lord of the flies chapter 5 essay

Lord of the Flies

By william golding, lord of the flies summary and analysis of chapter five: beast from water.

Ralph goes to the beach because he needs a place to think and feels overcome with frustration and impotence. He is saddened by his own physical appearance, which has grown shabby with neglect. In particular, his hair has grown uncomfortably long. He understands the weariness of life, where everything requires improvisation. Ralph decides to call a meeting near the bathing pool, realizing that he must think and must make a decision but that he lacks Piggy 's natural intellectual ability.

That afternoon, Ralph blows the conch shell and the assembly gathers. He begins the assembly seriously, telling them that they are there not for making jokes or for cleverness. He reminds them that everyone built the first shelter, which is the most sturdy, while the third one, built only by Simon and Ralph, is unstable. He admonishes them for not using the appropriate areas for the lavatory. He also reminds them that the fire is the most important thing on the island, for it is their means of escape. He claims that they ought to die before they let the fire out. He directs this at the hunters in particular. He repeats the rule that the only place where they will have a fire is on the mountain. Addressing the spreading fear among the littluns, Ralph then attempts to demystify the question of the "beastie" or monster. He admits that he is frightened himself, but their fear is unfounded. Ralph again assures the group that there are no monsters on the island.

With his customary abruptness, Jack stands up, takes the conch from Ralph, and begins to yell at the littluns for screaming like babies and not hunting or building or helping. Jack tells them that there is no beast on the island. Piggy does agree with Jack on that point, telling the kids that there are no beasts and there is no real reason for fear-unless it is of other people. A littlun, Phil, tells that he had a nightmare and, when he awoke, saw something big and horrid moving among the trees. Ralph dismisses it as nothing. Simon admits that he was walking in the jungle at night.

Percival speaks next, and as he gives his name he recites his address and telephone number. This reminder of home, however, causes him to break out into tears. All of the littluns join him in crying. Percival claims that the beast comes out of the sea, and he tells them about frightening squids. Simon says that maybe there is a beast, and the boys speak about ghosts. Piggy claims he does not believe in ghosts, but Jack attempts to start a fight again by taunting Piggy and calling him "Fatty." Ralph stops the fight and asks the boys how many of them believe in ghosts. Piggy begins yelling, asking whether the boys are humans, animals, or savages.

Jack threatens Piggy again, and Ralph intercedes once more, complaining that they are breaking the rules. When Jack asks, "who cares?" Ralph says that the rules are the only thing that they have. Jack says that he and his hunters will kill the beast. The assembly breaks up as Jack leads them on a hunt. Only Ralph, Piggy, and Simon remain. Ralph says that if he blows the conch to summon them back and they refuse, then they will become like animals and will never be rescued. He asks Piggy whether there are ghosts or beasts on the island, but Piggy reassures him. Piggy warns Ralph that if he steps down as chief Jack will do nothing but hunt, and they will never be rescued. The three imagine the majesty of adult life. They also hear Percival still sobbing his address.

The weight of leadership becomes oppressive for Ralph as the story continues; he is dutiful and dedicated, but his attempts to instill order and calm among the boys are decreasingly successful. Golding develops Ralph's particular concerns and insecurities in this chapter. By showing him brooding over his perceived failures, Golding highlights Ralph's essentially responsible, adult nature. Ralph's concern about his appearance, and particularly his grown-out hair, indicate his natural inclination towards the conventions of civilization. Although Ralph demonstrates a more than sufficient intellect, he also worries that he lacks Piggy's genius. His one consolation is that he realizes that his abilities as a thinker allow him to recognize the same in Piggy, again a rational observation that draws the reader's attention to his potential as a leader. The implication is that deviations from Ralph's plans will be illogical, ill-informed, and dangerous.

Ralph still has a strong sense of self-doubt. He is not immune to fear, which he admits to the boys, and he even feels it necessary to ask Piggy whether there might actually be a ghost on the island. Thus, Golding presents Ralph as a reluctant leader. His elected position of chief has been thrust upon him, and he assumes it only because he is the most natural and qualified leader. He has no real ambition or drive, such as the rapacious energy that motivates Jack, but he knows that the boys will be best provided for under his care. It is Ralph who is most concerned with the rules of order on the island. He accurately tells the boys that without the rules, the boys have nothing. Ralph's rules keep the boys tethered to some semblance of society, but without these rules there will be disastrous consequences.

Piggy remains the only fully rational character during the assembly and afterward. Piggy is the only boy who categorically dismisses the idea of a beast on the island, and he even reassures the generally unwavering Ralph on this point. It is Piggy who realizes that the boys' fear is the only danger that they truly face so long as they have enough food to survive, and even this fear proves no actual threat to them. Still, the outcast Piggy once again is ignored in favor of lurid tales of beasts and ghosts; although he is consistently correct in his judgments, Piggy is continually ignored. He raises the important question of whether the boys wish to act like humans, savages, or animals. Once again, Ralph and Piggy exemplify civilized human order, while Jack represents a brutal anarchy that may devolve into animal behavior.

The conflict between Jack and Ralph, with Piggy as his ally, reaches a breaking point in this chapter. Although Jack initially dismisses the idea of a beast on the island, he comes to accept the idea when they conceive of the beast as an enemy that his hunters may kill. Jack continues to be an aggressive and destructive force. He again physically threatens Piggy, foreshadowing the eventual violent conflict between the two boys, and he even manipulates the young boys' fear of monsters and ghosts. During the assembly Jack fully abandons the rules and codes of society. He promotes anarchy among the boys, leading them on a disorganized hunt for an imaginary beast. While Ralph is appointed leader for his calm demeanor and rationality, Jack gains his authority from irrationality and instinctual fear, manipulating the boys into thinking that there may be a dangerous creature that they should hunt. This behavior is dangerous; Ralph concludes that a focus on hunting will prevent them from ever leaving the island and seal their fate as no more than animals.

The assembly highlights how fear ferments and spreads in a group. The littluns begin with a concrete example of a frightening incident that is easily explained and is understandable, but the idea of something more sinister on the island provokes mass hysteria. The terrors that the boys imagine become progressively more abstract and threatening. Percival uses concrete facts about squids to arrive at an illogical conclusion that a squid may emerge from the sea to harm them. This then provokes the unfounded rumors that there may be supernatural beings, ghosts, on the island.

Monsters, violent squid, and ghosts: all three creatures represent different instantiations of the "beast" or "beastie" that has been the subject of the boys' mounting fear. As the title suggests, the beast is of crucial importance to this chapter and will figure largely in the tragic events to come. On a symbolic level, the beast has several meanings. First, it invokes the devil, the Satan of Judeo-Christian mythology, which foreshadows the "lord of the flies" object that will become the mascot of Jack's tribe later. The fear of the beast among the boys may symbolize their fear of evil from an external, supernatural source. Second, it symbolizes the unknown, amoral, dark forces of nature, which remain beyond the boys' control. Finally, the beast may allude to the Freudian concept of the Id, the instinctual, primordial drive that is present in the human psyche and which, unfettered by social mores, tends towards savagery and destruction. In this framework, the boys' fear of the beast is a displacement of a fear of themselves, of their capacity for violence and evil which is unleashed in the absence of adult authority and ordered social life.

