AQA PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

1. How far does Golding present Jack as a character who changes in Lord of the Flies?
2. How far does Golding present the island as a dangerous place?
3. How does Golding present Ralph as a leader in Lord of the Flies?
4. ‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart…’. What does Golding have to
say about human nature in Lord of the Flies?
5. How does Golding use the island to explore some of his ideas in Lord of the Flies?
6. At the start of Lord of the Flies, Piggy asks Ralph: ‘Aren’t there any grown-ups at all?’ How does
Golding present ideas about being a ‘grown-up’ in Lord of the Flies?
7. How far does Golding present Jack as responsible for what happens to the boys on the island?
8. ‘In Lord of the Flies Golding presents a depressing view of human society.’ How far do you agree
with this view of the novel?
9. How does Golding present Simon as different from the other boys on the island?
10. ‘The head is for the Beast. It’s a gift.’ How does Golding present the importance of the Beast to
different characters in Lord of the Flies?
11. How far does Golding present Piggy as a character with useful and important ideas?
12. In Chapter 8 of Lord of the Flies Ralph asks, ‘What makes things break up like they do?’ How does
Golding present the reasons why society on the island breaks up?
 Big ideas in Lord of the Flies
1.The instinct for savagery is stronger 2. Without rules, humans regress.
than the instinct for civilisation.

3. Civilisation is difficult to maintain 4. The dangers of mob mentality

5. The island is a microcosm of the violence,

destruction and decay in the adult world. 6. Fear is a paralysing and unbeatable force.

7. Children have the same inherent evil

8. There is hope for mankind
and capacity for violence as adults.

TASK: Think of 5 quotations that link to each big

1.The instinct for savagery is stronger than
the instinct for civilisation.
1.’The desire to squeeze and hurt was overmastering’
2.’Ralph and Piggy found themselves eager to take a
place in this demented but partly secure society’
3. ‘There was the brilliant world of hunting, tactics,
fierce exhilaration, skill; and there was the world of
longing and baffled commonsense.’
4. ‘Bollocks to the rules! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down!
We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat!’
5. ‘All you can talk about is pig, pig, pig!’
3. Civilisation is difficult to maintain
1. ‘This toy of voting’
2. ‘The delicate thing (conch) balanced on his knees’
3. ‘The fire’s the most important thing because
because’
4. ‘Two shelters were in position, but shaky. This one
was a ruin.’
5. ‘It’s them that haven’t no common sense that make
trouble’
2. Without rules, humans regress.
1. ‘Be sucking my thumb next’
2. ‘We want meat’
3. ‘He was happy and wore the damp darkness
of the forest like his old clothes.
4. ‘The mask was a thing on its own behind
which Jack hid liberated from shame’
5. ‘His hair was full of dirt’
4. The dangers of mob mentality
1.‘Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Spill her blood!’
2. ‘There was the throb and stamp of a single
organism.’
3.’the creature was a party of boys’
4.‘The crowd surged after it, poured down the
rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit,
tore.”
5. ‘The circle moved in and round. Robert
squealed in mock terror, then in real pain.
5. The island is a microcosm of the violence, 6. Fear is a paralysing and unbeatable
destruction and decay in the adult world. force.
1.‘the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.’ 1.‘I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home’
2. ‘revolving masses of gas piled up the static until the air was 2.‘He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and
ready to explode’ became fear’
3. ‘Skull-like coconuts’ 3. ‘My hunters will protect you beast. Who will join
4. ‘Nothing prospered but the flies who blackened their lord’ my tribe?’
5. ‘The water was warmer than blood’ 4. ‘He came—disguised. He may come again so
watch and be careful.’
- 5. ‘They suffered untold terrors in the dark and
7.
- Children have the same inherent evil and huddled together for comfort.’
capacity
- for violence as adults.
1. ‘There were no words, and no movements but the 8. There is hope for mankind
tearing of teeth and claws.’ 1. ‘Simon found for them the fruit they could not
2. ‘taken away its life like a long satisfying drink.’ reach’
3. ‘His laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling’ 2. ‘Ralph wept for the end of innocence’
4. ‘Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, 3. ‘That was murder’
leaned all his weight on the lever’ 4.‘You’ll get back all right.’
5. ‘Right up her a**’ 5.‘His shoulder became sculptured marble’
The Island
The Island is presented as…

