Lord+of+the+Flies

__Lord of the Flies__

Key Plot Events:

-A plane full of boys crash lands on a tropical island while being evacuated from England to Australia in the midst of nuclear warfare. No adults survive the crash. -The boys elect Ralph as chief. -The boys build a fire at the top of a mountain. Ralph uses Piggy's glasses to start the fire, which quickly grows out of hand. -There is a growing separation of the boys, as Ralph emphasizes shelter while Jack emphasizes hunting. -A dead parachutist falls to the island from an air raid. The boys think that he is "the beastie." -Jack and his group kill a sow and then display its head on the end of a stick as a sacrifice to the beast. -Simon goes searching for the beast, but instead he falls unconscious and hallucinates a vision. He then finds the dead body of the parachutist and realizes that he is the supposed beast. -The boys kill Simon in their frenzy. -Jacks' hunters steal Piggy's glasses to light a fire. -Ralph throws a rock at Piggy, who then falls off the cliff and dies. -All of the boys hunt for Ralph, who is now alone. Ralph has sharpened a stick at both ends to kill him. -Ralph is caught, but he is able to escape from the forest with all of the smoke from a fire that is destroying the island. -An adult naval officer appears on the beach. He has no idea what has happened on the island. -Ralph breaks down crying.

Key Characters:


 * Jack Merridew- red-hair; tall; arrogant; a leader; fixated on hunting; destructive; savage
 * Piggy- intelligent; rational; overweight; has asthma; thoughtful; passive; mature; wise
 * Ralph- fair-haired; tall; handsome; a natural leader; sensible; considerate; observative; civilized - tries to organize the island of boys by regulating food and building shelter to survive
 * Roger- power-hungry; gloomy; pessimistic; a bully; has an "inner intensity"; kept to himself
 * Simon-represents a Christ figure; sensitive; realistic; scared; faithful

Setting: An isolated tropical island in the midst of worldwide nuclear destruction.

Key Symbols:


 * Conch shell- a society based upon law
 * Pig's head- evil
 * Fire- science and technology
 * Simon- a savior
 * Island - disorder, chaos
 * England - order, control, civilization

Key Images:

Key Themes: While the boys are on the island, there are no adults present to control what they do. They are forced to quickly grow up and discover how to fend for themselves. The cruel death of Simon represents the overall loss of innocence that is experienced by the boys.
 * Loss of Innocence:**


 * Violence and disorder are at the heart of human nature.** This theme embodies the true spirit of the novel. As the children are left alone, their preconceived notions of civilization and society begin to fall apart as each and every one of the children submit to some form of violence and disunity. At the very end of the novel, they witness a naval officer offering help. The irony of his offer is that soon the officer may return to his own war of violence and destruction.

The major them in this works is in regards to the two conflicting impulses that humans possess: a need to abide by the rules and act peacefully and a need to gratify one’s desires and to act violently and dominate others. Once the boys are marooned on the island, they no longer have a society around them and therefore do not have a set of moral constraints placed upon them. Instead, they create their own community and begin to fall into a pattern of savage behavior away from civilization. This struggle between two humanistic impulses is represented in the two main characters: Ralph (represents order and leadership) and Jack (represents the inherent savagery of human beings). Golding makes a commentary on the human psyche, based on the way the novel ends and the boys go down in chaos, saying that savagery is an innate force within everyone and that the longer they are removed from an established society with rules and adults, the more pronounced this savagery is. Golding basically says that man is naturally evil but is forced to act good when surrounded by civilization.
 * The conflict between civilization and savagery **

Key Structural Elements:

-omniscient point of view