Themes in Lord of the Flies
The Conch
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It is the conch that brings the boys together on the island
Linked to Piggy, both represent democracy and order- when Piggy dies, the conch also breaks
The conch also represents civilisation and knowledge- it is because of his Auntie that Piggy knew
what to do with it
When Ralph first finds the conch he appreciates it’s beauty, it reflects the island in this sense; the
conch and island are also destroyed by the boys
When Jack steals Piggy’s glasses, the boys believe it is the conch he wants; he leaves the conch,
showing how little it means to him
At the beginning of the book, the conch is creamy, “Something creamy and white lay among the
ferny weeds”
The conch gradually changes colour to appear white and fragile “The conch exploded into a thousand
white fragments and ceased to exist”
The loss of colour in the conch echoes the loss of order on the island
Good vs. Evil
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Throughout the novel, the author talks about civilisation as good, and savagery as evil
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Good is evident in Simon, as he represents a religious character
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Simon help the littluns and gives them food “outstretched hands”
Evil is shown through Jack and Rodger
Rodger is a sadistic character; this is shown through his disrespect “Right up her ass!”
The Lord of the Flies- a direct translation from Beelzebub- also represents evil, as it represents the
devil
Jack’s tribe and Ralph’s camp could also be used to reflect good vs. evil, as the two leaders want
people to join their camps “ ‘I gave you food,’ said Jack, ‘and my hunters will protect you from
the beast. Who will join my tribe?’ ”
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Golding believes that there is evil within all man, and that war is a catalyst for evil
We are told from the start that Ralph is not evil “There was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that
proclaimed no devil” yet Ralph loses himself to the evil within him when he helps in Simon’s killing
"Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. Yet there was a space round Henry,
perhaps six yards in diameter, into which he dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo
of the old life.” The good of the old life and the evil in his newfound savagery are controlling Rogers
actions here
Good vs. evil is also shown through two descriptions of the lagoon “Inside was peacock water, rocks
and weed showing as in an aquarium” / “The swell… seemed like the breathing of some stupendous
creature”
Simon talking to the Lord of the Flies- a confrontation between good and evil
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Themes in Lord of the Flies
Civilisation (Law and Order)
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The conch is a symbol of civilisation and order
The loss of civilisation is one of the main themes throughout the book
Animal imagery used to show how inhuman they become “ape like”
The names used to describe the boys gradually change from “children”, “assembly” and “choir” to
“tribe” and “savage”. When the captain sees them they are “little boys” again
The language of the boys becomes fowler “wizard”  “Bollocks”
The descriptions used also help to show this breakdown, the island is first described to be like
the garden of Eden, but the descriptions begin to describe deaths instead
At first, the boys cling to the rules of their old life; Roger doesn’t throw stones at Roger because
of the “taboo of old life”
The beast is also used to show the breakdown of order, the idea becomes more real over
time- but it is not this which causes the breakdown, but the way the boys react
The rules are important to the boys, particularly Ralph, “Because the rules are the only thing we’ve
got” , but Jack used them to punish people and uses the beast to frighten to take charge
Their appearances begin to change, they become more savage; everybody’s hair grows except
Piggy’s, this is interesting as Piggy is a symbol of civilisation- he’s one of the only ones who doesn’t
become entirely savage
They lose their school uniforms and instead paint their faces- rules are lost
Percival Wemys Madison slowly forgets about his old life, he tries to recite his address and phone
number, but fails “Percival Wemys Madison, The Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Hants, telephone,
telephone, tele-“
Fire and Hope
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At the beginning of the book, fire represents hope and rescue- Ralph is determined to keep the fire
going- and convinced that this will be how they are rescued
The first fire gets out of control and the boy with the mulberry coloured birthmark is killed
The fire is put out when Jack’s hunters instead go and chase a pig, this shows their priorities are not
to do with rescue
The fire is reintroduced in chapter 8, where Piggy suggests moving it to the beach- this is done for
security and comfort- it symbolises the boys’ old life
The fire is slowly changed from a symbol of rescue to a darker image- it is around Jack’s camp fire
that Simon is killed
The fire is also linked to Piggy’s glasses, Jack is manipulative and uses them to get the cooking fire he
wants
Fire is significant at the end of the book, where it becomes a symbol of the destruction man has
made on the island
Ironically, the fire that is started to catch Ralph, and the one he fears, is the one which is noticed by
the passing ship and gets them rescued- Ralph’s agenda throughout the book
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Themes in Lord of the Flies
Savagery
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Rules of society held the boys back from savagery at first
It first becomes apparent in chapter 3 when Jack is hunting “Except for a pair of tattered shorts held
up by his belt he was naked”- It is the longing for meat which drives him to savagery
At first, Jack hunts for a reason- to provide food, but soon the “fierce exhilaration” takes over
Others begin to descend into savagery; the littluns go to the toilet everywhere
Primitive rituals and chanting take place and replace useful rules
Even Ralph loses some of his civilised behaviour “the desire to squeeze and hurt was overmastering”
The boys don’t become savages straight away, even as Jack finally kills a pig, he feels remorse “‘There
was lashings of blood’ said Jack, laughing and shuddering”
Simon id the first to notice the savagery, and its effect on their behaviour “What I mean i… maybe it’s
only us” / “Simon became inarticulate in his efforts to express mankind’s essential illness”
Piggy also starts to see it “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”
The appearance of the boys changes as they descend into savagery, they lose their uniforms- a sign
of discipline- and paint their faces, this provides “liberation into savagery”
Golding’s message is that savagery is a more basic human instinct than civilisation. Savagery is atural
whereas civilisation is ‘nurtured’/ taught and learned
“There was blackness within, a blackness that spread” – when Simon is talking to The Lord of the
Flies
Power and Leadership
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There are two kinds of leadership, dictatorship (Jack) and democracy (Ralph)- Ralph won
chieftainship through a fair vote, whereas Jack announced himself chief
Jack’s dictatorship gives him complete control over the other boys “the mask compelled them”
Ralph’s leadership is different, because although he has more power than the others, his is a
democracy, so his ‘group’ also have power. He also uses the conch and believes everyone has the
right to speak. This contradicts Jack; “It’s time some people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave
deciding things to the rest of us.”
