Lord of the flies Flashcards
Name some key themes in Lord of the flies:
-Lust for power
-Innate evil
-Democracy or dictatorship
-Innocence / maturity
-Lust for blood
-Desires vs responsibilities
-Reputation/Disguise
-Paranoia or truth
-Civilisation / savagery
-Law and obedience
Name some motifs that are mentioned in Lord of the flies:
-Piggy’s glasses
-Pig
-Face paint
-Laughter
-Conch
In a summary explain the significance of the conch:
The conch resembles civilisation, at first it was a symbol that was created and glorified by humans, that united them together to become civilised. It enforced order and rationality as Ralph uses it to originally call assemblies, but it also resembles representation and equality for everyone, as it gives a voice to the disadvantaged in society like Piggy and Simon who were the most ridiculed out of all the boys.
Later on in the novel we see how the conch starts to metaphorically and literally deteriorate, as the boys start to disobey the order established by the conch and as nature starts to slowly wither the conch bright colour away, symbolising how nature always finds a way to conquer even the most civilised of boys as it is part of who they are.
In a summary explain the significance of Piggy’s glasses:
In a summary explain the significance of laughter:
Laughter is used in this novel to indicate both unity and humility, used in scenes that encourages and hides away a persons voice and appearance. Laughter is a positive thing, it unites people, however it can also make people feel judged making them hide away instead of speaking up. It represents the power of society and how one voice can influence the others which is a constant battle in the novel as people try to debate whether it’s best to risk their reputation for what is right or to blend in a not Gian progress.
Explain the character of Ralph:
Ralph in the book is an idolised character from the start of the novel, a seemingly perfect golden boy both physically and personality wise. Though we see how he is still a boy, he progressively becomes more mature and level headed as he takes up the role as the leader, which he was appointed as due to his attractive appearance. We see how appearance plays a crucial part in this book, especially how Piggy compares his body to Ralph’s and how Jack starts to compensate him lack of power with this over exaggerated appearance he paints on his face. As a microcosm, we link this to how society has been run by favoured people who look a certain part of society, and how easily we can misunderstand a person’s intentions and abilities blindly as a result of judging a book by its cover.
-‘…as far as width and heaviness of shoulders went, but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil’
Ralph
-‘Piggy grinned reluctantly, pleased despite himself… Ralph giggled into the sand. The expression of pain and concentration returned to Piggy’s face’
Piggy and Ralph
-‘the pink lips of its mouth… with a slight delicate, embossed pattern. Ralph shook the sand out…’
Conch and Ralph
-‘His face was dark with the violent pleasure of making this stupendous noise…’
Ralph
-‘in a few seconds the fat boy’s grunts were behind him and he was hurrying towards the screen…’
Piggy and Ralph
-‘He looked critically at Ralph’s golden body and then down at his own clothes.’
Piggy
-‘Piggy! Piggy! Ralph danced out in the hot air… and machine-gunned Piggy.’
Ralph and Piggy
‘His ordinary voice sounded like a whisper after the harsh note of the conch. He laid the conch against his lips, and blew once more. The note boomed again’
Ralph (the boys in general)
“‘You shut up’ Piggy wilted.”
Jack and Piggy
