LORD OF THE FLIES
BY WILLIAM GOLDING
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• WILLIAM GOLDING
WAS BORN IN
CORNWALL,
ENGLAND IN 1911.
• HE LIVED A
SHELTERED,
ISOLATED LIFE AS A
CHILD.
• HE KNEW HE
WANTED TO WRITE
BY AGE TWELVE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• GOLDING STUDIED
SCIENCE FOR TWO
YEARS AT OXFORD
UNIVERSITY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• BUT HE STOPPED
STUDYING SCIENCE
AND BEGAN TO
POUR HIS
ENERGIES INTO
ENGLISH
LITERATURE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• WWII BROKE OUT
AND HE JOINED
THE BRITISH NAVY
IN 1940.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• HE PARTICIPATED
IN MANY VIOLENT
BATTLES
INCLUDING THE
INVASION AT
NORMANDY AND BY
THE END OF THE
WAR HE WAS A
LIEUTENANT IN
COMMAND OF A
ROCKET WARSHIP.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• HIS WAR
EXPERIENCES
CHANGED HIS
VIEWS ABOUT
MANKIND’S
NATURE. HE CAME
TO BELIEVE THERE
WAS A VERY DARK
AND EVIL SIDE TO
MAN.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• THIS VIEW IS NOT UNIQUE TO
MODERN ARTISTS WHO REACTED IN
THE SAME WAY AFTER WORLD WAR I
AND CHOSE ART AS THE SALVE WHICH
WOULD HEAL MANKIND’S WOUNDS.
• ARTISTS AFTER WORLD WAR II WERE
MORE VAGUE ABOUT WHAT WOULD
SAVE MANKIND OR IF IT WAS
SALVAGEABLE AT ALL.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• GOLDING SAID,
“THE WAR WAS
UNLIKE ANY OTHER
FOUGHT IN
EUROPE. IT
TAUGHT US NO
FIGHTING,
POLITICS, OR THE
FOLLIES OF
NATIONALISM,BUT
ABOUT THE GIVEN
NATURE OF MAN.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• HE ALSO
REFLECTED, “WHEN
I WAS YOUNG. . .I
HAD SOME AIRYFAIRY VIEWS
ABOUT MAN, BUT I
WENT THROUGH
THE WAR AND
THAT CHANGED
ME.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• GOLDING ONCE
SAID,”I THINK OF
MYSELF AS A
RELIGIOUS MAN.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• IN 1983 GOLDING
WAS AWARDED THE
NOBEL PRIZE FOR
LITERATURE.
• HE DIED IN 1993 AT
THE AGE OF 81.
ABOUT THE NOVEL
• THE NOVEL WAS
PUBLISHED IN 1954
AFTER HAVING
BEEN REJECTED BY
MORE THAN
TWENTY
PUBLISHERS.
ABOUT THE NOVEL
• IT WAS NOT
SUCCESSFUL UNTIL
THE 1960’S AND
EVEN NOW THE
BOOK IS
CRITICIZED FOR
BEING DIDACTIC
AND INFLEXIBLE.
ABOUT THE NOVEL
• THEMES IN THE
NOVEL: THE NEED FOR
CIVILIZATION;
INNOCENCE AND THE
LOSS OF IT; THE LOSS
OF IDENTITY; POWER;
FEAR OF THE
UNKNOWN; BLINDNESS
AND VISION. IF YOU
WRITE ON THEME, BE
SURE TO CREATE A
STATEMENT FOR THE
THEME.
INTERPRETATIONS
• FREUDIAN: ID,
EGO, AND
SUPEREGO AS
DIVERGENT, COEXISTING FORCES
WITHIN A HUMAN
BEING; FOCUS IS
ON THE
INDIVIDUAL AND
THE CONFLICT
WITHIN.
INTERPRETATION S
• FREUD DEVELOPED
A THEORY TO
EXPLAIN
COMPETING
FORCES WITHIN
THE HUMAN MIND
OR PSYCHE.
INTERPRETATIONS
• FREUD CALLED
THESE COMPETING
FORCES THE ID,
EGO, AND
SUPEREGO. HE
FELT THAT A
MENTALLY HEALTHY
PERSON WOULD
HAVE ALL THREE
FORCES BALANCED.