With the anarchy incited by Jack and the panic among the littluns, only the illusion of civilization is left on the island. Percival's tearful repetition of his home address is a stark reminder that the boys no longer reside in civilized culture and that the Home Counties remain little more than a pleasant memory. As Ralph, Piggy, and Simon muse on adulthood, we recall that adult society should be sufficiently rational and organized to solve the problems that the children face on the island, though we wonder how well a similar group of adults would do.

Lord of the Flies Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Lord of the Flies is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Where had Simon fainted before?

From the text:

“He's always throwing a faint,”said Merridew. “He did in Gib.; and Addis; and at matins over the precentor.”

Quote Analysis. "There was a throb..."

At this point Ralph is once again challenging Jack's authority, Unfortunately all the cards are stacked against Ralph. A storm is brewing and to deflect the boys' fears, Jack orders them to dance around the fire. This communal spectacle of...

How do the boys respond to Jack's call for Ralph's removal as chief? How does Jack react? Respond with evidence from the text.

There is a lot of immaturity here. The other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Enraged, Jack has a tantrum and runs away from the group, saying that he is leaving and that anyone who likes is welcome to join him.The boys don't like the open...

Study Guide for Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies study guide contains a biography of William Golding, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

• Two Faces of Man
• The Relationship Between Symbolism and Theme in Lord of the Flies
• A Tainted View of Society
• Death and Social Collapse in Lord of the Flies
• Lumination: The Conquest of Mankind's Darkness

Lesson Plan for Lord of the Flies

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Lord of the Flies

William golding.

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Golding's Lord of the Flies . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Lord of the Flies: Introduction

Lord of the flies: plot summary, lord of the flies: detailed summary & analysis, lord of the flies: themes, lord of the flies: quotes, lord of the flies: characters, lord of the flies: symbols, lord of the flies: literary devices, lord of the flies: theme wheel, brief biography of william golding.

Historical Context of Lord of the Flies

Other books related to lord of the flies.

• Full Title: Lord of the Flies
• Where Written: England
• When Published: 1954
• Literary Period: Post-war fiction
• Genre: Allegorical novel / Adventure novel
• Setting: A deserted tropical island in the middle of a nuclear world war
• Climax: Piggy's death
• Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for Lord of the Flies

Beelzebub. The phrase "lord of the flies" is a translation of the Greek "Beelzebub," a devil mentioned in the New Testament. In the Bible, Beelzebub sometimes seems to be Satan himself, and at other times seems to be Satan's most powerful lieutenant.

Coral Island. William Golding based several of the main ideas in Lord of the Flies on Coral Island (1858), a somewhat obscure novel by Robert Ballantyne, a 19th-century British novelist. In Coral Island , three English boys create an idyllic society after being shipwrecked on a deserted island. They battle wild hogs, typhoons, hostile island visitors, and eventually Pirates on the South Seas.

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Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

Last Updated July 18, 2024.

Point of View Every novel employs at least one perspective, or point of view, to narrate the story. This can include an omniscient viewpoint, where no single character's perspective dominates, or it can involve the perspective of a single character, multiple characters in succession, and various combinations or variations of these. Golding uses the omniscient point of view, allowing him to remain outside and above the narrative, without delving into the inner thoughts of any individual character. From this elevated position, he observes and comments on the events as a detached bystander. In interviews, Golding has mentioned that the strongest emotion he feels about the story is grief. However, as the narrator, he chooses to remain detached, much like the British captain at the story's conclusion, who "turns away" from the crying boys. The narrator lets the actions, conveyed through artistic techniques like symbolism and structure, speak for themselves. Even a dramatic and emotional event such as Piggy's death is described in a clinical manner: "Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across that square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red."

Symbolism A symbol is defined as a person, place, or object that represents something beyond its literal meaning. For example, in the story, the conch shell symbolizes a society governed by laws, where individuals take turns speaking. The pig's head is a more complex symbol. To Simon and many readers, it can signify multiple things. Rationally, Simon knows the pig's head is simply a "pig's head on a stick." Emotionally, however, he understands that it represents an evil so potent it causes him to faint. When Simon refers to it as "The Lord of the Flies," the symbol gains further significance, as this title translates to "Beelzebub," another name for the Devil. Similarly, the fire ignited using Piggy's glasses symbolizes science and technology. When controlled, it represents their beneficial aspects, providing light and warmth. When uncontrolled, it signifies the destructive potential of science and technology, causing death and devastation on the island. Simon himself can be seen as a Christ-like figure, a selfless helper who dies because his message—that the terrifying beast on the hill is merely a dead parachutist—is misunderstood. Throughout the narrative, the sounds of the surf, crackling fire, rolling boulders, and trees exploding from the fire's heat are often likened to cannon blasts and drum rolls. In this way, Golding continually reminds us that the story is a microcosm symbolizing the atomic war that preceded it.

Setting In the setting of Lord of the Flies , Golding crafts his own "Coral Island"—an allusion to R. M. Ballantyne's book by the same name. Both stories feature boys stranded on a tropical island. However, while The Coral Island (1857) is a classic boys' adventure tale where everyone enjoys themselves and no one faces misfortune, Golding takes a different approach. He uses the setting in his narrative to highlight his own themes. During the day, the littluns find the island delightful, splashing in the lagoon pool and feasting on fruit. Yet, at night, the same beach becomes a place of terror, with some boys imagining "snake-things" in the trees.

Golding also contrasts the island's rocky side facing the sea with its gentler side facing the lagoon. On the ocean side, "the filmy enchantments of mirage could not endure the cold ocean water. . . . On the other side of the island, swathed at midday with mirage, defended by the shield of the quiet lagoon, one might dream of rescue; but here, faced by the brute obtuseness of the ocean . . . one was helpless." This contrast underscores Golding's perspective on human nature as a battle between noble intentions and virtues like love and faith against the unforgiving elements of nature and human flaws such as anger.

Cite this page as follows:

"Lord of the Flies - Analysis." Novels for Students, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-analysis>

A plane evacuating a group of schoolboys following an atomic war apparently is shot down, but not before a passenger capsule containing children is ejected. Initially happy to enjoy an adult-free, fruit-filled, sunny environment on a tropical island where they land, all the boys are determined to have fun. They soon see the need for governance and choose the “fair-haired” Ralph as their leader.

