Lotf test review
Transcript of Lotf test review
Lord ‘
of the Flies’
TEST REVIEW
William Golding
Title Translation
“Beelzebub” a Hebrew word for
LUCIFER
However, the literal translation of “Beelzebub”
into English is LORD OF THE FLIES
About William Golding
• British novelist
• Born on September 19, 1911, died 1993
• Studied Science and English at Oxford
• Fought in Royal Navy during WWII
• Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day
• At war’s end, returned to teaching and writing
• Earned the Nobel Prize in Literature
In the decade before LOTF was published, Britain had been involved
in two wars:•WWII •Korean War
LORD OF THE FLIES
Influences on the Book
WWII Nazism & the The Third Reich
As a child, Golding had witnessed WWI, which was referred to as “the war to end all wars”
However, 22 years later Britain was again involved in ANOTHER WAR to end all wars, which caused more devastation than was imaginable
Through LOTF, Golding is making the statement that we cannot escape our
savage, violent tendencies…
…and without social order,we devolve
into a state of chaos
Point of View…
• Lord of the Flies is
told in the
omniscient point of
view.
• The narrator is “all-
knowing” and tells of
the events as they
unfold.
Setting There are several key ideas in
Lord of the Flies that are
revealed by setting.
Lord of the Flies
The Island• The island is a perfect
microcosm. It is like an ant-farm.
• A microcosm is a mini-society.
• Limited resources.
• Population of leaders/followers.
Lord of the Flies
The Symbolism of the Island • Different areas of the island are
associated with different ideas.• Beach = Dreams/hope of rescue
• Mountain = Mystery, truth, spiritual place
• Bush = Ritual, concealment, The boys’ reaction to
the bush is symbolic of how the boys will ultimately
respond to the desperate situation that they are in.
• Rocky-outcrop = savagery, death
Lord of the Flies
The Setting…
• After being evacuated during an atomic war, the boys in
the novel crash land on a tropical island. They are thought
to be somewhere in the Pacific or Indian Ocean.
• The events of the novel take place on this island, as the
boys are stuck there in hopes of being rescued.
The Island Personified
1. Personification is used throughout the
text to make the natural world seem
sinister. Find 3 examples of
personification used to describe a
feature of the island.
2. Why might Golding have used
personification to this effect? What is
his purpose?
Lord of the Flies
Allusions• Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the
main characters from The Coral Island.
• Simon from the Bible “Simon called Peter”,
Peter was the other boy’s name in The
Coral Island
• Mention of Coral Island and Treasure
Island
• Numerous biblical allusions throughout
Character Analysis
• Ralph ~ Main character described as “fair haired,” having “broad shoulders…[like a] boxer’s,” and has a face that “proclaims no devil”
Committed to civilization and morality
Translation = GOOD
Character Analysis
• Piggy \ Described as
“fat,” “intellectual,”
asthmatic, and needs
glasses
Represents scientific,
rational side of
civilization, and social
order
Character Analysis
• Jack ~ Described as having red hair, wears black with a snake clasp, ugly, cruel and manipulative
Represents our savageinstincts played out
EVIL
Character Analysis• Simon ~ Described as
a skinny, vivid little boy, who“meditates;” and he faints, which some cultures have believed is a sign of connecting with the spiritual world
Seems to be connected with nature, and he has an innate, spiritual goodness
Character Analysis
• Roger ~ “Silent”
and sadistic
Targets the “littluns”
The only one to
premeditate murder
Kills without
conscience
Pure evil
Character Analysis• Sam and Eric (Samneric) ~
Twins
Described as barely having enough skin to cover both, bullet-headed, and they finish each other’s sentences
The last to remain loyal to Ralph
Represent the tug-of-war
within us to remain good
Character Analysis
• “Littluns” ~ The younger kids
Represent the common folk,
who easily follow the lead of
others into savagery when
there is no enforced structure
in society
LORD OF THE
FLIES INTRODUCTION
THEMES & IMAGERY
LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTION
THEMES & IMAGERY
Evil / Fear of the Unknown
Lord of the Flies• Fear of the Unknown
1. The boys are afraid because they do not know where they are, why their plane crashed, or what will happen if they are not rescued.