INTERPRETATIONS
• ACCORDING TO
FREUD THE ID WAS
A PRIMAL FORCE
WITHIN US ALL.
THE ID IS ENERGY,
PASSION, SEXUAL
DRIVE, VIOLENCE,
EMOTION, AND
AGGRESSION.
INTERPRETATION
• IF ONE INTERPRETS
LORD OF THE FLIES
FROM A FREUDIAN
PERSPECTIVE, THE
CHARACTER WHO
BEST EMBODIES
THE ID PRINCIPLE
IS JACK.
INTERPRETATION
• JACK REPRESENTS
THE RESTLESS ID
WHO SEEKS
PLEASURE,
HUNTING,
• FORCEFUL SPEECH
AND PHYSICAL
EXPRESSION. HE IS
HARD TO CONTROL
AND ACTS
IMPULSIVELY.
INTERPRETATION
• THE SECOND
FORCE IS CALLED
THE EGO. THE EGO
IS THE CONSCIOUS
VOICE OF REASON.
THE EGO SEEKS
INTERACTION WITH
OTHERS WITHIN
SOCIALLY
ACCEPTABLE
ROLES.
INTERPRETATION
• THE EGO SEEKS
THE APPROVAL OF
OTHERS AND IS
SENSITIVE TO
PRAISE AND
CRITICISM. RALPH
BEST FUNCTIONS
AS THE EGO FORCE
IN LORD OF THE
FLIES.
INTERPRETATION
• THE FINAL FORCE
IS THE SUPEREGO.
IT IS RESPONSIBLE
FOR MAINTAINING
THE SOCIETAL,
POLITICAL, AND
RELIGIOUS RULES
AND NORMS IN AN
INDIVIDUAL. IT IS
NOT INFLUENCED
BY IMPULSE OR
OTHERS.
INTERPRETATION
• IN THE NOVEL TWO
CHARACTERS, WHO
ARE BOTH KILLED,
FULFILL THIS
FORCE. THEY ARE
SIMON AND PIGGY.
PIGGY BEST
EXPRESSES THE
SOCIETAL VALUES
OF THE BOYS’
HOME.
INTERPRETATION
• SIMON
REPRESENTS
RELIGIOUS ACTION
AND VALUES. HE
DEMONSTRATES
QUALITIES WHICH
THE SUPEREGO
WOULD UTILIZE AS
GUIDANCE DURING
DIFFICULT TIMES.
INTERPRETATION
• OF COURSE, THE
MOST FASCINATING
ASPECT OF DOING
A FREUDIAN
INTERPRETATION
OF THE NOVEL IS
THAT IT HELPS TO
EXPLAIN THE
CONFLICTS
BETWEEN THE
BOYS.
INTERPRETATION
• RALPH, AS EGO, IS IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE TWO EXTREMES: HE MUST
MEDIATE BETWEEN THE AGGRESSIVE,
IMPULSIVE JACK AS ID AND THE MORE
PASSIVE, PRINCIPLED PIGGY AS
SUPEREGO.
• BECAUSE THE RULES AND VALUES WE
LEARN CAN GET IN THE WAY OF THE
“FUN” WE WOULD LIKE TO DO, THE ID
DOES NOT LIKE THE SUPEREGO.
INTERPRETATION
• CONVERSELY, THE SUPEREGO CANNOT
EASILY TOLERATE THE ID SINCE THE
ID IS INTENT ON SHATTERING ALL
THE RULES THE SUPEREGO VALUES.
• RALPH IS VIRTUALLY IN A CATCH-22,
A NO-WIN SITUATION BECAUSE HE
CANNOT CONVINCE THE BOYS TO
ABANDON THEIR GROWING ID
IMPULSES. HIS VALUE AS A EGODRIVEN LEADER LESSENS.
INTERPRETATION
• LORD OF THE FLIES
DEMONSTRATES
JUST HOW
DIFFICULT FINDING
A BALANCE
BETWEEN THESE
FORCES CAN BE.