Ralph, like the others, at first sees the absence of adults as an opportunity to have fun, but he soon feels burdened with the weight of a leader’s responsibilities. He symbolically holds a conch shell, which assembles the boys and stands as a symbol of authority. Piggy, a weak-sighted, overweight, asthmatic, cowardly boy, is the group’s source of rational thought and knowledge. He supports the ritual of leadership by finding and identifying the conch as a symbol of leadership.

Ralph’s authority is challenged by Jack, the former leader of the choirboys. Jack, with his red hair and wild blue eyes, eventually extends his power as leader of the hunters to force all the boys into his group. Roger distinguishes himself from the beginning as a person who enjoys hurting others. He deliberately discharges the rock that kills Piggy.

Fear disturbs this boyhood paradise. First articulated by one of the smallest boys, who sees ropes turning into beasts in the night, fear spreads to the older boys, who interpret the corpse of a downed aircraft pilot as a phantom beast. They offer a sacrifice of a pig’s head to appease it. Simon, a quiet, meditative boy, recognizes that the “beast” the boys fear actually is located within the boys themselves. When he crawls out of the jungle to tell the chanting boys of his insight, they attack and kill him.

Rivalry between Ralph and Jack precipitates a breakdown of the decision to build shelters, maintain hygienic conditions, hunt for meat, and maintain a signal fire to effect their rescue. Before long, the faction of hunters has degenerated into paint-wearing, ritual-chanting warriors who first pursue pigs but finally hunt Ralph. In their pursuit, they throw all self-preserving caution to the wind, setting the island on fire and destroying the fruit-bearing trees.

Complete self-destruction is prevented by the arrival of a rescue ship. An officer from the ship is astonished by and disappointed with the apparent misconduct of the dirty young savages who face him.

"Lord of the Flies - The Plot." Critical Survey of Science Fiction and Fantasy, edited by T. A. Shippey, eNotes.com, Inc., 1996, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-the-plot>

Places Discussed

Pacific island

Pacific island. Unnamed tropical island on which the novel is mainly set. The island serves as a metaphor for society in general, providing the setting for the boys’ trials and adventures. Through the use of the only symbol of authority they have, a conch shell, they try to re-create British civilized society. The conch, like a whistle, yields an assembly of older boys and “littluns.” Throughout the novel, the group who identify themselves as choir boys, and are under the leadership of Jack, progressively stray from the civilized behavior of the assembly area and into irresponsible anarchy.

The Scar. Meeting place where the boys, led by Ralph, hold assemblies in imitation of Great Britain’s Parliament. Created by the plane crash, free of tropical vegetation, and level and sandy, it is the site of three crude huts. It is also the site of the docking of the rescue cutter that comes ashore from the cruiser.

Mountain. Site selected by Piggy and Ralph as the most obvious place to build a signal fire for smoke, the means of attracting rescuers. Irresponsibility by the littluns allows the fire to get out of control, taking the life of a littlun. Jack’s hunters cause the keepers of the fire to abandon it for the joy of hunting. The fire goes out; the possible rescue ship passes without seeing the smoke. The mountain is also the place of “the beast” that Simon sees.

Castle Rock

Castle Rock. Headquarters of Jack’s gang, this place is unlike the rest of the island. This piece of rock, barren of vegetation, is slightly set apart from the main part of the island. Easily defended, this rocky place is the site of the violent death first of Simon, then of Piggy, and the planned site of Ralph’s violent death. However, Ralph escapes to the thick tropical vegetation of the main island.

Altar of the “lord of the flies.”

Altar of the “lord of the flies.” Sacrificial site, located in the tropical forest, at which a slaughtered sow’s head stuck on a sharp stick drips with blood and is covered with flies. This is also the site of Simon’s hallucination or conversation with the beast, wherein he recognizes that this beast is the evil within all humanity, not an external force or form. Instead of creating fear in Simon, as it does in the hunters, this beast seems able to communicate with Simon.

Tropical jungle

Tropical jungle. Simon’s place, where he goes to observe nature and contemplate the evil and violence within each of the boys. This is also the place where Ralph finds sanctuary when the hunters set the island on fire, hoping to smoke him out and use his severed head in sacrificial ritual.

Latrine. Communal toilet area, away from fresh water and huts, that allows a vestige of British civilization until it is abandoned by the boys in favor of irresponsible freedom.

Cruiser. British warship that represents safety, comfort, rescue, and civilized society, even though it may be headed into unsafe water in wartime conditions. To the boys, however, it is salvation.

"Lord of the Flies - Places Discussed." Critical Guide to Settings and Places in Literature, edited by R. Kent Rasmussen, eNotes.com, Inc., 2003, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-places-discussed>

Historical Context

Golding and World War II "When I was young, before the war, I did have some airy-fairy views about man. . . . But I went through the war and that changed me. The war taught me different and a lot of others like me," Golding told Douglas A. Davis in the New Republic . Golding was referencing his time as a captain of a British rocket-launching craft in the North Atlantic. He witnessed the sinking of the Bismarck, a flagship of the German navy, and took part in the D-Day invasion of German-occupied France. Additionally, he was impacted by the destruction caused by the German air force in England, which heavily damaged the country's infrastructure and marked the start of a significant economic decline. Wartime rationing persisted well into the postwar era, with items like meat, bread, sugar, gasoline, and tobacco being scarce and considered luxuries. To revive the nation, the government experimented with nationalizing key industries such as coal, electric power, and gas companies, as well as the transportation sector. Socialized medicine and government-sponsored insurance were also introduced. These changes, and the harsh conditions that led to them, reflect the postwar atmosphere in which Golding wrote Lord of the Flies .

The Geography of a Tropical Island Despite the romanticized portrayal in Western fiction and nonfiction, life on a typical tropical island is far from easy. The weather is generally very hot and humid, and there is no breeze once you enter the jungle. While fish are plentiful in the surrounding waters and the scent of tropical flowers fills the air, you must still be wary of sharks, and a diet of fruit and flowers alone is not sustainable. James Fahey, a naval seaman who served in the Pacific islands during the war, concluded: "We do not care too much for this place, the climate takes the life right out of you."

The Political Landscape of the 1950s Following World War II, the dawn of the Cold War between the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) and the Western powers marked a new era in global politics. The conflicts of the 1950s were mainly limited to smaller-scale wars, such as those in Korea (involving the United States) and Vietnam (involving the French). Despite the absence of large-scale warfare, the Cold War tensions between the USSR and the United States escalated dramatically. This period saw the United States conduct its first successful hydrogen bomb test on November 1, 1952, at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific. A second, even more powerful device was detonated on March 1, 1954, at Bikini Atoll. In the United States, public fallout shelters were identified in major cities to ostensibly protect citizens from the radioactive fallout of nuclear explosions. Schoolchildren regularly practiced air raid drills by taking cover under their desks. Additionally, in 1954, Canada and the United States agreed to construct the "DEW" line (Distant Early Warning Line) of radar stations across the Arctic to detect incoming aircraft or missiles over the Arctic region. To summarize, the early 1950s were characterized by an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust, and threats among the major powers. An atomic war, as depicted in Lord of the Flies , seemed a plausible threat during this tense period.

