Lord of the Flies Discussion Questions—Chapters One through Four
***The more you write down in your notebook, the more notes/passages you’ll have ready for your essay.
1.
Draw a sketch of the island, including features such as the mountain, the platform, and the coral reef. (See page 29 for help)
2.
How does setting affect characterization? What elements of the island setting bring out character traits in the boys?
(This could be an essay topic.)
3.
4.
What elements of organization do the boys attempt to utilize to keep their group focused?
What leadership traits are displayed by the characters? Name the traits and the boys who show those traits. Give examples of leadership from the book so far. (This could develop into an essay topic.)
5.
“He stood now, warped out of the perpendicular by the fierce light of publicity” (35). What does this line about the boy with the mulberry-colored birthmark mean? What issue does the “birthmark boy” raise? What do you think is the reality of that issue?
(You may decide to include the "beast" motif in your essay.)
6.
7.
Re-read the description of the fire on page 44. Find examples of similes.
Re-read pages 50-55 from Chapter Three aloud. Have one person in your group read Ralph’s lines, one person read Jack’s lines, and another person read everything else. This is a conversation between Ralph and Jack. Describe the tensions between these two boys. What are the differences between them? What emotions come to the surface? How does Golding characterize these two boys through this dialogue?
8.
Chapter Four is titled “Painted Faces and Long Hair”. What is the significance of painted faces? What is the significance of long hair?
(You may include some of these symbols in your essay.)
9.
Chapter Four contains some interesting characterization regarding Henry, Percival, Johnny, and Roger. Describe the actions of these boys and what Golding seems to be suggesting about the aspects of human nature they display. (These might lead to a theme analysis.)
10.
11.
Describe Jack. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
Describe Ralph. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
12.
13.
Describe Piggy. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
Describe Simon. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
(You may end up writing a character analysis for your essay.)
Lord of the Flies Discussion Questions—Chapters One through Four
***The more you write down in your notebook, the more notes/passages you’ll have ready for your essay.
1.
Draw a sketch of the island, including features such as the mountain, the platform, and the coral reef. (See page 29 for help)
2.
How does setting affect characterization? What elements of the island setting bring out character traits in the boys?
(This could be an essay topic.)
3.
What elements of organization do the boys attempt to utilize to keep their group focused?
4.
What leadership traits are displayed by the characters? Name the traits and the boys who show those traits. Give examples of leadership from the book so far. (This could develop into an essay topic.)
5.
“He stood now, warped out of the perpendicular by the fierce light of publicity” (35). What does this line about the boy with the mulberrycolored birthmark mean? What issue does the “birthmark boy” raise? What do you think is the reality of that issue?
(You may decide to include the "beast" motif in your essay.)
6.
Re-read the description of the fire on page 44. Find examples of similes.
7.
Re-read pages 50-55 from Chapter Three aloud. Have one person in your group read Ralph’s lines, one person read Jack’s lines, and another person read everything else. This is a conversation between Ralph and Jack. Describe the tensions between these two boys. What are the differences between them? What emotions come to the surface? How does Golding characterize these two boys through this dialogue?
8.
Chapter Four is titled “Painted Faces and Long Hair”. What is the significance of painted faces? What is the significance of long hair?
(You may include some of these symbols in your essay.)
9.
Chapter Four contains some interesting characterization regarding Henry, Percival, Johnny, and Roger. Describe the actions of these boys and what Golding seems to be suggesting about the aspects of human nature they display. (These might lead to a theme analysis.)
10.
Describe Jack. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
11.
Describe Ralph. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
12.
Describe Piggy. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
13.
Describe Simon. What passages, actions, statements, traits, etc. stand out? Jot those down.
(You may end up writing a character analysis for your essay.)