WITHOUT CIVIL
RESTRAINTS, WHO
ARE WE REALLY?
INTERPRETATIONS
• SCIENTIFIC
HUMANISM:
• GOLDING
EXPLODES THE
BELIEF THAT
MODERN SCIENCE
WILL SAVE MODERN
MAN FROM
HIMSELF.
INTERPRETATION
• THIS CLAIM OF
GOLDING IS BEST
COMMUNICATED BY
THE CHARACTERS
OF PIGGY AND
SIMON.
INTERPRETATION
• PIGGY SAYS, “LIFE
IS SCIENTIFIC,
THAT’S WHAT IT
IS.”
• HE CAN ONLY
FATHOM WHAT HE
CAN OBSERVE AND
HE DOESN’T
UNDERSTAND
PEOPLE.
INTERPRETATION
• MORE
IMPORTANTLY, HE
CANNOT IDENTIFY
THE BEAST FOR
WHAT IT IS, EVEN
REFUSING TO
ADMIT SIMON’S
DEATH AS A
MURDER.
INTERPRETATION
• PIGGY DENIES THE
MORAL
IMPLICATIONS OF
THE COLLECTIVE
GUILT. ONE CAN
DERIVE THIS FROM
THE SAME MORAL
DEVASTION
THRUST UPON THE
WORLD AFTER THE
ATOMIC BOMB.
INTERPRETATION
• “WE NEVER DONE
NOTHING, WE
NEVER SEEN
NOTHING.”--PIGGY
INTERPRETATION
• ONE VIEW IS THAT
SCIENTIFIC
HUMANISM HAS
GIVEN MAN A FALSE
SENSE OF
CONFIDENCE IN
HIMSELF AND HAS
STRIPPED AWAY
HIS NEED FOR
RELIGION.
INTERPRETATION
• THEREFORE,
SIMON’S FULFILLS
AN ALLEGORICAL
ROLE OF SPIRITUAL
SHAMAN ON THE
ISLAND. HE IS THE
MYSTIC WHO
UNDERSTANDS THE
BEAST AND THE
FALLEN NATURE OF
MAN.
INTERPRETATION
• THE TRUTH COMES TO SIMON AS A
REVELATION, BUT HE DOES NOT HAVE
THE WORDS TO COMMUNICATE THE
HORROR.
• SIMON REPRESENTS A FOIL TO PIGGY:
HE SEES WHAT PIGGY’S OBJECTIVE,
EMPIRICAL EYE CANNOT.
• TOGETHER, THEY ARE A POWERFUL
FORCE.
INTERPRETATION
• THE IDEA IS THAT IF WESTERN MAN
CAN FUSE THE TWO--THE SCIENTIFIC
AND THE SPIRITUAL; THE RATIONAL
AND THE INTUTIVE-- HE CAN SAVE
HIMSELF.
• IN OTHER WORDS, THE PRIEST AND
THE SCIENTIST MUST WORK
TOGETHER.
INTERPRETATION
• THE PRIEST PROVIDES THE SCIENTIST
A MORAL COMPASS.
• SCIENCE AND MORALITY SEPARATED
WILL NOT SAVE US FROM OURSELVES.
• GOLDING WAS CLEARLY
DISILLUSIONED WITH MANKIND’S
BLIND RUSH TOWARDS
TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS.
INTERPRETATION
• ANOTHER VIEW OF
THE NOVEL
INVOLVES A
CLASSICAL
APPROACH,
HEARKENING BACK
TO ANCIENT
GREECE AND ROME.
INTERPRETATION
• ONE OF THE FOREMOST CLASSICAL
ALLUSIONS IN THE NOVEL OCCURS IN
THE PAGAN RITUALS AND SACRIFICES.
ONE ONLY HAS TO THINK OF JACK
SURROUNDED BY GIFTS OF FRUIT AND
THE MOCK PIG-HUNT AND CHANTING
TO EVOKE THE PAGAN ASPECTS OF
THE BOOK.
INTERPRETATION
• ANOTHER DEBT THE NOVEL OWES TO
THE CLASSICAL TRADITION STEMS
FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT EURIPIDES.