2. The littluns fear the beastie or snake-like thing that comes in the dark
3. The bigguns fears beasts that are still unknown
4. “The Beast” – Snake-like thing – the dead parachutist – The Lord of the Flies –Simon - The boys themselves
LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTION
THEMES & IMAGERY
ORDER
Lord of the Flies
• The Need for Social Order
1. The boys are separated from civilization
2. They attempt to create their own form of order and government
3. Without someone to enforce the rules, the boys fail to observe their own rules
4. The boys eventually abandon the rules of civilization
5. Without social order, the boys commit acts of savagery and murder
LORD OF THE FLIES
THEMES & IMAGERY
POWER/LEADERSHIP
Lord of the Flies
• Power1. To Ralph, power is democratic
2. The conch becomes a symbol of power
3. To Jack, power is authoritarian
4. Jack treats the members of his choir cruelly
5. The littluns begin to exercise power of
small creatures
6. Roger enjoys unrestrained power
LORD OF THE FLIES
THEMES & IMAGERYSavagery / Loss of Identity
and Innocence
Notes on Lord of the Flies• Loss of Identity
1. The boys begin to lose their individual
identities: littluns, bigguns, samneric
2. The choir becomes hunters
3. The mask allows the boys to become
someone else
4. Jack’s followers become a savage tribe
5. Ralph has difficulty remember he is the
leader and why rescue is important
6. Percival forgets his own name
Notes on Lord of the Flies
• Loss of Innocence
1. Ralph’s faith in democracy is shattered
2. Following the rules offers no protection
3. Piggy’s belief in fairness is proven false
4. Violence takes the lives of three boys
5. The boys come to accept the notion that
the world is not completely good
LORD OF THE FLIES
THEMES & IMAGERY
NATURE/ISLAND
Lord of the Flies• Vision
1. Mirages impair the boy’ vision
2. Although Piggy’s vision is poor, he can see most clearly what they need to do to survive
3. Piggy is blind to the reality that evil exists in the boys themselves
4. Simon has the clearest vision of the true nature of evil on the island
5. Only Simon sees the “Lord of the Flies”
6. Only Simon goes to the mountaintop to see the beast clearly in the daylight.
THEMES
• Human Evil – Evil is a part of human nature, and it lies within us. It is not a force of civilization. Society’s welfare depends on man’s idea of right and wrong, not on outside forces.
• Savagery – Golding believes that humans, when forced to live in nature, revert to savagery.
• Loss of Innocence – The boys, young and innocent at the time they arrive on the island, are forced to deal with situations that are normally associated with adult life. As a result, many of the boys lose the innocence that comes as a part of childhood.
LOTF Symbols(Objects, characters, figures, or colors that represent ideas or concepts)
Piggy’s Glasses = The last surviving evidence of the lawful, structured world
Conch Shell = New democracy on the island
Snake = Evil…reference to the serpent in the garden of Eden
TERMS to REMEMBER
• Microcosm = A
small world that
represents the world
at large
• Edenic = Eden like,
paradise like, a
setting that has not
yet been spoiled by
man
LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTION
Parallels To Be MadeLord of the Flies is an allegorical novel. It is an allegory on
several levels: political, religious and psychological. On its
most basic level it is an allegory of human society today.
Writers use allegory to illustrate abstract meanings by using
concrete images. Often, characters in allegories personify some
abstract quality. While it is possible to read Lord of the Flies as
allegory, the work is so complex that it can be read on many
levels.
LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTION
Parallels To Be Made
LORD OF THE FLIES INTRODUCTIONParallels To Be Made
LOTF is an allegory of the political state of the world in the post
war period; as a Freudian psychological understanding of
human kind; or as the Christian understanding of the fall of
humankind, among others. The novel serves as a warning to the
leaders of the world , implying that man’s destructive nature will
ultimately be his undoing . Just like Adam and Eve from the Old
Testament’s Book of Genesis, the “Lost Boys” will be cast from the
Garden of Eden due to their sinful nature.