 An untouched Eden-like paradise

 A place that descends from paradise into hell
 Hauntingly beautiful yet inhospitable
 A place full of obstacles, mysteries and supernatural evil
 An isolated prison far from civilisation
 A place of decay
 A sinister and dangerous place
 An assailant seeking revenge on the boys

EDEN-LIKE PARADISE
‘shore was fledged with palm trees.’
‘the white tips of the flowers rose delicately to meet the open air.’
"Like candles. Candle bushes. Candle buds."
DANGEROUS/INHOSPITABLE
‘laced with creepers’
‘clambering heavily among the creepers’
‘The water was warmer than blood’
‘Always almost invisible was the heat’
‘the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat.’
‘Twisty things in the trees;
MENACING, SINISTER, VENGEFUL FORCE
‘forest was savage with smoke and flame’
‘heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and
the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence.’
‘revolving masses of gas piled up the static until the air was ready
to explode’
‘a deep grumbling noise, as though the forest itself were angry’
‘The swell seemed like the breathing of some stupendous creature’
‘The lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence.’
A PLACE OF DECAY
‘Nothing prospered but the flies who blackened their
lord and made the spilt guts look like a heap of
glistening coal.’
‘skull like coconuts/decaying coconuts/rotten wood’
‘devastated fruit trees’
‘This is a rotten place’ Ralph on Castle Rock
‘coarse grass was still worn away where the assembly
used to sit’
‘Exposure to the air had bleached the yellow and pink
to near-white, and transparency.’
SUPERNATURAL AND MYSTERIOUS
‘a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a
witch-like cry’
‘the darkness of the forest’
‘Sometimes land loomed where there was no land’
Mob Mentality
 MOB MENTALITY
Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found
themselves eager to take a place in this demented but
partly secure society…hemmed in the terror’
• P and R join in with the mob killing of Simon
• Verb ‘demented’ shows how mob is behaving irrationally
due to losing their individual logic
• Threat of sky suggests hostile island makes them
vulnerable that they seek comfort of the mob.
• In desperate times desire for survival at all costs
overcomes morality.
‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’
• Boys prefer to enact violence as a mob, rather than as
individuals.
• Their chanting shows their cohesion, and their delight
over killing becomes ritualistic.
• Abrupt exclamations show regression in their language
‘There was the throb and stamp of a single organism.’
• The mob adopt a ‘groupthink’ and lose their ability to
be accountable for their own actions.
• As in WWII, Golding demonstrates how groupthink
overwhelms human being’s rational decision making.
‘There were no words, and no movements but the
tearing of teeth and claws.’
• Breakdown in communication leads to savagery
• Tearing conveys viciousness of attach
• ‘Claws’ suggests mob has become animalistic
‘The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.’
• Even Ralph is unable to resist the urge to join in the
mob
• ‘Squeeze’ suggests violence is exhilarating
• Even civilised beings can be overwhelmed by innate
savagery
 The violence of Simon’s death contrasts
The lack of words reveals the with the peaceful way nature responds
breakdown in communication. to free him from man’s corruption.

