Lord of the Flies

Themes, Characterization andSymbols

Theme 1

The main theme of the novel is that man needs civilization to control our inherently evil nature.

Golding claims that when the rules of society slip away, human beings revert to a more primitive (evil) part of their nature.

Theme 2

Evil (the beast) lies within man himself.

Golding implies that an understanding of our essentially evil nature results in a loss of innocence.

This loss of innocence, or coming to terms with reality, is necessary to overcome our baser instincts.

Theme 3

Fear of the unknown increases the terror of the beast.

No real beast exists. Its power only exists because of our own fear.

Characterization

Golding establishes a sense of reality by his descriptions of the boys.

The boy’s language is the language of ordinary children.

The boys have ordinary physical attributes and mannerisms.

The Boys Are Realistic

To stress the universality of their later actions, Golding presents the boys as normal.

The ‘littluns” suck their thumbs, eat sloppily, and are easily frightened.

The older ones enjoy hunting, making forts, and swimming instead of working.

Even their treatment of Piggy is realistic

The boys’ unkindness to Piggy is credible. Children often display cruelty toward anyone they consider different or inferior.

Piggy becomes the outsider, the “other.” In what ways is he different?

Piggy’s Differences

Piggy is different because:

He’s fat He wears glasses His speech is different He has asthma He’s smarter

Characterization:Their Lives As Savages

The boys’ metamorphosis from ordinary schoolboys into bloodthirsty savages seems believable because it is not a sudden conversion, but rather, evolves gradually, almost unnoticed.

Characterizing Ralph

Ralph is a tall, blond twelve year old, who establishes himself as the leader of the boys when he blows the conch shell to call the first assembly. Throughout the story, he struggles to maintain order and is forced to compete with Jack for respect.

Ralph Is a Dynamic Character

A dynamic character is one who undergoes a change during the story because of learning a truth or coming to a self- realization.

Ralph is an example of a dynamic character.

A. Ralph’s Original Character

1. Enjoys the absence of adults on the island

2. Popular

3. Indifferent to Piggy

4. Enjoys the island

5. Likes Jack

6. Trusts others

7. Refuses to accept the beast.

B. Ralph’s Character Change

1. Wishes adults were present on the island

2. An outcast3. Appreciates and misses

Piggy4. Hates the island5. Fears Jack6. Trusts no one7. Knows the beast is

within

C. What Changes Him

1. Decay of order

2. His own insistence on rules

3. Need for intelligence

4. Brutality revealed in Jack and others

5. Betrayed by all

Characterizing Jack

Jack, chief representative of evil in the novel, is at first, too inhibited by society’s teachings even to kill a pig.

But he progresses to exhilaration in killing.

…Jack

• Eventually, he kills for the sheer thrill of slaughter rather than the need for meat.

Killing enforces his dominance over the others.

He seeks power.

Characters as Symbols

Ralph = Common sense. Order & Responsibility

Jack = Immediate gratification. Irresponsible authority. Hunger for power.

Piggy = Ineffective intellectualism. Science.

Simon = Mysticism. Religious side of man. Christ figure (but no communication skills).

Samneric = Dependence (on each other and leaders). They represent loss of identity through fear of the beast.

Roger = Evil. Depraved indifference.

Symbolism and Allegory

Allegory = A symbolic story

The characters represent: good, evil, common sense, intelligence, instinct, civilization.

Each of the characters symbolically represents a part of man.

The Book as Religious Allegory

• The book deals with issues of good and evil, with issues of human nature.

The island itself can be considered a symbol for the Garden of Eden.

Simon sometimes functions as a Christ figure. He gets sacrificed, and his name is reflective of Simon/Peter from the Bible.

The “Lord of the Flies” is a reference to an Old Testament demon:

Beelzebub.

The Book as Religious Allegory

The book includes a motif of falling, which is intended to referenceThe “Fall of Man” from grace (Garden of Eden).

• The boys fall from the sky in an airplane.

• The parachutist falls from the sky.

• Simon falls off a cliff.

• Piggy also falls off another cliff.

• The conch falls with Piggy.

• Ralph falls and crawls forward

• at the end of the book.

Objects as Symbols

The Beast Is the abstract symbol of man’s

capacity for evil. Is also the intangible equivalent of

the Lord of the Flies (the pig’s head).

Objects as Symbols

Objects as Symbols

Conch shell Law and order. The

shell loses its authority as anarchy grows. The conch fades in color and power as savagery increases.

Lord of the Flies Refers to the head of

the pig that Jack has left as an offering to the “beast.” Literal translation = “Beelzebub,” prince of demons. Symbolizes man’s capacity for evil.

Objects as Symbols

Face paint Represents savagery.

The paint helps the boys hide from their own consciences, turning them into anonymous savages who are freed from the restraints of “civilized” behavior.

The Island Itself The island is a

microcosm of society at large. It represents a smaller version of the larger world. It can also be seen as a Garden of Eden.

Objects as symbols

Huts represent the desire

to preserve civilization; when Jack gains power they move into caves like the animals they have become.

Fire separates civilization

from savagery. Note that Ralph uses it for hope; Jack only for cooking and destruction. Jack’s group allows the fire (hope) to go out.

Objects as Symbols

Piggy’s Glasses Represent logical

thinking and the scientific method.

The original breaking of Piggy’s glasses begins the descent into savagery.

The Creepers

• The vines that are called creepers are symbols of “the snake,” as in the serpent in the Garden of Eden, which represents evil (or the devil).

An Archetype

Archetypes are like universal symbols. They function similarly across cultures, always representing about the same thing.

In Lord of the Flies DARKNESS is an archetype. It represents evil and the unknown.

What are some examples of this?

The Pathetic Fallacy

When the weather mirrors human emotions and situations it’s known as the pathetic fallacy.

For example, when things are going well for the boys, it’s always a sunny day.

• But as the tension builds in the story, storm clouds build in the sky.

• Eventually, the clouds open in a major downpour, complete with thunder and lightning, when Simon is murdered.