Philosophical Influence
• John Hobbes
– English Philosopher: 1588- 1679
– Man is by nature selfishly individualistic
– Man constantly at war with other men
– Fear of violent death is sole motivation to
create civilizations
– Men need to be controlled by absolute
sovereignty to avoid brutish behavior
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 1
William Golding sets his novel Lord of the
Flies at a time when Europe is in the midst of
nuclear destruction. A group of boys, being
evacuated from England to Australia, crash
land on a tropical island. No adults survive the
crash, and the novel is the story of the boys'
descent into chaos, disorder, and evil.
LORD OF THE FLIES
CHAPTER 1As the story opens, two boys emerge from the
wreckage of a plane which is eventually dragged out to
sea. The boys, Ralph and Piggy, begin exploring the
island in hopes of finding other survivors. Because of
the nuclear bomb's devastation, it's likely that no one
knows the boys' whereabouts. Ralph is delighted to be
on a pristine tropical island without adults, but Piggy is
less pleased because he believes that without adults
present the other boys will make fun of him.
LORD OF THE FLIES
CHAPTER 1The novel opens with a description of the "long scar
smashed into the jungle," a reference to the snake-like
damage done by the plane as it crashed into the island.
Here civilization with its technology has dealt a blow to
nature; nature counters by sweeping the wreckage out
to sea. Yet the conflict is not so simple. While the jungle
may represent nature, the beach provides the conch
and the platform, both of which symbolize
institutionalized order and politics (civilization).
Chapter 2: “Fire on the Mountain”
• Ralph sets rules
– No one can talk, unless they’re holding the conch.
• A Boy proclaims that there is a “Beastie” or “Snake-Thing”
– Ralph says there’s no such thing.
– Jack says him and his hunters will kill it if there is.
• The boys talk about getting rescued.
• Decide to make a fire and make sure it never dies.
– On the top of the mountain that Jack, Ralph, and Simon all found.
• The Fire gets too big, and starts to burn down the island.
• The boy who proclaimed about the “Beastie” is not in the story…They believe he got killed in the Fire.
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Chapter 3: “Huts on the Beach”
• Jack tries to catch a pig, but misses.
• Ralph and Simon start to build shelters.
• Simon is still convinced that the “Beastie
or Snake-Thing” is real.
• Simon is shown for the first time to have a certain power and wisdom of his own.
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Chapter 4: “Painted Faces and Long Hair”
• Things between the boys start to change.
• Jack, Samneric, and Bill, all put clay on their faces, and go on a pig hunt.
• Ralph sees a ship while swimming with Piggy, The fire is out.
• Jack smacks Piggy across the face, breaks one of Piggy’s Lenses.
• Jack won’t give Piggy any meat so Simon gives his to Piggy. Jack tosses another piece to Simon.
• Ralph calls an assembly.
Chapter 5: “Beast From Water”• Ralph is deep in thought about what he should do as chief and seems to
be losing his authority over many of the boys, especially Jack and the
hunters. Ralph too is growing more and more susceptible to the beast’s
power of persuasion and is forgetting about the signal fire.
• Another meeting is called to discuss matters but the main concern for
most of the boys is their fear of the beast.
• One of the littluns believes that the beast comes from the sea. This fear is
further strengthened when Simon, the first of the biguns to do so, admits
the possibility of there actually being a beast on the island.
• Soon killing the pigs is associated with killing Piggy because with each
successful hunt, Piggy loses more and more power as an advocate for
order. This is evident from the partial breaking of his glasses. Giving into
the beast by hunting is parallel to betraying Piggy, who rejects hunting as
a worthwhile endeavor. Piggy confides to Ralph his fear of Jack.
• Ralph realizes that indeed he is hated by Jack. It’s at this time that Ralph
clearly sees the distinction between Jack and himself.
Chapter 6: “Beast From Air”
• Golding details the night-time arrival of a dead parachutist onto the
mountain of the island. It’s often speculated that this is the plane’s pilot,
yet Golding never confirms this one way or the other.
• "Samneric, who are tending the fire, see this figure and run down to the
shelters to tell the frightening news to Ralph. When morning comes.