IN HIS TRAGEDIES HE OFTEN
PORTRAYED THE DISINTEGRATION OF
SOCIETY DUE TO A TRAGIC FLAW IN
HUMAN NATURE. IN THIS WAY, MAN
FAILS TO RECOGNIZE AND THEREBY
APPEASE THE IRRATIONAL PART OF
HIS SOUL
INTERPRETATION
• MY PERSONAL
FAVORITE
“CLASSICAL
CONNECTION” IS
THE BOOK’S DEBT
TO THE PRINCIPLES
OF DIONYSIAN AND
APOLLONIAN
PERSPECTIVES
INTERPRETATION
• AS YOU SHOULD
KNOW, THE GOD
DIONYSUS WAS
THE GOD OF
FERTILITY,
REVELRY, AND THE
GREEKS
CELEBRATED
WILDLY AT
FESTIVALS HELD IN
HIS HONOR.
INTERPRETATION
• IN THE LATE 1800’S
THE GERMAN
PHILOSOPHER
FREDERICK
NIETZSCHE
DETERMINED THAT
THE DIONYSIAN
FORCE WAS A
MOVEMENT
TOWARD CHAOS
AND VIOLENCE.
INTERPRETATION
• RATHER THAN
CONDEMNING THE
VIOLENT SIDE OF
MAN, NIETZSCHE
DETERMINED THAT
ALL OF LIFE IS
VIOLENCE AND
THAT IT CANNOT
BE REJECTED OR
WE WOULD REJECT
LIFE ITSELF.
INTERPRETATION
• DIONYSIAN
ELEMENTS INCLUDE
DARKNESS, FLUIDS,
DISORDER, DEATH,
DIRTINESS, AND
SEXUALITY. JACK
FUNCTIONS ALONG
THE LINE OF
DIONYSIAN
PRINCIPLES.
INTERPRETATION
• THE OTHER PART
OF THIS STRUGGLE
IS REPRESENTED
BY THE GOD
APOLLO. REMEMBER
THAT APOLLO WAS
THE GOD OF THE
SUN AND AS SUCH
REPRESENTS THE
CLEAR, RATIONAL
ASPECT OF MAN.
INTERPRETATION
• APOLLONIAN
ELEMENTS INCLUDE
THE SKY,
CLEANLINESS,
REASON, A LACK OF
EMOTION, ORDER,
AND LIFE, AMONG
OTHERS. RALPH
AND PIGGY
REPRESENT THIS
CLASSICAL FORCE.
INTERPRETATION
• THE NOVEL MAY
ALSO BE
DISCUSSED IN
RELATION TO ITS
THEOLOGICAL OR
RELIGIOUS
ELEMENTS. ONE, OF
COURSE, IS THE
ALLEGORICAL
RENDERING OF
SIMON AS CHRIST.
INTERPRETATION
• THE NOVEL ALSO
EXPRESSES A
RELATIONSHIP
WITH ORIGINAL
SIN AND DEPICTS A
FALL OF MAN
ORIGINATING
FROM THE SIN OF
PRIDE. NOTICE
JACK’S FREQUENT
BLUSHING.
INTERPRETATION
• THE ELEMENTS OF A CORRUPTION OF
EDEN, SERPENT AND SNAKE IMAGERY,
AND FIRE AND HELL IMAGERY ARE
AVAILABLE TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR
CASE FOR THIS INTERPRETATION.
INTERPRETATION
• ANOTHER MAJOR INTERPRETATION OF
THE NOVEL REVOLVES AROUND
GOLDING’S INTEREST IN EGYPTIAN
MYTHOLOGY. JOHN FITZGERALD AND
JOHN KAYSER ARGUE THE NOVEL IS
BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN MYTH OF
OSIRIS.
INTERPRETATION
• WHAT YOU ARE
ABOUT TO HEAR IS
THE TELLING OF THE
OSIRIS MYTH BY
ONE SCHOLAR FOR
WHOM I HAVE THE
DEEPEST RESPECT,
JOSEPH CAMPBELL.
LISTEN CAREFULLY
FOR CLUES THAT
GOLDING USED THE
MYTH IN THE
NOVEL.
