently left. The conch is used not only to call meetings but also to establish order when the boys talk. Thus, the conch symbolizes civilization, adult rules, and the democratic process. As Ralph is the first to utilize the conch as a social tool, it also becomes a symbol of Ralph’s legitimacy as a leader.

Question 115

Analyse the quote: “No grownups!”

Answer 115

This reveals that the boys are actually relishing the lack of adult authority. Despite the fact that they are marooned and in need of finding a way to survive, secretly they are thrilled to be in control of themselves. As the novel progresses, we will see that the older boys especially, will wield this opportunity to exert their own control (and even abuse it) over the younger boys. The boys are no longer expected to act posh and civilised - they are in control and can do what they want in their newfound dominion.

Question 116

Analyse the quote: “We’ll have rules”, he cried excitedly…“then when anyone breaks them-“

Answer 116

Jack wants to make rules for the other boys, but he only wants to do this so that he can punish them and enforce his power and dominance. However, he refuses to follow the rules when they don’t suit him, showing his childish nature - ‘Bollocks to the rules!’ and ‘I don’t want to play anymore…not with you’. He also makes up new rules on the spot showing his fickle nature - for example, when he decides the conch is invalid on the other side of the island. The dash cuts out the end of this sentence so that Jack’s violent nature is still somewhat concealed - this fits better with the naïve and optimistic note of Chapter 1, but still foreshadows Jack’s eventual transformation into a cruel and uncaring dictator.

Question 117

Which historical figure is Ralph’s character most comparable with?

Answer 117

Ralph’s character is most comparable with Neville Chamberlain, who was the conservative Prime Minister of England from 1937 to 1940, preceding Winston Churchill. He is known for having pledged to defend Poland’s independence if they were attacked - this was what caused Britain to be pulled into WWII after the invasion of Poland. This reflects the democratic but one-dimensional decisions made by Ralph as chief - ‘because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!’. Chamberlain is often criticised for irresponsible leadership/loss of control (perhaps to play up Churchill). This could link to Ralph losing his following as the boys join Jack’s tribe as they see him as (although violent) a more safe, certain and idyllic leader (given their collective fear of the beast).

Question 118

Which historical figure is Jack’s character most comparable with?

Answer 118

Jack’s character is most comparable with Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party. He seizes power - ‘Jack seized the conch’ - and uses fear to control others. Even his own choir group dislike him at the beginning of the novel, voting for him ‘with dreary obedience’. Jack preys on the weaker members of the group, calling the littluns ‘cry-babies’ and verbally (and occasionally physically) abusing Piggy. He rejects Ralph’s more democratic way of running the island - ‘Bollocks to the rules!’ - and decides to use the fear of the beast to persuade others to join his own tribe. Jack’s tribe prioritises fun and hunting prey over survival and rescue. They refer to Jack as The Chief as he loses his humanity and demands the boys’ total loyalty and obedience. He beats members of the group and nobody challenges him even if he gives no reason. Jack assigns Roger as his hangman - anyone who refuses to join the tribe (such as Samneric) will be tortured - ‘You got to join the tribe’.

Question 119

What is a microcosm?

Answer 119

A community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristics of something much larger.

Question 120

What do Piggy’s glasses symbolise?

Answer 120

Piggy and his glasses are intellectual, logical and clear-headed. They represent science, intellectualism and careful, thoughtful behaviour. The way that they are used and stolen by Jack shows how science can be used as a weapon. It also shows Jack’s disrespect for what they represent. The way they are being broken shows how science and rationality are being eroded at and these values are being removed. If the glasses were to be totally wrecked it would mean that science was dead. Piggy’s glasses and Piggy are the “Superego” side of everyone. Piggy’s glasses are the group’s only way to start a fire and so are essential for both survival and rescue. It could be argued that, despite his bad sight, Piggy is the only one (besides Simon) who sees clearly. However, when he loses his glasses for good, he starts to cling to a lost hope that they can just reason with Jack - this lack of his previous judgment ultimately leads to his death.

Question 121

What does dancing symbolise in Lord of the Flies?

Answer 121

Dancing is one of the things which draws the other boys to Jack’s tribe - it provides a sense of belonging and anyone who refuses to participate in the chaotic fun is considered an ‘outsider’. At one point, even Ralph and Piggy participate in the dance - but this is not a triumphant moment of unity. It is a desperate attempt to forget about the rules and enjoy the wild uncaring fun of the dance - but they lose control to the extent that when Simon comes running along the beach to save them from themselves, they believe he is the beast and kill him with ‘tooth’ and ‘claw’ without a second thought. The wild dance symbolizes the loss of order and control. It represents a loss of civilization. The hunters also dance when they kill or pretend to kill a pig - sometimes there is even a boy acting out the role of a pig who is injured as they lose control (Robert). The boys are celebrating and replaying their killing of the pig through a dance. Death is not something to celebrate. Because they DO celebrate the killing, it shows their wildness, and it represents savagery.