"Lord of the Flies - Historical Context." Novels for Students, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-historical-context>

The events of Lord of the Flies occur during World War II on an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean. Golding intentionally selects this setting, drawing inspiration from Coral Island (1858), to contrast his story with the idealistic narrative of Robert Michael Ballantyne's novel. In Lord of the Flies , the stranded schoolboys have survived a plane crash caused by wartime conflict, making them innocent casualties of adult aggression. Initially, the island appears to provide ample food, water, shelter, and even the hope of eventual rescue. The boys construct a signal fire on the island's highest point, aiming to catch the attention of any passing ships or planes. However, as the story unfolds, the island begins to exude a sinister aura. A malevolent force seems to inhabit it, posing a grave threat to the boys' survival.

"Lord of the Flies - Setting." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-setting>

Literary Techniques

Golding's main goal is to demonstrate that an idealistic view of humanity is both unrealistic and incomplete. To fully understand human nature, one must recognize our inherent capacity for cruelty. To illustrate this, Golding sets his story on a fictional island where all basic needs are easily met, eliminating the struggle for survival. He then depicts a group of schoolboys gradually abandoning their civilized behavior. Stripped of their cultural veneer, the boys transform not into innocent primitives but into violent savages. This scenario offers a microcosmic reflection of the "civilized" adult world: the boys are marooned on the island as a result of a global catastrophe and are "rescued" from their brutal manhunt by adults engaged in an equally brutal, yet "civilized," military pursuit.

Golding underscores the parallel between the savage boys and their equally savage adult rescuers through a dramatic shift in perspective at the novel's conclusion. Throughout the story, readers view events through the boys' eyes. However, in the final four pages, the perspective shifts to that of the naval officer who rescues them. Readers who have witnessed the boys' descent into savagery see them as sadistic hunters chasing Ralph. In contrast, the naval officer perceives them merely as dirty children caught up in "fun and games." He, like many adults, is unaware of the depth of depravity the boys—and he himself—are capable of. This shift in viewpoint is a hallmark of many of Golding's works.

Another technique Golding employs to emphasize the dual nature of humans is humor, broadly defined to include actions and words that convey amusement and happiness, as well as those that are simply funny. Initially humorous or lighthearted elements become corrupted as the island paradise turns into a hellish environment and the good boys become savage. For instance, the playful act of rolling rocks evolves into a method of killing, and a grin shifts from an expression of joy at the absence of adults to the menacing leer of a sow's head mounted on a stick.

"Lord of the Flies - Literary Techniques." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-techniques>

Literary Qualities

Critics frequently describe Golding's novels as religious myths or parables, crafted to convey a moral lesson. Lord of the Flies symbolically represents Golding's view on what transpires when individuals fail to confront the destructive aspects of their own nature. Golding provides just enough detail about the characters to illustrate their varied reactions to the menace of the "Lord of the Flies." Among this group are typical representatives of an English school of the era; their lack of distinctive personal traits underscores Golding's point that the evil affecting the boys could arise in any ordinary person. Despite its moral undertones, the novel is also a compelling adventure story. Golding adeptly guides the reader through the unfolding events, from the initial fear of the "littlun" who dreams of "The Beast," to the formation of Jack's savage tribe, culminating in the hunt for Ralph. The boys' transformation from innocence to savagery is startling, yet it progresses so naturally that it becomes believable.

Particularly effective is the sinister and menacing way the evil spirit of the "Lord of the Flies" is brought to life. By the time Simon encounters "The Beast," the reader is fully convinced of its reality and finds it more terrifying than anything the boys had imagined. The pivotal scene where the killing of a sow unleashes the tribe's savage instincts is also highly convincing. Golding's use of simple, direct language and authentic schoolboy dialogue enhances the story's realism.

Some readers may find the novel's conclusion abrupt, marked by the arrival of the naval officer who rescues the boys. His composed reaction to the evidence of two murders and a group of schoolchildren turned violent savages might seem too subdued. Perhaps Golding aims to create a sense of irony by depicting a soldier admonishing the boys for failing to behave like proper Englishmen.

"Lord of the Flies - Literary Qualities." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-literary-qualities>

Ideas for Group Discussions

1. Is the boys' behavior influenced by the lack of adult supervision?

2. Would the group's actions have differed if girls were present?

3. Why do the boys select Ralph as their leader? Is he an appropriate choice? Why do they eventually follow Jack?

4. What causes the boys to become less enthusiastic about maintaining the fire over time?

5. Why do the boys bully Piggy? Has their treatment of him changed since they first arrived on the island?

6. Examine the events that led to the power struggle between Ralph and Jack.

7. Jack turns into a tyrant who urges his followers to unleash their darkest impulses. Why do the well-mannered English schoolboys forsake their civilized upbringing for uncontrolled anger?

"Lord of the Flies - Ideas for Group Discussions." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-ideas-discussions>

Compare and Contrast

Today: Great Britain has achieved economic stability, although it has not regained the full economic dominance it once had before World War II. The discovery of oil in the North Sea and its membership in the European Union (despite occasional disputes) have bolstered its economic strength.

Today: Politically, Great Britain remains robust, though the separatist movement in Northern Ireland continues to cause unrest. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, Great Britain has been able to concentrate more on domestic issues and regional cooperation.

Today: Modern scientific research using brain scans has revealed physical differences between the brains of healthy children and those who have been abused, indicating that experiences can indeed alter the brain's circuitry.

"Lord of the Flies - Compare and Contrast." Novels for Students, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-compare-contrast>

Literary Precedents

Golding's distinctive approach to using literary precedents involves parodying them by flipping their expectations. At first glance, Lord of the Flies appears to be a classic boys' adventure story, reminiscent of R. M. Ballantyne's The Coral Island (1858), or a survival tale akin to Robinson Crusoe (Defoe; 1719) and The Swiss Family Robinson (Wyss; 1812). However, rather than successfully taming their island environment, the boys descend into savagery. This clever use of precedents allows Golding to challenge romantic ideas of man's inherent goodness and emphasize his central theme — the potential for depravity within humanity that people often refuse to recognize.

"Lord of the Flies - Literary Precedents." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-literary-precedents>

Related Titles / Adaptations

Readers might find interest in several Golding novels that share similar themes and circumstances. Golding's second published novel, The Inheritors, depicts a group of innocent prehistoric men and women who are killed by the ancestors of modern humans. In the novel, Neanderthals are wiped out by Homo sapiens, a species characterized by its malevolent intelligence, casual destruction of another species, and its cruelty and arrogance. The Inheritors introduces a theme Golding frequently revisits in his later works: the contrasting benevolent aspects of faith and poetry versus the malevolent effects of technological societies.

