Lord of the Flies

Question 1

According to Golding’s essay ‘Fable’: ___ produces ___ as a ____ produces

Answer 1

“Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.”

Question 2

Which author coined the phrase “White Man’s Burden” to describe the European attitude to colonialism?

Answer 2

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), best known as the author of The Jungle Book (1894).

Question 3

What historical event led Golding to his pessimistic view of human nature?

Answer 3

World War II (1939-1945).

Question 4

What did Golding say when asked why he wrote Lord of the Flies about boys instead of girls?

Answer 4

“I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men — they are far superior and always have been.”

Question 5

___ ___, is the title of a 1997 book arguing that the study of the Great Apes shows violence to be a distinctively male trait?

Answer 5

Demonic Males

Question 6

Which character represents Golding’s earlier belief in the “perfectability of social man”?

Answer 6

Ralph.

Question 7

Which character represents the instinct of savagery? (Thomas Hobbes instead of Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

Answer 7

Jack.

Question 8

Which character is often described as a Christ-like figure, and represents natural human goodness? (Jean-Jacques Rousseau instead of Thomas Hobbes)

Answer 8

Simon.

Question 9

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Golding for Lord of the Flies in what year?

Answer 9

1983.

Question 10

Lord of the Flies is an imaginary story that tries to teach us about real-world issues. What is this type of fiction called?

Answer 10

Allegorical fiction.

Question 11

The society that emerges in Lord of the Flies is very frightening and oppressive in a variety of ways. This makes it an example of what type of fiction?

Answer 11

Dystopian fiction.

Question 12

The debate about the condition of human life in the ‘state of nature’ is often associated with which two Enlightenment era European philosophers?

Answer 12

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1678) and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).

Question 13

Piggy is physically deficient in three respects. What are they?

Answer 13

• His weight.
• His asthma.
• His eyesight.

Question 14

How does Piggy suggest that the conch be used?

Answer 14

As a horn for initiating group meetings.

Question 15

How old is the youngest boy on the island? How old is the oldest?

Answer 15

The youngest is six. The oldest is twelve.

Question 16

Why does Ralph appoint Jack leader of the hunters?

Answer 16

To placate his anger at losing the election.

Question 17

Chapter 1 describes the formation of a social order on the island. What are the early signs of its impending breakdown?

Answer 17

• Teasing of Piggy

- Power struggle between Jack and Ralph

Question 18

What does Ralph say when he, Simon and Jack reach the top of the island? What is the significance of this quote?

Answer 18

• “This belongs to us”.

- Claiming of ownership over land is characteristic of civilisation, perhaps also of colonialism.

Question 19

Why is Ralph elected chief? What is the significance of this?

Answer 19

• “his size, and attractive appearance; and, most obscurely, and yet most powerfully, there was the conch”.
• Shows the importance of symbolic items in establishing social order: think of police uniforms, a ceremonial mace in parliament or a crown on a king.
• Note the contrast from the leadership characteristics assigned to Jack (leadership experience) and Piggy (intelligence).

Question 20

What explanation does Jack give for his failure to kill the pig in Chapter 1?

Answer 20

“I was choosing a place”.

Question 21

By what name is the plane wreckage known?

Answer 21

“The scar”.

Question 22

How does Ralph suggest that the group determine whose turn it is to speak in meetings?

Answer 22

Right of speech is given to the holder of the conch shell.

Question 23

What does the young boy tell the group that he saw the night before?

Answer 23

“A beastie”.

Question 24

How does Ralph propose that the group signal their presence to any passing ships?

Answer 24

By starting a fire atop the mountain.

Question 25

How does Jack start the first fire?

Answer 25

By stealing Piggy’s glasses and using them as a lens.

Question 26

What reason does Jack give for following the rules?

Answer 26

“[W]e’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything”.

Question 27

Piggy scolds the group for prioritising the fire so much. What did he think was more important?

Answer 27

Building shelters.

Question 28

How does Piggy’s attempt to count and name all the boys on the island fare?

Answer 28

Unsuccessful - the little ‘uns scattered too quickly.

Question 29

Which boy is found to be missing at the end of Chapter 2?

Answer 29

The one who had informed them about the “beastie”.

Question 30

Out of Ralph, Jack and Piggy, who is generally the most optimistic and has the most calming effect during disputes between the three?

Answer 30

• Ralph.

- This suggests that he is the best leader of the three.

Question 31

What book, referenced at the start of Chapter 2, is Lord of the Flies written in reaction to?

Answer 31

The Coral Island.

Question 32

What does Jack use instead of a spear to hunt the pig?

Answer 32

A stick.

Question 33

Why does the task of constructing the huts irritate Ralph?

Answer 33

No one other than Simon helps him.

Question 34

What are “creepers”?

Answer 34

Vines.

Question 35

What does the description of Jack’s appearance at the start of Chapter 3 suggest about the passage of time?

Answer 35

They have been on the island for at least a few weeks.

Question 36

What does Ralph say would happen if he called a meeting and told everyone off for not working?

Answer 36

“they’d work for five minutes, then wander off or go hunting”.

Question 37

What happens to Jack he describes going on hunting by himself?

Answer 37

“The madness came into his eyes again”.

Question 38

What distracts Jack when he and Ralph and discussing if the signal fire is strong enough?

Answer 38

Thoughts about hunting a pig.

Question 39

What does Simon do when wandering through the jungle alone?

Answer 39

Helps the littluns get fruit that they cannot reach, before admiring the beautiful scenery.

Question 40

How is Simon, the most innately good character in the novel, described by Ralph?

Answer 40

“He’s queer. He’s funny.”

N.B. “Queer” historically just means strange or unusual, and at the time Golding was writing had no strong association with sexual orientation.

Question 41

What job did William Golding take up after World War II?

Answer 41

He was a school teacher.