Lord of the Flies Flashcards
Piggy
intro
represents reason and rational thinking + is vulnerable + represents rules and order
Piggy gets more vulnerable as jack gets more powerful until he gets killed
Beginning Ralph doesn’t see his importance but realises he needs Piggy
beginning
he is the reason and rational thinking
It is his idea to use the conch shell in meetings
It is his idea to first create shelters
He constantly reminds the others – even Ralph – of the need to follow the rules
He reminds Ralph of his own leadership responsibilities
He – like Ralph – is fully aware of the gravity of their situation
In Chapter 2, he seems to be the only boy aware (or willing to state) that “nobody knows where we are”
middle
represents rules and order
he was the one who invented the conch and always enforced the rules
we can see after his death all the rules and civilisation go to pot showing how he was the one enforcing them
piggys glasses get taken which are the a key part to him as without them he is useless - this is the first big step to law and order breaking down
end
vulnerable
he is treated awfully
None of the boys call him by his real name, but by a horrible nickname: Piggy. This is dehumanising, and his treatment in Chapter 1 foreshadows the violence first committed by the other boys against real pigs, and later, Piggy himself
Jack repeatedly threatens Piggy with violence
Piggy is later the victim of violence from Jack and his hunters
he is killed in the end
he gets his glasses taken away and he is then unable to do anything by himself and has to rely on others -> he represents democracy and shows how it won’t work unless everyone backs it
he gets killed - his death is the symbol for the death of rules and law and order
conclusion
Golding makes Piggy unpopular and disliked which shows how humans don’t like rules and law and order and how we are all partly savage however we all need rules and law and order as we see the chaos that happens after piggy dies
Piggy quotes
beginning
“nobody knows where we are”
“They’re all dead.”
middle
“Which is better –to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
“From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses”
“conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist”
end
“but if you stand out of the way he’d hurt the next thing. And that’s me.”
“Piggy”
Ralph
intro
as representative of humanity as a whole, represents democracy and civilization and the good on the island
novel’s protagonist
beginning
represents democratic leadership
He is elected as leader in a vote
He sets up meetings which represent government:
These meetings allow – via the conch shell – all members of the group to have a voice and to debate
He attempts to act in a way that benefits the group as a whole:
He prioritises survival and rescue
He sets rules and responsibilities to share out the burden of work fairly
middle
civilisation and the good on the island. + ego as he tries to compensate doing what they need to in order to survive and be rescued with what the hunters want to do
tries to do the right thing
tries to talk sense into everyone and knows the importance of keeping the fire going
end
a representative of humanity as a whole
a strong moral compass, Ralph is easily led
He needs constant reminding from Piggy to maintain order, or of his responsibilities as leader
he has savagery in him like we all do
Ralph quotes
beginning
‘We ought to have more rules’
“I’m chief. I was chosen”
middle
“Until the grown-ups come to fetch us we’ll have fun.”
“Jack’s in charge of the choir. They can be—what do you want them to be?”
“The fire is the most important thing on the island”
end
‘Ralph launched himself like a cat; stabbing, snarling, with the spear, and the savage doubled up’
“Which is better –to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
Jack
intro
presented as the ID, Violent, and animal like
novel’s antagonist
beginning
animal like
he he is hunting he is described as an aminal
middle
ID
Jack never follows the rules and responsibilities set out by Ralph:
Initially he insists that doing whatever he pleases (hunting instead of building huts)
However, later his total rejection of Ralph’s authority is more explicit: “Bollocks to the rules!” (Chapter 5)
embodys primal instincts and a desire for power and dominance as hre prioritizes hunting and savagery over the group’s collective goals, like building shelters and maintaining the signal fire
end
violent + id as he acts as he wants to without caring about what will get them rescued or the consequences of his actions
he kills lots of pigs, instructs Roger to set up the trap which kills Piggy
torturing any boys who disobey him
conclusion
gets more violent and savage as the book progresses -> he takes off more clothes
Jack quotes
beginning
“Hiss of indrawn breath… became less a hunter than a furtive thing, ape like”
“He passed like a shadow… and crouched”
middle
“Bollocks to the rules!” (Chapter 5)
We hunt and feast and have fun”
end
“He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling,”
“Sharpen a stick at both ends.”
“Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife’
Simon
intro
super ego, fragile, perceptive
He doesn’t change over the book, he doesn’t get tempted by the savagery, stays nice
Simon plays the role of the good part of the boys, shows us there is always kindness and can always be helpful
beginning
super ego
helps the littluns gather food by picking fruit they cannot reach
Always helping Ralph when no one else does, helps the littleuns
reflect a deep sense of morality and concern for the well-being of others. He is compassionate, helps the younger boys, and often retreats into nature to find peace and solace.
middle
perceptive
He knows what the actual beast is, knows the island is not necessarily good
he knows he won’t make it off the island
end
fragile but still maintains his moral compass
His experiences with the “Lord of the Flies” symbolize a confrontation with the inherent evil within humanity, but he remains steadfast in his belief in the intrinsic goodness of people
gets killed, epilepsy, he faints, gets headaches
Simon quotes
beginning
“Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach”
“We used [Piggy’s] specs…He helped that way.”
middle
“As if it wasn’t a good island…”
“Maybe there is a beast… Maybe it’s only us.”
“eyes so bright they had deceived Ralph”
end
“Faints” “headaches” “vomit” “death”
conclusion
represents the kindness in all of the boys
Roger
intro
quiet, pure evil, cruel + id
beginning
quiet
keeps to himself
isn’t very relevant as there is democracy so can’t act as he wishes yet
middle
cruel
throws rocks at henry
At this stage he “threw to miss”
This suggests that he is still constrained by society’s moral codes and can’t fully act as he wants ID (“Roger’s arm was conditioned by civilisation”
They also kill a pig for the first time, which also marks a turning point in the novel
end
pure evil
His black hair, with a fringe covering his forehead, gives him a sinister appearance foreshadows
ruthless -> tortures samneric for helping ralph
no restraints to how he acts with his Id as they are in a complete dictatorship
kills piggy
conclusion
is pure evil
gets worse over the novel
Golding is suggesting that the very real human impulse for violence and evil is largely constrained by society’s rules and values:
Without these conventions governing our behaviour, he seems to suggest, evil is unleashed
Roger quotes
beginning
“a slight, furtive boy…with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy.”
middle
“threw to miss”
“Roger’s arm was conditioned by civilisation”
end
Samneric describe him as a “terror”
“Roger sharpened a stick at both ends”
‘carried death in his hands’
Conch
intro
civilisation, power, democracy
beginning
democracy
establish rules with it such as you can only talk if you have the conch
middle
power
can call assemblies
gathers the boys in the first place
end
breaking down of order / democracy on the island
conch breaks and piggy dies and with it rules are gone and they fall into a dictatorship
Conch quotes
beginning
‘Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence’
“lots of rules!”
middle
“like at school,”
end
‘the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’
“spoke against the rules; but nobody minded’
“We don’t need the conch anymore”
Power + Leadership
intro
Golding uses the two characters of Ralph and Jack to represent two styles of leadership: Ralph symbolises democracy, while Jack represents dictatorship. Ultimately, Golding seems to suggest that – although it does more harm than good – people are more attracted to the powerful rule of dictatorship.
conch also symbolises democracy
beginning
ralph is in charge and very democratic type of leadership
use the conch which is a symbol for democracy
both boys think they should be leader however as they are still conditioned by society Ralph is elected
they make good progress and look like they may be rescued
middle
democracy is breaking down -> jack is gaining power
conch is loosing power
end
conch is destroyed -> shows victory of dictatorship
everyone follows jack now -> turns into chaos
conclusion
shows how eventually all humans are selfish and prefer a place where they can do whatever even if its not in their best interest
power + leadership quotes
beginning
‘The group of boys looked at the white shell with affectionate respect’
‘Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence’
“lots of rules!”
middle
“If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it”
“spoke against the rules; but nobody minded’
end
‘the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist’
“bollocks to the rules”
good vs evil
people try to be good but as the book goes on the evil present in all of us takes over
roger and simon represents this battle
his view is a pessimistic one: he seems to suggest that all human beings have a natural capacity for evil
beginning
at the start they follow democracy and try to do whats best for everyone
use the conch
roger tries to help out and is secretive / doesn’t do anything bad
and simon helps out
middle
start to become more savage and act more evil however simon does not
roger tramples over sandcastles and throws rocks at the littluns as early as Chapter 4 whereas simon helps them find fruit -> juxtaposition
shows how evil is taking over but not fully
end
simon dies showing how evil won the battle
everyone is fully savage and acting on their ID as evil has won the battle
roger kills piggy and isn’t held back like earlier showing evil has fully taken over and won the battle