Other novels by Golding also delve into the origins of evil in human lives and its relentless power to corrupt both individuals and society. In Pincher Martin, the struggle between life and death becomes a battle for the survival of the soul. The Spire narrates the story of a clergyman who relentlessly pursues a personal vision of success, regardless of the cost to himself or others. Golding examines societal corruption of an individual in his novel The Pyramid. The Reverend Colley, from Golding's critically acclaimed Close Quarters (1984), exemplifies the seemingly innocent man who is ultimately destroyed by negative traits that had been lurking within him all along.

In 1963, Continental produced a film adaptation of Lord of the Flies. Directed by Peter Brook, the film features James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, and Hugh Edwards. Additionally, a filmstrip version of the novel (1978) is available, which includes an audio cassette, a discussion guide, and a copy of the text.

"Lord of the Flies - Related Titles / Adaptations." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-related-titles-adaptations>

Media Adaptations

• Lord of the Flies holds the unique distinction of being one of the rare serious contemporary novels adapted into a film twice. The first adaptation, directed by Peter Brook in 1963 with an entirely English cast, has been called "compelling" but achieved only moderate success at the box office. This version is available from Home Vision Cinema and Fusion Video.
• The 1990 remake, directed by Harry Hook and featuring an American cast, is well-photographed and "visceral," with R-rated content. However, it is generally considered inferior to Brook's version. This adaptation is available from Columbia Tristar Home Video, The Video Catalog, and New Line Home Video.
• An 89-minute audio recording on cassette (JRH 109), along with a book and study guide produced in 1984 and featuring excerpts from the novel, are available from the Listening Library, Old Greenwich, CT.

"Lord of the Flies - Media Adaptations." Novels for Students, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-media-adaptations>

For Further Reference

Babb, Howard S. The Novels of William Golding. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1970. This study explores the recurring themes in Golding's novels and serves as a valuable resource for educators looking to introduce students to Golding's other works.

Biles, Jack I. Talk: Conversations with William Golding. New York: Harcourt, 1971. This book features an interview with Golding, making it ideal for mature students or teachers preparing to present the author's literature.

Johnson, Arnold. Of Earth and Darkness: The Novels of William Golding. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1980. A more recent analysis, this book is aimed at adult readers and delves into the moral aspects of Golding's novels.

"Lord of the Flies - For Further Reference." Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults, edited by Kirk H. Beetz, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 1999, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-further-reference>

Background The critical notes by E.L. Epstein, following the text in the edition of the book used for this study guide, contain an informative interpretation of the story’s central image, integral to understanding the allegorical implications of the novel:

The central symbol itself, the “lord of the flies” [physically represented in the novel by the pig’s head Jack’s tribe mounts on a sharpened stick, and abstractly represented by the boy’s gradual descent into anarchy and violence] . . . is a translation of the Hebrew Ba’alzevuv (Beelzebub in Greek). It has been suggested that it was a mistranslation of a mistransliterated word which gave us the pungent and suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name suggests that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria, and panic and who therefore fits very well in Golding’s theme.

In a historical sense,  Lord of the Flies  has been present in literature, literally and figuratively, since Loki, the god of mischief in Norse mythology, and in works as diverse as Dante’s “Inferno” and the modern works of Stephen King and other contemporary horror authors. Chaos and destruction have even reigned supreme at times in the modern world. Consider Adolph Hitler and the nightmare reign of the Third Reich, forces that Golding himself fought against, as a prime example of this. But since the embodiment of evil in literature has largely been reduced to an amusing conceit, Golding had to approach his presentation of Beelzebub on a more figurative level. Having witnessed himself the evil that man is capable of, he took a more symbolic approach to presenting what author Anthony Burgess called, “[The] most stinking and depraved of all the devils.” In  Lord of the Flies :

The Devil is not presented in any traditional religious sense; Golding’s Beelzebub is the modern equivalent, the anarchic, amoral, driving force that Freudians call the Id, whose only function seems to be to insure the survival of the host in which it is embedded or embodied, which function it performs with tremendous and single-minded tenacity.

On speaking of the same central image in the novel, Stephen Medcalf writes, “The book dares to name the beast, the evil in man’s heart, as the beast.” Shaped by brute experience, and his dashed conceptions of the good world, Golding’s  Lord of the Flies  is, therefore, a study of man’s willing (and inevitable) descent into the heart of darkness, fueled by his own fear, and guided by his own inwardly twisted nature.

Considering Golding’s own experiences with chaos, fear, death, and destruction on a massive scale during World War II, and his own altered moral philosophy and loss of innocence, it is no surprise that he has chosen to examine their origins in  Lord of the Flies .

Golding claims to have written  Lord of the Flies  as a response to the novel  Coral Island: A Tale of the Pacific Ocean , by R.M. Ballantyne. According to  Major 20th Century Writers :

These two books share the same basic plot line and even some of the same character names (two of the lead characters are named Ralph and Jack in both books). The similarity, however, ends there. Ballantyne’s story, about a trio of boys stranded on an otherwise uninhabited island, shows how, by pluck and resourcefulness, the young castaways survive with their morals strengthened and their wits sharpened.  Lord of the Flies , on the other hand, is “an allegory on human society today, the novel’s primary implication being that what we have come to call civilization is, at best, not more than skin-deep,” as James Stern explains in a  New York Times Book Review  article.

Golding’s view of civilization and the pure innocence of youth, however, was quite different from Ballantyne’s. Having witnessed the grand scale of death and destruction in World War II, Golding described the theme of his own highly allegorical novel  Lord of the Flies  as “an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” He no longer agreed with Ballantyne’s hypothesis that the proper English civilized way of life was good and Christian, and that evil was its antithesis: un-Christian and savage. According to author Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange), Golding’s characters, unlike Ballantyne’s, are inherently evil. Without the restraints of civilization they, “will choose chaos rather than order. The good intentions of the few are overborne by the innate evil of the many. Instead of a boy-scout camp, we get young savages—painted, naked, gorging on pigflesh, given to torture, murder, human sacrifice to false gods.”

"Lord of the Flies - Background." MAXnotes to Lord of the Flies, edited by Dr. M. Fogiel, Research and Education Association, Inc., 2000, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#in-depth-background>

Bibliography and Further Reading

Sources Quotations from Lord of the Flies are sourced from the following edition: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies . New York: Capricorn Books, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1954.

Some details in the Overview section are derived from E. L. Epstein’s biographical and critical notes accompanying the aforementioned edition of the novel.

Baker, James R. "The Decline of Lord of the Flies ." In South Atlantic Quarterly , Vol. 69, Autumn, 1970, pp. 446-60.