Jack and Ralph decide to seek out the beast at Castle Rock, and if they
don’t find him there, they will search the mountain.
• Ralph leads the way, and Jack follows, yet when they reach the top no
beast is in sight. This frustrates all the boys, but especially Ralph, who
vents his frustrations.
• The hunters want to stay at Castle Rock to build a fort and roll more
rocks, but Ralph convinces them to follow him to the mountain.
CHAPTER 8
Gift for the Darkness
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Back on the beach, Piggy can’t
believe the beast is real. He
asks what they should do.
Ralph isn’t sure. He says the
beast is sitting up by the signal
fire as if trying to intercept their
rescue.
The intellectual Piggy can’t fathom the beast’s
existence. Ralph considers the beast an enemy
of civilization and rescue.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Jack says his hunters could kill the beast.
Ralph says they’re just boys with sticks.
Infuriated, Jack blows the conch to call a
meeting. Ralph begins to talk but Jack says he
called the meeting with the conch, so he
should get to speak. Ralph lets him. Jack says
they’ve seen the beast: it’s a hunter.
By blowing the conch to call a meeting, Jack
shows he’s still playing by civilization’s rules.
Jack links himself & his boys to the beast by
calling it a hunter.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Jack accuses Ralph of belittling the hunters. He
says Ralph is like Piggy and isn’t a proper
chief. Jack calls for a vote to remove Ralph and
make Jack chief. Nobody votes for Jack.
The boys’ allegiance still remains with
civilization and order. They’re unwilling to
surrender to savagery…so far.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Jack storms off, humiliated and crying. He vows to
form a new group, and says anyone can join him
when he hunts. He disappears into the forest.
Everyone is stunned, but the meeting continues.
Simon suggests they climb the mountain. Piggy
considers the suggestion insane. He says they
should just build a signal fire on the beach.
Jack (savagery) forms his own tribe outside
civilization. Simon (spirituality) suggests they
confront the beast. Piggy (civilization) strives to
find a way to ignore and hide from the beast.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
The boys build the fire and
the littleuns dance and sing.
After the fire, Ralph realizes
that all the biguns but
Samneric and Piggy have
disappeared. Most have
gone to join Jack.
A turning point: publicly the biguns are
unwilling to oppose civilization, but privately
they choose Jack, the beast, and savagery.
LORD OF THE FLIES NOTES - CHAPTER 8
Simon has
wandered alone
into the forest. He
enters a secret
glade and sits there
in the sun. Though
he gets thirstier and
thirstier, he
continues to sit. Like other religious mystics,
Simon fasts and meditates.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Elsewhere in the jungle, Jack declares himself
chief of the boys who have joined him. As chief,
he says he’s going to get more “biguns away
from the conch” and when his tribe hunts they’ll
leave some of the kill for the beast. That way, it
won’t bother them. Jack leads the boys into the
forest.
Jack now treats the beast like a god. The other
boys’ fear of the beast increases their loyalty to
Jack. Savage chiefs both fear the beast and
use it to gain power
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
The boys track, corner, and kill a big sow (a
female pig). Jack cuts off its head. He decides
they’ll raid Ralph’s camp for fire to cook the
pig, and invite everyone to a feast. Roger,
meanwhile, sharpens a stick at both ends.
They stake the pig head on the stick and leave
it as an offering to the beast.
Jack and his tribe decide to attack Ralph’s
civilization. Their offering makes clear that to
them the beast is now a god who demands
sacrifice.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Simon witnesses the killing and staking of the pig
from his secret spot in the glade. Simon is thirsty
and exhausted, and the pig’s head seems to talk to
him. It tells him to leave and go back to the others.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Simon recognizes that the offering to the beast actually
is the beast. In trying to appease the beast by sacrificing
to it, Jack’s tribe is actually making the beast more
powerful.
"Fancy thinking the Beast
was something you could
hunt and kill! You knew,
didn't you? I’m part of you”
He stares at the pig’s head, at the Lord of the
Flies,and seems to recognize it.
LORD OF THE FLIES NOTES - CHAPTER 8
Jack emerges
from the forest
into Ralph’s
camp. As his
followers steal
fire from the
signal fire, he
invites Ralph’s
group to come
his feast, then
disappears.
