Transcript Lord of the Flies - Auburn High School

Lord of the Flies
Themes,
Characterization and
Symbols
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
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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
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
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

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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

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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:
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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 selfrealization.
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 outcast
3. Appreciates and
misses Piggy
4. Hates the island
5. Fears Jack
6. Trusts no one
7. 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
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
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
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Ralph = Common
sense. Order &
Responsibility
Jack = Immediate
gratification.
Irresponsible
authority. Hunger
for power.
Piggy = Ineffective
intellectualism.
Science.

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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
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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.

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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 reference
The “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

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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
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
The Island Itself
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
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 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.

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In Lord of the
Flies DARKNESS
is an archetype.
It represents
evil and the
unknown.
What are some
examples of
this?
The Pathetic Fallacy
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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.