INTERPRETATION
• HERE ARE SOME SPELLINGS FOR SOME
OF THE WORDS IN THE TAPE:
• ISIS AND OSIRIS
• NEFTUS
• ENUBUS
• SET-TYPHON
• SARCOPHAGUS
• SYRIA
INTERPRETATION
• JUST AS THERE IS A BEASTIE
SOMETIMES REFERRED TO IN LOF AS
A “SNAKE-THING,” IN THE OSIRIS
MYTH THE EGYPTIAN DAEMON SETTYPHON IS ALSO REPRESENTED BY
SNAKES AND WITH THE ASCENT OF
CHRISTIANITY HE WAS
TRANSFIGURED INTO BAAL OR
BEELZEBUB.
INTERPRETATION
• SET-TYPHON IS ALSO ASSOCIATED
WITH THE SEA. THE BEAST FROM THE
AIR COMES FROM “A SUDDEN BRIGHT
EXPLOSION” CARRIED FROM THE
CHANGING WINDS. TYPHON, WHO IS
ALSO REGARDED AS FIRE, LATER
BECOMES THE GOD OF THE WINDS.
INTERPRETATION
• INTERESTINGLY, THE NARRATOR IN
THE NOVEL INFORMS THE READER
THAT THE BOY ARRIVED ON THE
ISLAND BY SOME “ENCHANTMENT.
SOME ACT OF GOD--A TYPHOON
PERHAPS.” ARE NOT TYPHOON AND
TYPHON TOO SIMILAR IN SPELLING
FOR THIS TO BE OVERLOOKED?
INTERPRETATION
• THE OSIRIS MYTH ACCOUNTS FOR
THE EMERGENCE OF DISCORD AND
WAR. IT DEMONSTRATES THE
PRECARIOUSNESS OF CIVILIZATION.
• ACCORDING TO THE HISTORIAN
PLUTARCH, WHILE REIGNING AS KING
ON EARTH THE GOD OSIRIS GAVE THE
EGYPTIANS CIVILIZATION BY
INTRODUCING LAWS, WORSHIP OF
INTERPRETATION
• THE GODS, MARRIAGE, AND
AGRICULTURE. BEFORE THESE WERE
GIVEN THE EGYPTIANS HAD BEEN
SAVAGES AND CANNIBALS. OSIRIS’
BROTHER, THE DAEMON SET-TYPHON,
OUT OF ENVY, SOUGHT TO USURP HIS
BROTHER’S THRONE. HE TRICKED
OSIRIS AND DROWNED HIM. AS
CAMPBELL SAID, ISIS FOUND THE
INTERPRETATION
• BODY AND HID IT IN THE WOODS.
TYPHON, WHILE HUNTING PIG
DURING A FULL MOON,
DISCOVERED IT AND MUTILATED IT.
• OSIRIS REPRESENTS GOOD IN THE
UNIVERSE AND TYPHON EVIL, AND
PRIDE LEADS TO DISCORD.
INTERPRETATION
• THE RITUAL SLAUGHTER OF ANIMALS
IS ALSO IDENTIFIED WITH TYPHON
THROUGH THIS MYTH.
• RALPH IS A BETTER THAN AVERAGE
HUMAN BUT HE IS NOT SYMBOLIC OF
OSIRIS BECAUSE HE IS TOO FLAWED
(RECALL RALPH’S FASCINATION WITH
KILLING A PIG).
INTERPRETATION
• OSIRIS IS EMBODIED BY PIGGY AND
SIMON, WHO ARE BOTH KILLED, LIKE
OSIRIS. JUST AS THE SEA CLAIMS
THEIR TWO BODIES, SO WAS OSIRIS
DROWNED IN WATER.
• OSIRIS WAS SAID TO POSSESS
CREATIVITY AND REASON; HENCE
SIMON’S INTUITION AND PIGGY’S
REASON COINCIDE WITH THIS
DESCRIPTION OF THE GOD.
