LORD OF THE FLIES
Katie, Phillip, Connor, Georgia, Sophia, Evan,
Chris
THEMES
Survival of the Fittest- those who are weaker do not always come out on top
when faced with a savage environment
Loss of innocence is shown as Roger started the book as an innocent person,
but turns into what some people may call a monster
Good vs. evil is displayed as well, the boys are shown as working against Ralph
and “joining the dark side” by joining Jack and Roger
CHARACTER GROWTH
• Roger- changes from mild anger to killing multiple people
• Ralph-once was a noble leader convinced in having fun, through the book,
he realizes the importance of survival and tries to get the others to
understand that fun is not always the answer
• Jack- goes from proud follower afraid of emberrassment to evil leader who
kills and injures innocents (such as Samn’Eric)
• Piggy- Voice of reason throughout the book, however as the book
progressed, he became more prominent a character because of his growth
in confidence towards Ralph
CONFLICTS
• In the beginning, Jack and Ralph are conflicting because of their different
opinions on how to live on the island
• The boys fear the beast on the island, which made the boys nervous and
unable to sleep
• Jack separated from Ralph and his group and created his own group
• Jack and the boys hunted Ralph at the end of the book and it was
understood that if they found him, they would kill him
DEATH
Murder vs. Innocent death
Murder
Piggy-was the voice of reason, after he
was murdered, and the conch
destroyed, reason was lost on the
island; this shows that once someone
died on the island, the influence they
had on the others slowly faded away
and eventually was forgotten
Simon- Simon was murdered in the
dark, this again displays the light vs.
dark imagery; the boys couldn’t see
Simon and thought he was the beast,
however once they realized it was
Simon they didn’t stop beating him;
his death represented the loss of
innocence on the island
Innocent Death
The boy with the mulberry
birthmark was killed by
accident; his death was a
tragedy that caused the boys
to regroup and understand
what would happen if they
didn’t work together; this is
foreshadowing, for later on
when they stop working as a
group, there are more deaths
LITERARY DEVICES (SYMBOLISM)
• Conch: The Conch represents power, order, unity and leadership. The conch also
represents civilization because when the conch is blown, the boys come together
and form a unity. Another example of the conch representing order is that
possession of the conch is required in order to speak at the meetings.
• Fire: The fire represents help, hope and rescue. Jack has assumed responsibility of
the fire; however, he does not tend to the fire when their chance of rescue comes.
This can lead to the conclusion that Jack does not want to be rescued. Another
example of the fire is in the very beginning of the book. The boys were not
collaborating on the fire, and put too much wood into it. Because of this, the boys
caused the burning of half of the island.
• The Beast: The Beast represents terror, violence and fear. Although the beast is in
the Littluns’ imagination and is fake, the terror and fear that this creature has caused
is extremely real.