Question 122

How does Golding present nature in Lord of the Flies?

Answer 122

The island is like the Garden of Eden - the perfect place in the Bible where Adam and Eve live until they learn about good and evil and lose their innocence. In the novel, the boys learn about the good and evil inside themselves, and by the end, their innocence is lost too. However, the island isn’t always friendly. At the beginning of the story, Ralph and Piggy have already been scratched by thorns and Piggy gets tangled in creepers. Golding is hinting that the island isn’t a perfect island. The boys eat fruit that’s either not ripe enough or too ripe - this gives them ‘chronic diarrhoea’. The weather often reflects the mood of the story - on the night Simon dies in the wild and frantic dance, the weather is also wild and thundery. In the ocean, ‘sharks awaited’ - the boys are trapped on the island so this introduces a feeling of danger (there is no escape). The boys damage the island - but nature is powerful and repairs itself. The crashing plane left a ‘scar’ in the forest, like the island has been injured. The boy’s destruction of the island symbolises man’s destruction of nature. Nature is indifferent to human behaviour - a storm drags the plane wreckage out to sea, and undergrowth begins to cover up the scar left by the crash. It is the boys, not the island, who will never be the same again.

Question 123

How does Golding twist the normal structure of adventure stories?

Answer 123

Golding twists the normal structure of adventure stories - the boys are rescued, but they’re not saved from their new knowledge of their own evil.

Question 123

How does Golding show that Lord of the Flies is set during a nuclear war?

Answer 123

1. Piggy reminds Ralph that the plane crashed because they were attacked. Piggy asks Ralph if he remembers what the pilot said about the bomb and notes that ‘they’re all dead’.
2. The dead airman comes from ‘a battle fought at 10 miles’ height’.
3. This creates a backdrop of fear and violence that echoes the fear and violence on the island. At the end of the novel the boys are rescued, but Golding makes it clear they are going back to a savage, war-torn society - and their experiences of human nature on the island have taken away their childish innocence. They are rescued but not saved from their new knowledge of their own evil and the evil within those they have always been told to look up to.

Question 124

Which historical figure is Roger’s character most comparable with?

Answer 124

Himmler. Himmler was an important figure in the Nazi party. Hitler put him in charge of organising the concentration camps where millions of people died. Roger has a similar position in Jack’s tribe - he carries out violent acts for Jack. He becomes the executioner and torturer - unlike Simon’s death, Roger single-handedly murders Piggy with a clear conscience. He tortures Samneric to get them to join Jack’s tribe, and relishes in causing pigs extreme pain before thy die. Roger ‘sharpened a stick at both ends’ during the hunt for Ralph - if he was caught, this implies Roger intended to mutilate him in a similar way to the ‘pig’s head on a stick’.

Question 124

What does darkness symbolise in Lord of the flies?

Answer 124

Golding uses darkness to represent evil. There are also certain parallels with the dark and loss of metaphorical ‘sight’ - as they begin to no longer ‘see’ clearly (ie. focus on rescue) they resort to their violent primal instincts. At the beginning of the novel, the choir is described as something ‘DARK’ ‘fumbling along’. The choir becomes Jack’s tribe. The evil in human nature takes a physical form when they hunt and kill. In the DARK, the younger boys have terrible nightmares which lead to their fear of the beast. Simon is murdered on a DARK night. The DARKNESS panics the boys into thinking he’s the beast. Ralph weeps at the end of the novel for the ‘DARKNESS of man’s heart’. The naval officer’s smart white uniform hides the truth that Ralph now understands - that evil exists within all human beings.

Question 125

What is Eros?

Answer 125

Eros is the love of life and happiness. This is the side of people that likes puppies and giving people flowers. In Greek Eros literally means “love”. In Greek mythology Eros is the equivalent of Cupid.

Question 126

What is Thanatos?

Answer 126

Thanatos is the opposite of Eros. Thanatos is the darker side of humanity. Thanatos is the drive to do risky, potentially dangerous activities. It is also the urge to hurt/kill. Thanatos is the side of people that prompts them, when near a cliff, to think about what would happen if they jumped off it. Thanatos in Greek mythology is a minor death god.

Question 127

Which symbols of Eros and Thanatos show up in Lord of the Flies?

Answer 127

In the book, it is possible to see Eros and Thanatos acting upon the boys. The conch and signal fire and Simon come to represent Eros while Jack, Roger and the Beast become the embodiment of Thanatos.