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Characters

Ralph

Optimistic so you see, sooner or later, we will be rescued

-He is hopeful and certain that they will be rescued soon.

Clever and Prioritised We must make a fire.

-This shows priortisation as this is the first thing they do as the fire is the only hope for res-

cuing the boys on the island.

We need hunters to get us meat.

-This is the second thing they do.

Determined Weve got to relight the fire

Mature the fire is the most important thing on the island

-He constantly urges the boys to keep the fire alight at all times.

Civilised

Democratic seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things

-Ralph lets everyone have a say in assemblies and choosing what to do.

Jack

Arrogant I ought to be chief...because Im chapter chorister and head boy

-Immediately, he thinks he should be elected chief. Commanding Choir! Stand still

-He uses imperatives to order the choir around.

Mean You shut up

-Laughs and intimidates Piggy all the time.

Serve you right if something did get you

Savage and Violent Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!

-Jack and his hunters reenact the killing of the pig.

Bloodthirsty You should have seen the blood

-He loves the sight of blood.

If I could only get a pig

-He loves killing pigs.

Piggy

Intelligent How can you expect to be rescued if you dont put first things first and act

proper

-He prioritises and tells the boys to do the most important things first.

What intelligence on the island was traceable to Piggy

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Mature Nobody knows where we are. Perhaps they knew where we was going to. But

they dont know where we are cos we never got there

Caring The little uns, who took any notice of em? Who knows how many we got?

Resourceful The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down here by the

beach

We could make a sundial

-This shows Piggys resourceful idea of telling the time.

Asthmatic Cant catch me breath

Symbolism and Motifs

Conch-The conch symbolises law and order of the adult world, and authority among the

boys. Piggy tries to protect it showing how important it is. Ralph says Ill give the conch to

the next person to speak Only the person holding the conch may speak, this shows that

the conch has a lot of authority over the boys. When Jack destroys it, anarchy takes overbecause any hope of strong leadership has been abandoned. The conch exploded into a

thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. The island society collapses in chaos.

Piggys Specs-They symbolise the voice of reason and logic or intelligence among the

boys. Piggy defends his glasses even more than the conch showing its importance over

the conch. Ive got to have them specs. Piggy cleans his glasses frequently representing

clear sightedness. The boys use Piggys classes to light the fire representing common

sense. When Piggys glasses flew off and tinkled on the rocks. Piggy cried out in terror.

Fire-The smoke of the fire symbolises the best hope of the boys being rescued. They

might have seen us, we might have gone home. As long as the fire is up the boys have a

change of being rescued. Ralph says You said youd keep the fire going and you let it out!

He is especially angry when the boys dont keep the fire alight.

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Island-The island represents the real world. An island is isolated from the rest of society,

the boys have no contact with the outside world. The boys are isolated from civilisation.

The island was roughly boat-shaped.

Lord of the Flies-The severed sows head that Jack impales on a stake in the forest as an

offering to the beast. Lord of the Flies symbolises the power of evil and the evilness in the

boys. It talks to Simon You knew, didnt you? Im part of you?... Im the reason why its no

go? Why things are what they are? It is only Simons hallucination and it does not exist.

Beast-The beast is seen as a real object on the island which frightens the boys. In reality

the beast is only their own [internal fear. It is located in the soul and mind of they boys,

leading them to the natural chaos of a society with no adults. Only Simon knows that thebeast is the boys internal fear but he is killed as the boys mistake Simon as the beast, as

they are scared.

Face Paint-Face Paint is the excuse many of the boys use for living as hunting savages, in-

stead of civilised English citizens. It serves as a mask that allows the boys to become

someone they are not. The paint symbolises the smoke screen the beast uses to infiltrate

the boys souls. Jack and the hunters put on face paint to kill the pig. This shows themstarting to begin in their savage ways.

Parachute Man-The dead body flying in the parachute symbolises the end of adult supervi-

sion. While the law and order of the adult world is waning, childish chaos is growing under

Jacks control. Simon has a special connection with the parachute man when he climbs the

mountain to determine if the parachute man is still alive. Simon realises the man is dead,

and the beast is still alive.

Key Themes

Darkness of Mans Heart-Man is essentially evil within their soul. Before the boys set foot

on the island, the island is perfect. Then, people are hunted down and the whole island is

burned down.

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Civilisation vs Savagery-Jack and the hunters become savage and start inviting others to

join Jacks tribe leaving Piggy and Ralph as the only civilised people left.