‘There were no words, and no movements

but the tearing of teeth and claws.’
The noun ‘claws’ conveys
Verb tearing shows how violent how animalistic the boys
his murder is. Jesus was also have become.
brutally killed.
Civilisation Versus Savagery
 Civilisation Versus Savagery
‘the delicate thing balanced on his knees…toy of voting’ ‘The fire’s the most important thing because because’
• Conch fragility of their democracy. • Ralph struggling to remember priorities

‘the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments’ We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not
• Symbolises triumph of savagery over civilisation savages. We’re English, and the English are best at
everything.
There was the brilliant world of hunting, tactics, fierce • Ironic Jack is the one who breaks all the rules.
exhilaration, skill; and there was the world of longing and
baffled commonsense.” ‘The desire to hurt and squeeze was overmastering. ’
• Path to savagery easier than path to civilisation • Savagery overwhelms Ralph’s common sense

‘two continents of experience and feeling, unable to ‘Hands up like at school’

communicate…They looked at each other, baffled, in love • Ralph tries to impose order
and hate’
• Metaphor for Jack and Ralph’s inability to connect
Don't you want to be rescued? All you can talk about is
pig, pig, pig!
• Ralph annoyed at Jack after ship passes
‘We want meat’
• Jack’s priorities laid bare.
“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?”
Piggy tries to appeal to their reason
“Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong – we hunt! If there’s a
beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat
and beat - !”
Jack offers simple savage solutions
‘We ought to have more rules’
Ralph tries to reimpose order
 HOW IMPORTANT IS THE BEAST
IN ‘LORD OF THE FLIES’?
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE BEAST IN ‘LORD OF THE
FLIES’?
THE BEAST:
The imaginary beast that frightens all the boys represents for the primal instinct of savagery that exists within all
human beings. It could be argued Golding uses the beast to show how the boys’ fear of the unknown is a catalyst
for their degeneration into savagery which echoes how fears of the cold war affected society after WWII.
POINT 1: Fear of the beast causes the boys’ imagination to run wild which disturbs the island’s fragile
democracy.
“A snake-thing. Ever so big. He saw it.” ‘twisty thing’
I saw something big and horrid moving in the trees.”
We’ve seen the beast with our own eyes
POINT 2: Attempts to rationalise and demystify the beast are unsuccessful.
PIGGY: ‘I know there isn’t no beast…life is scientific’
SIMON: ‘inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness’
‘maybe it’s only us’ or “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?
RALPH: ‘If there were a beast I’d have seen it. ’
“Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was blackness within, a blackness that spread”.
POINT 3: Jack embraces then exploits the fear of the beast to strengthen his power.
the mask was a thing on its own, behind which
Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.
"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!
‘“This head is for the beast. It’s a gift.”
My hunters will protect you from the beast. Who will join my tribe?”
“He came disguised. He may come again. So watch and be careful.”
Ralph
Golding establishes Ralph as attractive, ‘Fair’ also alludes to his sense of justice, Golding establishes Ralph as being
charismatic and a born leader. rationality and even temperament. innocent to ideas about evil. He has no
hidden depths and can be trusted

1. ‘The fair boy...mildness about his eyes that proclaimed no devil’

Suggests he is gentle but also weak and lacks the This could be foreshadowing his discovery
Machiavellian ruthlessness required to be an about the devil within humans later on.
intimidating leader
Ralph’s blunt abrupt sentences make his
In Chapter 6 when the boys start to become frightened instructions appear confident and decisive.
of the beast, Ralph demonstrates a willingness to be a He seems to be a natural leader.
courageous leader who protects the boys

2. ‘Something deep in Ralph spoke for him. "I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue..."
Ralph discovers a new hidden ‘The fragmented sentences also
depth to his personality that he A leader can flourish when faced suggest the regression of the boys
never thought he possessed. with powerful decisions and and the breakdown of their
responsibility. If Jack represents communication into the simplicity
HItler, Ralph is Churchill. of a young child.
The metaphor stresses the Jack and Ralph have such different priorities they can Ralph has been working all day building shelters
extent of the division between reach no common ground. Continents also makes us for the good of the group whereas Jack has been
Jack and Ralph think of wars between countries in the adult world consumed with hunting to satisfy his own
that the boys are reflecting. desires

3. ‘two continents of experience and feeling, unable to communicate…They

looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate’
Baffled shows that Jack and Ralph do not
understand each other and will never be
able to co-exist peacefully
Communication is essential to civilisation. The
breakdown of society is heralded by the
Love suggests there is a mutual breakdown in communication.
inherent desire for friendship but
this is tainted by their mutual hate.