INTERPRETATION
• UNLIKE OUR MODERN SENSIBILITIES,
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS DID NOT
SEPARATE REASON AND CREATIVITY
FROM EACH OTHER. GOLDING, IT
WOULD APPEAR, INSISTS THAT ART
AND REASON OUGHT TO BE
CONSIDERED AS MUTUALLY
DEPENDENT UPON EACH OTHER.
INTERPRETATION
• LASTLY, THE MYTH-NOVEL THEORY
CONCLUDES WITH A STARTLING
COMPARISON BETWEEN JACK AND
SET-TYPOHN: JACK IS RED-HAIRED,
FRECKLED, AND PRONE TO BLUSH RED
WHEN ANGRY OR FRUSTRATED;
TYPHON IS DESCRIBED AS RED AND
RUDDY. IN FACT, RED-HAIRED MEN
WERE BURNED AND BEATEN IN
ANCIENT EGYPT BECAUSE THEY
INTERPRETATION
• LOOKED TOO MUCH LIKE THE
DESPISED SET-TYPHON.
PARODY
•1. a. A literary or artistic
work that imitates the
characteristic style of an
author or a work for
comic effect or ridicule.
See synonyms at
caricature.
LOF AND THE CORAL ISLAND
• IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT THE CORAL
ISLAND SHOULD BE EXPLICITLY
REFERRED TO NEAR THE BEGINNING
AND AT THE END OF LOF SINCE
WILLIAM GOLDING BY INTENTION SET
HIMSELF TO WRITE AN ISLAND STORY
THAT DELIBERATELY CHALLENGES
BALLANTYNE’S.
LOF AND THE CORAL ISLAND
• SINCE IT SO PERFECTLY MIRRORS THE
ASSUMPTIONS AND VALUES OF ITS
PERIOD, VICTORIANS MAY WELL HAVE
CONSIDERED THE CORAL ISLAND
REALISTIC, NOT LEAST IN ITS
PORTRAYAL OF THE BOYS.
• WITHOUT SOME GRASP OF
BALLANTYNE’S STORY WE CANNOT
REALLY APPRECIATE HOW
EXTENSIVELY GOLDING PARODIES
LOF AND THE CORAL ISLAND
• AND SATIRIZES HIS MODEL. HIS BOYS
HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH
THE IDEALISED BOYS OF THE CORAL
ISLAND, EXCEPT THEIR INITIAL JOY IN
FINDING THEMSELVES FREE OF
ADULTS ON A TROPICAL ISLAND.
LOF AND THE CORAL ISLAND
• I WANT US TO THINK ABOUT THE
FOLLOWING AREAS OF
COMPARISON/CONTRAST FOR THESE
TWO WORKS:
• EVIL
• RELIGION
• BOYS’ RESOURCEFULNESS
• SCIENCE
• HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--1
• SPECULATE WHO WAS THE “MAN WITH THE
MEGAPHONE.” WHY IS HE AN IMPORTANT
SYMBOL FOR THIS NOVEL?
• WHY DOES RALPH TELL PIGGY’S NICKNAME?
WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT RALPH AS A
RESULT?
• WHY MIGHT GOLDING HAVE DESCRIBED
DEAD TREES LYING ABOUT? WHAT IS
SUGGESTED?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--1
• WHY DOES RALPH REFER TO HIS
FATHER? DOES HE CONVINCE HIMSELF
OR PIGGY MORE?
• DESCRIBE THE SHELL. HOW DOES ITS
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE CORRELATE
WITH ITS SYMBOLIC VALUE? WHAT
DOES MAKING A FARTING NOISE WITH
IT SUGGEST?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--1
• ON P. 18 PIGGY HAS A DIFFICULT
TIME KEEPING NAMES STRAIGHT AND
THE BOYS LAUGH AT HIM. WHAT IS
GOLDING SUGGESTING HERE?
• WHEN WE FIRST MEET SIMON HE HAS
LOST CONSCIOUSNESS. WHAT IS
CONSCIOUSNESS AND WHY IS THIS
APPROPRIATE FOR SIMON?
• WHY MIGHT IT HAVE BEEN BETTER IF
JACK HAD STABBED THE PIG?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--2
• WHY “WACCO,” “BONG,” “DOINK?”
