LORD OF THE FLIESLORD OF THE FLIES

AN ARCHETYPE OF THE POST-APOCALYPTIC AGEAN ARCHETYPE OF THE POST-APOCALYPTIC AGE

TRIBESsociety has a choice

TRIBESsociety has a choice

SocietyCivilization

RulesLaws

Long term goalsPlans

PIGGY=Intelligence

RALPH= fun

Group thinkPowerViolenceHumiliationBlood-lustControlMilitaryImmediacyBrute force

JACK= evil

CHARACTER CONNECTIONSCHARACTER CONNECTIONS

CHARACTERS AS TYPES / SYMBOLS

CHARACTERS AS TYPES / SYMBOLS

IntelligenceSociety,

thinkerHelps Ralph

Goodness / spirituality / mystic = solves the mystery of the beast

The dirty WorkSadistSavageloner

BrutalityForceViolenceDivisionUs vs. them

Model boy / democracyfollowers / traitors

BEFORE AND AFTERBEFORE AND AFTER

What changes the boys?

Nature vs. Nurture?

Do adults prevent bad behaviour?

Socialization?

Specific incidents in the novel that change the boys?

Personality traits or strength of character?

TRANSFORMATIONremove civilization / society and what happens

to people?

TRANSFORMATIONremove civilization / society and what happens

to people?

From civilized English schoolboys to violent, murdering savages…

THE ISLANDTHE ISLANDIdyllic place that provides all the food & water necessary for survival, decent climate, shelter… it should be a great place to be so what goes wrong? It’s not about geography or location…

VISION / CIVILIZATIONVISION / CIVILIZATION

Piggy’s glasses are a technological invention, a tool for seeing, and a way to start the fire. They represent the power of reason and intelligence. How do the glasses change throughout the novel? What happens to them in the end?

THE CONCH = CIVILIZATIONTHE CONCH = CIVILIZATION

The conch represents order, civilization, democracy, and all the good things about laws in society.

Trace the way the conch is treated throughout the novel.

FIREFIREDestructive but practical, the fire is like a barometer of the boys’ ties to civilization. Maintain signal fire & hope to get rescued = still want to go back to civilization.

Trace the development of the symbol throughout the novel.

THE BEASTTHE BEAST

There is something primal, evil, violent, rude, uncivilized, in all of us. The BEAST is all of us, inside all of us…

The beast is

everywhere. It comes

from the air, the water.

It’s in Simon’s

glade during their

chat.

The beast is the physical embodiment of fear .. Shadows, creeper vines, the parachute, things that go bump in the night…

THE BEAST - BeelzebubTHE BEAST - Beelzebub

Literally, when Jack & the choir kill

the sow, they put the

pig’s head on a stick.

It’s left there, rotting,

circled with flies, as an offering to

the “beast”

“The Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the Hebrew word BEELZEBUB which is a derogatory term for the devil, one of the seven princes of hell.

WAR & CHILDRENWAR & CHILDRENAre children naturally evil? Did they become this way because of a flaw in human nature?

Was it done to them?

The loss of innocence.

Growing Up.

How society changed post-

WW2 (genocide,

war, totalitarianism)

WEAKNESS & BULLIESWEAKNESS & BULLIESStereotypes

of bullies and victims.

Ages of the boys.

Social structure &

pecking order of popularity.

Why does no one stand up for Piggy?

Why does no one stop Jack?

Why is it so hard to build a good world?

ADULTS VS. CHILDRENADULTS VS. CHILDRENWould children

behave differently if there were

adults around?

Girls vs. boys?

Does their youth makes them

less responsible?

Is the adult world any different?

What controls our actions?

What lessons can we take away from this?

THE END OF INNOCENCETHE END OF INNOCENCE

The world has forever

changed.

Post-island,

post- WW2

What will they be like

in the future?

True innocence really means purity, lack of corruption, not being guilty of a crime.

CIVILIZED SOCIETYCIVILIZED SOCIETY

Golding’s premise is that laws, society, civilization, rules, democracy, and order prevent us from falling into chaos. Our humanity is saved by the rule of law. Discuss!

REASON & FEARREASON & FEAR

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Acting on facts,

reasons, proof,

evidence, truth is a

good thing in a

civilized society.

Acting on fear, anxiety, paranoia, superstition, primitive urges, rituals designed to placate imaginary beings…

BIBLICAL PARALLELSBIBLICAL PARALLELS

Garden of Eden = island

Serpent = devil

Beastie = devil

Simon = Christ figure who

understands the beast

Definitely a “European, Judeo-Christian, white guy, democracy & capitalism are awesome” view of the world.

THE LORD OF THE FLIESTHE LORD OF THE FLIES

“… maybe it’s only us… Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness…” Beast from the Air Ch.5, p. 97

WHY IS THIS AN IMPORTANT NOVEL?

WHY IS THIS AN IMPORTANT NOVEL?