Davis, Douglas A. "A Conversation with Golding." In New Republic , May 4, 1963, pp. 28-30.

Dick, Bernard F. William Golding , revised edition. Twayne, 1987.

Fahey, James J. Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945 . Houghton Mifflin, 1963.

Green, Martin. "Distaste for the Contemporary." In Nation , Vol. 190, May 21, 1960, pp. 451-54.

Kermode, Frank. "The Novels of William Golding." In International Literary Annual , Vol. III, 1961, pp. 11-29. Also appears in a condensed form in Baker & Ziegler (1964), pp. 203-6.

Reilly, Patrick. 'Lord of the Flies': Fathers and Sons , Twayne's Masterwork Studies, No. 106, 1992.

Rexroth, Kenneth. Atlantic Monthly , May, 1965.

Riley, Carolyn, ed. Contemporary Literary Criticism : CLC 1. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1973.

Rosenfield, Claire. "'Men of Smaller Growth': A Psychological Analysis of William Golding's Lord of the Flies ." In William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," A Casebook Edition , edited by James R. Baker and Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr. Putnam, 1964, pp. 261-76. Also included in Leonard and Eleanor Manheim, editors, Hidden Patterns: Studies in Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism , Macmillan, 1966.

Ryan, Bryan, ed. Major 20th Century Writers . Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1991, 2:E-K, 1206.

For Further Study Baker, James R. and Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr., editors. William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," A Casebook Edition: Text, Notes, and Criticism . Putnam, 1964, particularly pp. IX-XXIV, 189-291. This edition includes the novel's text, early critical articles both for and against, two interviews with Golding, and a checklist of additional criticism.

Cox, C. B. Review of Lord of the Flies . In Critical Quarterly , Vol. 2, no. 2, Summer, 1960, pp. 112-17. This contemporary review describes Lord of the Flies as one of the most significant novels published in the 1950s.

Gindin, James. William Golding . St. Martin's, 1988. Gindin offers an insightful discussion on Golding's prose techniques and how he conveys abstract ideas through concrete details.

Herndl, G. C. "Golding and Salinger: A Clear Choice." In Wiseman Review , No. 502, Winter, 1964-65, pp. 309-22. Herndl argues that Golding emerges from a classical and Christian tradition that implicitly supports social institutions and opposes individualism.

Peter, John. "The Fables of William Golding." In Kenyon Review , Vol. 19, Autumn, 1957, pp. 577-92. A portion of this essay is reprinted in Baker & Ziegler, pp. 229-34. Peter regards this article as "important and influential in defining critical terms for understanding Golding's work." Bernard F. Dick mentions that Golding himself particularly appreciated this essay.

Spitz, David. "Power and Authority: An Interpretation of Golding's ' Lord of the Flies .'" In Antioch Review , Vol. 30, no. 1, Spring, 1970, pp. 21-33. This is a thorough study of the characterization in Golding's novel.

Stern, James. "English Schoolboys in the Jungle." In New York Times Review of Books , October 23, 1995, p. 38. Stern interprets the novel as a piece of social commentary.

Tiger, Virginia. William Golding: The Dark Fields of Discovery . Calder & Boyars, 1974. In this work, Tiger explores religious, political, psychological, and anthropological interpretations, asserting that the narrative's structure "portrays its thematic meaning."

Time , June 22, 1962, p. 64. This article examines the increasing popularity of Golding's novel in America.

"Lord of the Flies - Bibliography and Further Reading." Novels for Students, Vol. 2. Gale Cengage, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-bibliography-bibliography-1>

Bibliography

Baker, James, ed. Critical Essays on William Golding . Boston: G. K. Hall, 1988. Twelve wide-ranging essays by critics and part of Baker’s interview with Golding. Includes Golding’s Nobel Prize address.

Dick, Bernard F. William Golding . Rev. ed. Boston: Twayne, 1987. Contains a chronology of Golding’s literary career.

Friedman, Lawrence S. William Golding . New York: Continuum, 1993. Sets Lord of the Flies in the context of Golding’s entire body of work. The philosophical first chapter is especially useful in focusing on significant themes and concerns.

Gindin, James. William Golding . New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. A biography and survey of Golding’s literary career. Includes an enlightening comparison of Lord of the Flies with R. M. Ballantyne’s nineteenth century novel, The Coral Island .

Reilly, Patrick. “Lord of the Flies”: Fathers and Sons . Boston: Twayne, 1992. Defends the novel from charges of unrelieved despair.

"Lord of the Flies - Bibliography." Critical Guide to Censorship and Literature, edited by Richard L. Wilson, eNotes.com, Inc., 1997, 27 Aug. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/lord-of-the-flies/essays-further-analysis#essays-further-analysis-in-depth-bibliography-bibliography-2>

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Critical Essays

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Lord Of The Flies Chapter 5 Summary

The theme from chapter 5 tells that Ralph is losing his innocence quickly, but gaining an understanding of natural processes not available to him in the sheltered society he came from. “With a convulsion of the mind, Ralph discovered dirt and decay”. At that moment, he began to trot toward the platform and the civilization it represents, in a physical reaction to the abstract truth newly present within him. Ralph is sick of the savagery he sees around him, but this savagery is characterized by accumulated dirt. The physical filth on the surface becomes a symbol of the metaphorical filth of evil residing in each boy, that itself will soon struggle to be unleashed on the

Chapter 3 Summary: 'Lord of the Flies'

In chapter 3 an argument breaks out between Ralph and Jack over the group's priorities. Ralph is trying to build shelters and an SOS fire while Jack and his hunters are craving some meat. I agree with Ralph wanting the priority to be on getting rescued and staying alive, but I disagree with him complaining about it because he is the leader and it's his job to get everyone working. With Jack I understand and agree that people will get tired of eating fruit and other foods similar to that, but I dislike how he's complaining when he's the one that is responsible for hunting. The argument that these two boys have are what I believe to be purely because of laziness. However if they don’t set things right, this problem is only going to

Lord Of The Flies: Chapter Analysis

In chapter one of Lord of the Flies, a plane crash landed into a deserted island, and the boys emerged from the plane to investigate. They experienced newfound emotions, “…they savoured the right of domination.” , without grownups present, they obtained power that appears uncontrollable. (p.29). They owned the island, making it a paradise, “standing like a fort… bold, pink, bastion.”

Lord Of The Flies Chapter 11 Summary

At the end of chapter 11 there is a major schism between the two groups of boys. While the boys are standing of the cliff the atmosphere is tense due to Jack previously stealing Piggy’s glasses. In this passage from Lord of the Flies, the author Golding shows that there is a lack of rules and in result the boulder kills Piggy.