The purpose of fire has
changed from rescue to
cooking for survival.
LORD OF THE FLIES CHAPTER 8
Simon is on the verge of
having a fit in the forest.
The pig’s head, the Lord of
the Flies, speaks to him.
“We are going to have fun
on this island!” The beast
warns Simon that if he tries
to interfere that Jack, Roger,
Maurice, Robert, Bill, Piggy,
and Ralph will “kill” him.
LORD OF THE FLIES NOTES - CHAPTER 8
The beast links itself to
“fun” (savagery) and
confirms it exists within
men. The beast’s threat is
surprising: it says Piggy
and Ralph will act with
Jack and his tribe to kill
Simon. The beast claims
both civilization and
savagery as allies against
Simon’s spiritual truth.
NOTES - CHAPTER 8
The Lord of the Flies (the title of Beelzebub, a demon from Hell)
speaks to Simon inside of his mind and warns him that he is a
threat and "is not wanted on this island." The threat stems
perhaps from his goodness and inability to be transformed into a
hunter as the other choirboys had been. For his resistance,
Simon must die, The Lord of the Flies tells him. Presumably, this
is the voice of the beast within him that speaks; it is that very
same "sickly part" of the human he had envisioned earlier. Being
the most religiously good of the boys, he is understandably an
obstacle in order for the primal, wicked aspects of the boys to
come into full control.
CHAPTER 8 • Just like we saw back in Chapter 7, Simon continues to not
be concerned with his own safety. It’s as if Simon knows that he will die soon. Regardless of the outcome, Simon is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to learn the truth and reveal it to the others. Similar to Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, Simon struggles with temptation, trying not to let the beast (Beelzebub) get the best of him. He will be strong in the face of evil and pay any price to save the others, even though the beast tells him that they are all against him.
Chapter 9
• Simon wakes up from his encounter with the lord of the flies,– then climbs to the summit of the mountain.
– He looks at the dead pilot, then sees no beast in it
– then he goes to the others to tell them there is no beast on the mountain.
• In the same timeframe, Ralph and Piggy go to Jack’s pig roast, and eat.– Ralph tries to call another meeting, and is humiliated.
– Piggy and Ralph also join in Jack’s chant, but denies that account.
– Ralph reprimands jack for not having shelters when it rains at this roast.
The pilot's body breaks free from the mountain & goes down into the sea.
• When Simon goes into the chant, he is mistaken for the beast, then killed. His body also goes out into the sea.
Philip
Matuskiewicz
Chapter 10
• At this point, only a few of the kids remain in Ralph’s group.
• Jack sort of has created a “Tribe” of hunters– The kids call him the “proper chief”
– He has strict control over everyone in that tribe
– No one orders Jack around
– Jack explains the beast came as Simon disguised and they have to keep alert at all times.
– Jack plans on steeling Piggy’s glasses with Roger, and Maurice
• Jack and his helpers attack Ralph’s men, and steal Piggy’s glasses.
Philip
Matuskiewicz
Chapter 11
• Ralph lets the signal fire go out
• Ralph is convinced by Piggy to blow the conch,
which does nothing
• Piggy shows bravery as he wants his glasses,
and is willing to go to Jack to get them back
– All 4 of Ralph’s gang go to Castle Rock to get Piggy’s
glasses back
– Samneric is captured (the twins are as 1 identity)
– Piggy is killed
Philip
Matuskiewicz
Chapter 12
• Ralph settles into a wooded area on the island– he eats fruit
– He messes around with the pig head where Simon encountered the beast
– Ralph is viewed by Jack’s tribe as a pig now
• Ralph becomes savage when the others find his hiding place revealed by Simneric
• Jack and his clan starts the big fire on all the island– A ship office arrives at a burning island to find out what was
wrong
– The fire saved the kids, and the ships take them home
Philip
Matuskiewicz
The End
“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the
darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the
air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."
- William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Chapter 12
Conclusion
• Reflection of how our society really works
• Proves how a situation can reveal a
person’s dark side
Philip and Julia