• WHY DOES RALPH BRING UP INDIA
AND AFRICA?
• BY HAVING THE BOYS VIOLENTLY
REMOVE PIGGY’S GLASSES, WHAT IS
GOLDING SAYING?
• WHY DOES JACK WANT RULES?
• WHAT IS THE STRUCTURAL EFFECT OF
HAVING THESE EVENTS SO SOON?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--3
• HOW DOES GOLDING CHARACTERIZE JACK’S
PHYSICAL PRESENCE? WHAT IS HE
SUGGESTING?
• WHAT IDEAS DO “PRIMITIVE NEST OF
STICKS,” ABYSS OF AGES,”AND “APE-LIKE”
CREATE? HOW DO THESE SETTING DETAILS
HELP DEVELOP THEME?
• WHAT DOES “VICISSITUDES” MEAN IN
GENERAL? WHAT DOES IT MEAN IN
RELATION TO JACK? HOW IS THE SOUND
OF THE WORD APPROPRIATE FOR JACK?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--3
• REFER TO TWO CD’S THAT INDICATE RALPH
IS LOSING FAITH AND BECOMING
DESPAIRING.
• LOCATE A LATER PLOT EVENT AT THE
BEGINNING OF CHAPTER FIVE WHICH IS
QUITE SIMILAR IN THEME TO JACK’S
DIFFICULTY ARTICULATING HIS
“COMPULSION TO TRACK DOWN AND KILL”
IN THIS CHAPTER. WHAT IS GOLDING
SUGGESTING ABOUT LANGUAGE AND
CIVILIZATION?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--3
• GOLDING WRITES THAT JACK HAD TO
THINK A MOMENT BEFORE HE COULD
REMEMBER WHAT RESCUE WAS.
WHAT DOES THIS SCENE SUGGEST
REGARDING JACK’S FUTURE ACTIONS?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--3
• RALPH REVEALS SOMETHING ABOUT
HIMSELF WHEN HE SAYS, “BUT YOU
LIKE IT….” WHAT IS MOST ALARMING
ABOUT THIS ADMISSION?
• WHY DO I CONSIDER GOLDING’S USE
OF “CANDLEBUDS” IN CH. 1 AND CH. 3
A BRILLIANT USE OF SETTING TO
CHARACTERIZE SIMON?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-4
• WHY DO THE LITTLEUNS BUILD SANDCASTLES?
• WHY DOES GOLDING DEAL WITH MIRAGES
AND ILLUSIONS?
• WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT HENRY AND
THE LITTLE ANIMALS?
• JACK’S PAINTED FACE ALLOWS WHAT TO
HAPPEN? WHAT IS SYMBOLIC ABOUT THE
COLORS HE CHOOSES?
• INTERPRET “THE FIRE WAS DEAD.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--5
• EXPLAIN RALPH’S AWARENESS AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER. WHAT
IS HE BEGINNING TO REALIZE?
• WE KNOW THAT RALPH HAS
DIFFICULTY WITH WORDS WHEN
TRYING TO EXPRESS HIS FEARS.
EXTRAPOLATE AND DISCUSS THE
ASSERTION THAT LANGUAGE IS A
RATIONAL SYSTEM.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--5
• WHAT ARE RALPH’S SELFACKNOWLEDGED LIMITATIONS?
• HOW DOES THE TIME OF DAY “FIT”
THE ASSEMBLY?
• INTERPRET THE CONVERSATION
ABOUT WHAT A BEAST WOULD EAT.
• WHAT THINGS CONTRIBUTE TO THE
BREAKING UP OF THE ASSEMBLY?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--5
• WHAT IS PIGGY’S REACTION TO
SIMON’S STATEMENT ABOUT THE
BEAST? IS THIS AN APPROPRIATE
REACTION FOR HIS CHARACTER?
• WHY WON’T VOTING OR RULES WORK
IN CONVINCING THE BOYS NOT TO
FEAR?
• ANALYZE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT
GHOSTS AND TV.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS--5
• THE TRIO WISHES FOR A SIGN OR A
MESSAGE, “SOMETHING GROWN-UP.”