Plot Summary: Lord Of The Flies

Entering Monday night’s matchup with the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue knew his team would have a challenge in front of them. The Grizzlies were without key players Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, while also missing four other players from their regular rotation. Lue, however, knew the contest with Memphis would be no walk in the park.

Lord of the Flies Chapter 4-6

At the meeting place, Ralph grips the conch shell and berates the boys for their failure to uphold the group’s rules. They have not done anything required of them: they refuse to work at building shelters, they do not gather drinking water, they neglect the signal fire, and they do not even use the designated toilet area. He restates the importance of the signal fire and attempts to allay the group’s growing fear

Lord Of The Flies Chapter 6 Summary

In Lord of the Flies, chapter 6 starts after the late assembly the boys had. Chapter 6 progresses with Simon and Ralph carrying Percival to the shelters and falling asleep. Then a parachutist fell down on the island while everyone slept. In the early morning, as Sam and Eric woke up, they went up to the mountain to light up the fire. Since it was early in the morning, Sam and Eric, who were half asleep, saw the dead parachutist bowing and they thought it as the beast.

Lord Of The Flies Chapter 3 Summary

In chapter 3 the author is trying to show us Jack’s behavior that he is innocent. This is being Jack is not able to kill the pig. Because he is just a child, he is scared and can it see anyone getting killed. This also show us that he is trying to be strong, but in acutely he is scared and strong.

Ralph and Jack get into a quarrel over whether hunting or building shelters is the priority. Ralph rapidly notices the tension and pauses to avoid a rift. Readers see from this incident that Ralph is the ego of the island. He holds back his impulsiveness but ensures to convey his notion. Ultimately he succeeds in winning Jack’s acknowledging.

Lord Of The Flies Chapter 12 Summary

The next morning Ralph tries to light the fire without piggy’s glasses but failed. Ralph and his group goes to Castle Rock to reason with Jack but was stopped by guards. Jack soon shows up with a pig and asks Ralph to leave but Ralph demands that Jack return piggy’s glasses. Jack attacks Ralph and they begin to fight. Ralph tries to get Jack to understand the importance of the signal fire but instead of listening Jack tells his tribe to capture the twins and tie them up. Ralph and Jack begin to fight again. During the fight Roger push a big rock down the mountain side causing Piggy to break the conch shell and falling to his death. Jack and his tribe starts to throw spears at Ralph and torture the twins forcing them to join his

Lord Of The Flies Chapter 1 Summary

“What wrong with that boy Doc, why’s he so afraid to be with the other children?” Inquired the captain.

Lord Of The Flies Chapter Summary

The boys are in the forest in search of more pigs to eating and the "beast". During the search, the boys find pig droppings. Jack tells them that they should hunt the pigs instead of the "beast". A pig comes out to the open and the boys see it. Ralph, who has never hunt, is excited by the chase and quickly gets caught up in the adventure. He throws his spear at the pig, but it only hits his snout. Jack gets a wound on his left arm by the boar's tusks. He proudly shows off his wound to the others and Simon tells him he should suck the wound so it will not get an infection. The hunters go back to chanting "kill the pig." While they are chanting and dancing, they are carelessly waving their spears at Robert. Robert drags himself away from the

The Lord Of The Flies: Chapter Analysis

In the first chapter of Lord of the Flies, Ralph calls together all of the boys using the conch for the first time. Their first rule of action is to elect a leader because “we ought to have a chief to decide things” (Golding 22). Ralph comes to this conclusion after the boys fail to talk one person at a time, effectively not getting anything accomplished by doing so. This event eludes to the statement that social order is needed for man to be productive. The same can be said for when Ralph argues with Jack because he and his hunters aren’t doing anything productive while Ralph and Simon try to build huts for the group. Ralph tries to bring the group together so they can do the things that ultimately aid their survival. Another major effort

Fear has influenced the boys’ reaction/interpretation of the Beast immensely in this chapter. In the beginning of they story all of them were having fun with no adults and no freedom, but now the Beast has caused all of them to change. Most of them have become more fearful and some have even claimed to see the Beast. Although the Beast might exist, the fears in Sam and Eric’s heads have made them imagine the creature is scarier than it actually is. Fear can bring out the worst and best of people, and I am very anxious to see how it will affect the boys later on in the story. Additionally, the Beast seems to have made Jack appear even more obsessed about hunting, while it expresses Simon’s intelligence even more. For example, when he pictured

Analysis Of ' Lord Of The Flies '

“In a 2005 survey about gay bullying statistics, teens reported that the number two reason they are bullied is because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender expression”, according to bullyingstatistics.org. It has also been shown that those who are bullied themselves often go on to bully others because it is all they know, or that bullying covers up their own shames. The character Jack Merridew in Lord of the Flies is not evil like many would argue, but rather is ashamed of the fact that he is gay and closeted. This is supported by the hunter’s casting off of religion and government, Jack’s inability to hunt unless in front of other boys, and the beast as a symbol.

A saying that is used throughout the Norton Marching Band is “everybody all of the time,” which is to say if one person messes up once that causes more problems than just their own one mistake. If one was to miss one day of rehearsal there would be a hole and another individual would miss their dots because they had no one to guide off of. Golding believed that “everybody all of the time” was true in the sense of society. In his novel Lord Of The Flies Piggy, Ralph, and Jack have failures during the novel that cause other mistakes to be more significant. Proving that society fails due to the failure of the individual.

Related Topics

• William Golding
• English-language films
• Frankenstein

Lord of the Flies

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Discussion Questions

Compare/contrast what happensin “normal” society with what happens on the island. Is the society that the boys make more similar or different than the society you know?

Why are there no girls on the island? Do you think that having both genders represented would alter how the boys treat one another?

Why does the “Lord of the Flies” (138)—the pig’s head—tell Simon he is in danger? How does this scene relate to the novel’s title?

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Lord of the flies – sample essay..

Choose a novel in which an important theme is explored. Explain how the author develops this theme throughout the novel.

            The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel in which the theme of savagery versus civilisation is explored. Some British boys are stranded on an isolated island at the time of an imaginary nuclear war. On the island we see conflict between two main characters, Jack and Ralph, who respectively represent civilisation and savagery. This has an effect on the rest of the boys throughout the novel as they delve further and further into savagery.

             The theme of savagery versus civilisation is first introduced to us through the symbol of the conch shell which we associate with Ralph as he is the person who first uses it and becomes the elected leader of the boys. This symbolises authority amongst the boys. At the first assembly Ralph says “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak…he won’t be interrupted”. This suggests civilisation as Ralph is allowing each boy to have an equal say and opinion. If they have the conch, no matter who they are or what age they are they will be given the chance to speak and will be listened to by the rest of the boys. The boys have created the island to be a democratic place which shows a civilised side to them as they try to mimic the homes they have just left.

