Lord of the Flies
Rebecca Mooring
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Needs and Desires: Understand the inner struggles of characters. What are their needs and desires
in the beginning, middle, and end? What is Jonas like at the start of the novel, and how or why
does he change? What does he want?
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Conflict: Identify the central conflict. List the protagonist’s friends and enemies. Are there
conflicts between characters, between Jonas and his society, or between Jonas and his own self?
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Motifs: Pay attention to visual cues. Search for symbols or motifs that represent something else.
What does the red apple signify in Jonas’ colorless world? What does the music that Jonas hears at
the end suggest?
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Subtext: Examine dialogue and action between characters. Does Jonas say or do things he doesn’t
want to say or do?
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Titles: Study the book’s title, as well as the titles of chapters, for clues about the author’s
message.
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Personal Experience: Compare the protagonist’s journey to your own experiences. Do you know
how Jonas feels when he is happy or sad? Do you agree with what he says or does? If you were in
his position, would you act differently?
Choose a passage you wish to discuss from the book.
1] What ideas are expressed in the passage, and what do they tell you about the
speaker?
2] What emotions, if any, does the speaker express? What does that tell you
about him?
3] Does this character belong to a particular character type ? Does he embody
certain ideas,
values, qualities or attitudes that you recognize as characteristics of people you
know or know
of?
4] What is the leadership status of the character, and how does he announce this
through the ways
he behaves, speaks and what he speaks about?
5] Is the person witty, insightful, caring, exploitive, cruel, kind?
You will comment upon your chosen character's behaviours while on the island
and how you feel he
may fare when and if the boys are ever back in civilization.
Every opinion must be supported with direct evidence from the story / or by your
ded
What is the nature of human beings?
Are humans basically good or evil?
Are people determined or do we have free will?
Are people noble-more divine than animals? Or
Are people degraded, corrupt-more animal than spirit?
Are people a balance? If so, how is this balance preserved?
What is the human being's greatest faculty? Reason? Imagination?
Do humans have a soul? Can they achieve immortality? How?
Are humans in the universe by design or chance? If by design, how?
What is a human's basic purpose in life? Is there a purpose? To save the human
soul? To find happiness? If so, what is happiness and how are we to achieve it?
What is the "good" life for humans? How can life gain significance?
How can people find their greatest satisfaction, completeness, fulfillment?
How do people establish values, ethics, morals? What are their bases?
What is the relationship of one human to another?
How are we to treat people? Are all people to be treated as equals?
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The majority of boys defect to Jack’s tribe. What is the lure of tyranny?
What finally leads the boys to the point at which they would kill a human being?
Why do Piggy and Ralph insist that they we on the "outside" when Simon was killed
Are the boys really afraid of a beast or is it something else they are afraid of?
- How is fear used as a tool to exercise power?
Introduction:
You may wish to include some or all of the following points:
- Introduce the essay topic – explain the basic idea behind the plot
- Discuss the context of the statement
- Discuss the themes of order as opposed to savagery
Main Body:
A) The arrival of the boys on the island.
You may wish to include some or all of the following points:
- the behaviors of the boys
- leadership issues between Ralph and Jack
- the imposition of rules and order
B) Changes in rules and changes in the boy’s behaviors.
You may wish to include some or all of the following points:
- the treatment of Piggy
- the significance of the beast and the pig-hunting
- the rising tension in the group
C) The descent into savagery.
You may wish to include some or all of the following points:
- the significance of the deaths of Simon and Piggy
- the changes in Jack and his tribe
- examples and purpose of various symbols (eg. spear, conch, painted faces, etc.)
Conclusion:
You may wish to include some or all of the following points:
- a summary of the group’s changes in light of Jack’s quote
- discussion of the theme of civilized behavior versus savagery
- the implication of Golding’s message for society