WHAT IS IRONIC ABOUT THIS?
• WHAT POINT IS GOLDING MAKING
ABOUT PERCIVAL’S INCANTATION OF
HIS ADDRESS? HOW DOES THIS HELP
GOLDING STRUCTURALLY UNIFY THIS
CHAPTER?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-6
• WHAT DOES RALPH’S DREAM ABOUT
PONIES, SUGAR, AND TEA TELL US
ABOUT HIM?
• INTERPRET JACK’S WORDS, “IT’S TIME
SOME PEOPLE…”
• ALTHOUGH RALPH AND JACK ARE
UNITED, DO THEY SHARE THE SAME
MOTIVE FOR HUNTING THE BEAST?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-7
• WHAT DOES RALPH MEAN BY “BE
SUCKING MY THUMB NEXT”?
• TRANSLATE “THE ENCHANTMENTS OF
MIRAGE.”
• DESCRIBE GOLDING’S PHYSICAL
DESCRIPTION OF SIMON IN RELATION
TO RALPH’S POSITION AS THEY TALK
TOGETHER. WHAT IS SYMBOLIC?
• HOW IS PRIDE ADDING TO CONFLICT?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-8
• WHAT EVENT LIBERATES PIGGY AND
THEN DISCUSS HOW HE SPECIFICALLY
ACTS UPON THIS NEW FREEDOM.
• WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE
CHAPTER? HOW IS IT PUT TOGETHER?
WHY DOES GOLDING DO THIS?
• PIGGY SAYS “WHEN I SAW JACK I WAS
SURE HE’D GO FOR THE CONCH.”
WHAT DOES THIS REVEAL ABOUT
BOTH OF THEM?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-9
• HOW DOES SETTING RELATE TO PLOT
AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS
CHAPTER?
• GOLDING DESCRIBES JACK SITTING
ON A LOG IN HIS CAMP. TO WHAT IS
JACK COMPARED AND TO WHAT
APPROACH TO THE NOVEL DOES IT
REFER?
• GOLDING CLEARLY CREATES A LINK
BETWEEN THE BOYS AND THE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-9
• BEAST AS HE DESCRIBES THE BOYS
KILLING SIMON. FIND THIS AND
DISCUSS HOW THIS PASSAGE
ACCOMPLISHES THIS CONNECTION.
• EVALUATE THE APPROPRIATENESS OF
GOLDING’S DESCRIPTION OF SIMON’S
DEAD BODY GOING OUT TO SEA.
• DISCUSS HOW SIMON’S AND THE
PARACHUTIST’S DEATHS ARE
RELATED.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-10
• CITE EXAMPLES OF THE RUTHLESS
NATURE OF JACK’S TRIBE
• JACK AND PIGGY BOTH DENY THE
KILLING ON THE BEACH. DISCUSS
THEIR MOTIVES FOR DOING SO.
• HOW IS JACK LIKE HITLER? THINK
CRITICALLY ABOUT THIS WITH
REGARD TO THE BEAST AND THE
JEWS.
DISCUSSION ?’S-11 AND 12
• WHY IS THE DESCRIPTION OF PIGGY’S
DEATH APPROPRIATE TO HIS CHARACTER?
(11)
• WHY DOES ROGER SEE RALPH AND PIGGY
AS “A SHOCK OF HAIR…A BAG OF FAT?”
• DISCUSS THE DESCRIPTION OF THE SKULL
“AS WHITE AS EVER THE CONCH.” WHAT IS
GOLDING DOING?
• ARE THE BOYS RESCUED?
• WHY DO SAMNERIC HOLD OUT SO LONG?
• WHY IS JACK REFERRED TO AS A LITTLE
BOY?
Group Skits—10 pts. per person,
performed Monday—each skit must be 5-10 minutes in
length
• A ship’s psychologist on the return home
interviews Jack and Ralph.
• Jack on trial for murder
• Roger 10-15 years later
• Jack and Ralph meet 20 years later
• Jack explains the events to his 12-year-old
son
• Ralph talks to Piggy’s aunt
• The boys’ teachers discuss them
• The naval officer does not arrive