There is a constant battle between Ralph and Jack to assert authority and gain power
Jack tries to gain authority by promising food and fun, while all Ralph wants to do is keep the fire
alight
At the end, Ralph tells the Captain that he is leader. Jack begins to, nut doesn’t challenge this. This is
because he was leader to the savages, and now that the officer- an adult- is on the island, they are
no longer savages. “‘Who’s boss here?’ ‘I am,’ said Ralph loudly.”
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Themes in Lord of the Flies
The Loss of Innocence
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The loss of innocence is portrayed by the changing appearance of the boys, they begin in their school
uniforms, but slowly lose these as they lose their innocence and become savages
The conch also reflects the loss of innocence of the boys, it loses its colour as they lose their
innocence
“You got your small fire alright” –Piggy, after the signal fire has spread, the boys have realised their
potential to destroy
Simon becomes responsible for the littluns- this is the end of his innocence as he now has
responsibilities “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach”
Simon’s place on the mountain can be used as a symbol of innocence and its loss- it begins as a place
of beauty, but when Simon returns, he finds the sow’s head
Both Ralph and Piggy participate in Simon’s murder, the day after, Piggy tries to deny it, making
excuses, but Ralph insists that they are as responsible as anyone else
At the end of the novel, Ralph weeps for the end of innocence “Ralph wept for the end of innocence,
the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of true, wise friend called Piggy.”
The Beast
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There are several different versions of the beast;
The first version is mentioned by the boy with the mulberry birthmark, who called it “Beasty”, this
beast is actually just the overactive imagination of a littlun after seeing a large tree- creepers which
he thought were snakes
Jack eventually uses the idea of the beast to rule through fear- if there is a beast then he will be
needed to fight it- after Simon’s death he claims the beast has immortality and the ability to change
shape
The beast changes again when the parachutist falls to the island- this makes a like between the beast
on the island, and the beast within men in the war- it is Simon who finds the true identity of this
beast
The next beast is the lord of the Flies- the sow’s head-which was placed as an offering for the beast
that Jack believed in. When Simon has an epileptic fit he imagines a conversation with it and learns
that the beast is the evil within the boys “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and
kill!”
The final beast is Simon- he stumbles into the chanting circle around Jack’s fire. He represents the
outsider that they fear. He is killed, but this is not the end of the beast, as Jack claims it has
immortality
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Themes in Lord of the Flies
Religion
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Simon is strongly linked to God and Christianity- his name is Simon- one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, and
‘listener’
‘Lord of the Flies’ literally translates to mean Beelzebub aka. The devil tempts and taunts Jesus much
like the Lord of the Flies taunts Simon
He brings truth about the beast down from the mountain, just like Moses did with the 10
commandments
Has his own hiding place, comparable with a church: spiritual and calm, place of natural beauty “the
candle buds opened their wide white flowers”
Feeding of the 5000, Simon feeds the littluns “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach”,
he also gives Piggy food when Jack tells him he can’t have any
Intuitive, he knows Ralph will get back “You’ll get back to where you came from”
Simon’s death is very religious, with “strange moonbeam-bodied creature” to represent angels
“This head is for the beast. It’s a gift” Offerings to the beast as though it’s a religious figure
“Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an idol” Jack sets himself up as a God and is almost
worshipped by his tribe
The Island is first described as a kind of paradise, much like the Garden of Eden
Ralph’s first act in the book is to take his clothes off and bathe in the pool, a reminder of the nudity
and innocence of Adam and Eve before ‘the fall’
The first hint of fear is when the littlun describes what he saw (creepers) as a “snake- thing”-this is a
reminder of the snake in the Garden of Eden
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