             Contrasting with the symbol of the conch is the symbol of the beast which comes to be associated with Jack as by the end of the novel he is almost devil worshipping it. The beast begins as a  “snake thing” but by the end of the novel it has become “the Lord of the Flies”. The first quote shows us that the beast is clearly evil. Western society considers snakes to be bad omens because it was a snake that led Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. However at this stage of the novel the beast is quite insubstantial as it is only a “thing”. As the boys fear of the beast grows so to does the beast itself until it has manifested into the devil – the ultimate and most powerful evil. He has a strong status as a Lord although it is over something pretty disgusting – the flies. The boys belief in the beast leads them to behave more like savages as they act out from their fear and they begin to loose hold of the rules, led by Jack, thus demonstrating the theme of savagery.

             One of ways Golding shows conflict between savagery and civilisation is when Jack and some of the other boys are killing the first pig. Jack chants “kill the pig, cut her throat, spill the blood”. This suggests savagery as the boys are being violent and aggressive when killing the pig and they don’t care about it. This is particularly clear through Golding’s word choice. Jack talks about cutting the pig’s throat which makes it sound like a savage action and spilling her blood which reinforces the lack of care and feeling shown towards the pug’s carcass. This shows that the boys are no longer feeling guilty about what they have done thus showing them becoming savages. 

             We can see the conflict between savagery and civilisation developing further when Piggy’s glasses are broken. We are told “Piggy cried out in terror ‘my specs!” This shows us that the boys savage natures are beginning to overule their more civilised sides. At the start of the book Jack would never have dared touch Piggy, but here he actually snaps and goes for Piggy who he despises. We can tell that Piggy is really scared as Golding chooses the words “cried” and “terror” to describe the scene. Piggy sounds like he is hurting and is genuinely terrified about what Jack might do to him and the loss of his sight. Piggy’s glasses have also come to represent intelligence on the island, with them breaking we see that the pathway to savagery is now completely open for the boys. This is the first true piece of violence between the two factions on the island and it will result in nearly all the boys becoming savages.

             A final way in which we see the theme of savagery versus civilisation being demonstrated is when Ralph sticks up for Piggy after he is attacked by Jack. Ralph says “that was a dirty trick”. This shows that Ralph is really angry at Jack for what he said and did to Piggy. He is still attempting to impose himself as leader here as he says this in an aggressive and assertive tone. This suggests there is still some glimmers of civilisation on the island at this point as there is still someone with a sense of moral goodness ready to fight for justice.

             In conclusion The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel in which the theme of savagery versus civilisation is shown. Ralph represents civilisation as he wants to enforce rules and let everyone have an equal say. Whereas Jack who represents savagery as he rules over the boys and he is not interested in what they have to say. Through the boys actions Golding shows us that we need rules and to consciously impose them to make sure society functions properly.

27 thoughts on “Lord of the Flies – sample essay.”

AWESOME thanks guys!!

This essay was really helpful and thought provoking. I noticed a comment about how this essay could improve and I understand that this essay follows Scottish Qualifications, but I just have two suggestions to improve it.

At the beginning of Paragraph 4 it states “One of ways”. I think that perhaps the author meant “One of the ways”.

Also, in Paragraph 5 the author uses “We”, it may be different in Scotland, but I learnt that in essays one does not use personal pronouns.

Other than that it was really well written <3 Thank you!

I’m sorry you didn’t find the essay any help. There are mistakes in this as it was written by a National 5 class and is an exact sample essay as written by the pupils (equivalent to GCSE) and as a result of that there are some errors. It does talk about the same thing over and over again – civilisation versus savagery – but it is supposed to as this was the focus of the essay question. When writing a critical essay you need to pick out things from the text that answer the question. You will notice that different things are picked out from the text that relate to the fight between civilisation and savagery – whether this is the symbols used in the book or the actions of some of the characters. Once this has been selected to speak about you need to lift evidence from the text to support what you are saying and then explain it to your readers. I hope this has helped you understand the point of the essay a bit better.

Ms Davidson

Is this essay meant to be for a GSCE course? I am doing an essay about it now and I’m in year 8.

This text is being used by students in a Scottish Secondary School for their National 5 English qualification. They sit their exam at the equivalent age to those studying GCSEs. It doesn’t really matter what age you are when you study the text, it’s more to do with the levels of analysis you go through whilst studying the text. This essay would be a minimum pass at National 5 in Scotland. It is written by students and is simply an example of what students could write in their exam.

Hope that’s helped, Ms Davidson

I was desperate to know what to write in the conclusion but then this conclusion gave me some help, Thank you

Thank you so much!! The points in this essay are extremely helpful and I was able to interlink them in my GCSE exam today. Very helpful source!!

You are very welcome!

I’m glad you found it useful!

Thanks so much I have this 5 paragraph essay that’s due and you helped me so much for idea wise

WOOOOW amazing thank you so much

😍😍😍😍❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

this is gold as I have to write an essay on lotf and was having troubles finding main quotes the had good techniques paired to them and this helped a lot

Is this a full mark piece ?

This would probably get 15-16 out of 20 at National 5 in the Scottish system. Hope that helps.

Glad it was useful!

Thank you so much this was so extremely helpful. You are a lifesaver!

I’m glad I found this essay because i got an A on my school essay. THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙂

I wanted conflict between ralph and jack ONLY

You can change the points and the link backs (the first and last sentence in each paragraph) to focus on the conflict between Jack and Ralph if you need to. Each symbol talked about here is either associated with Jack or Ralph. Also Jack and Ralph link to the wider theme of the book with each boy respectively representing civilisation or savagery. This essay can be used to help you structure the one you need to write.

I am writing a paragraph and i need to write about the theme, charecters/groups… i cant start the paragraph with the answers, i need an intro, what can i do for an intro, i am a bit stuck

I’m not sure I understand your question Sarah. Your paragraph seems to include an awful lot of things. What is the overall point you are trying to talk about? If you were looking at the theme of civilisation then you could start with a simple sentence saying “The Lord of the Flies explores the theme of savagery versus civilisation”. If you are focusing on a particular character then begin with “The Lord of the Flies uses one of it’s main characters Jack/Ralph to explore certain ideas within the text.” I hope this helps. Ms Davidson

This helped me soon much!I’m so happy that I got an A+!My teacher was so happy.

That’s excellent!

THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙂

I need help with that essay lotf essay why should a leader read lotf base on ralph.

Take a look at the essay based on the character Ralph. Adapt it the first sentence in each paragraph (your POINT) so that it focuses on Ralph being a good example of being a leader, or how they can learn a lesson from him doing something that shows him being a bad leader. Then adapt the final sentence (your LINK BACK) so it responds to him setting an example (or not!) for leaders.

I was reading through the comments and you mentioned that the essay would be about 15-16 marks out of 20, and was wonder what improvements could be made to get the last few marks?

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Irony In Lord Of The Flies Chapter 5 Essay

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