Throughout the novel, Ralph has been adamant that the
signal fire is essential for rescue and to stop society
breaking down but in Chapter 8 Ralph becomes
confused.
4. ‘The fire’s the most important thing on the island because because’
Ironically, the fire changes from being a symbol
of hope to one of destruction later in the novel
as they try to stake Ralph out but this process
leads to their rescue.
Ralph’s language and logic is starting to break down which reflects the
strain of being a leader is having a huge impact on him.
Ralph’s failure as leadership is
partly because he does do enough The repetition of ‘because’ shows his
to enforce the rules on the island. hesitation as he is losing track of his main
Golding is showing how difficult it objective which undermines his position as
is to build and maintain a leader in front of the boys.
civilisation.
 The onomatopoeic verb ‘squeeze’ suggests This moment foreshadows Ralph’s
In Chapter 7 Ralph is unable to resist the a sense of exhilaration is felt from inflicting involvement in Simon’s murder in Chapter 9.
temptation to join in with the violent game pain on others. He is beginning to understand why Jack is so
of attacking Robert passionate about hunting.

5. ‘The desire to hurt and squeeze was overmastering. ’

Golding makes Ralph resort to savagery to reflect his The mob mentality within the group has liberated Ralph
belief that all humans, even civilised children like from his civilised ego and lured him into allowing his primal
Ralph, possess inherent evil. This is a troubling id to control his actions.
concept for the reader to digest.

In Chapter 10 Ralph feels immense guilt He is the only character who admits to his His new knowledge of his and the other
for participating the murder of Simon. He role in Simon’s murder. The other boys try boys’ capacity for violence causes him to
understands he has committed an to repress it from their memories. fear their situation even more than before.
unspeakable act.

6. ‘That was murder…I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home’

By using the lawful terminology ‘murder’ to refer to
The fragmented He has a strong desire to return to the
what the boys have done, Ralph returns the boys from
sentences mirror his safety and comforts and home and to the
their frenzied fantasy to the brutal reality of their
fragmented mental innocence he had there which is a
actions.
state reminder he is a vulnerable child
 He finds it embarrassing and is relieved It shows Ralph’s character is regressing and he
Ralph says this after he notices he none of the hunters heard him say it
has bitter all his fingernails down is beginning to adopt childish habits he should
Because it would make him look weak. have outgrown.
without realising. This suggests he
is stressed and anxious.
7. ‘Be sucking my thumb next. ’
What has made him regress is the dirt, the It shows the stress of being leader is straining him.
absence or adult role models and absence
of rules on the island.

When chased by the hunters he

The triplet shows he is fight or flight becomes the personification or
mode, he has cast aside all his problems manifestation of fear itself.
and becomes entrapped by fear.

8. ‘He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and became fear’
These lines convey how the human body adapts Hunted by the tribe like an animal,
and goes into survival mode when facing the Ralph becomes an animal.
prospect of death. He runs because his life
depends on it.
 The curtain symbolises the fine dividing line
At the end of the novel, Ralph’s mind is The verb ‘flapped’ shows his agitation
between his rationality and savagery. A
repeatedly compared to a curtain to as he is losing control of his mind and
curtain is thin to reflect how easily savagery
reflect his sheer terror as the tribe try wavering between sanity and insanity
can appear
to hunt him.
9. ‘That curtain flapped in his head ’
Golding compares Ralph's inability to think
Ralph is having a momentary black out
clearly to a curtain that can hide one's view
where he doubts his ability to resolve
and blind one to necessary information.
problems and think rationally

After escaping from the threat of death by the sudden realisation he has been rescued, Ralph has an
emotional release. Rather than joy and relief his dominant feeling is despair.

10. Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart’
After witnessing the horrors of the island
His tears could link to He will never return to he cries because he has discovered that
The weeping offers hope for the future
how Jesus wept for the the boy he was before inherent evil is within all humans –
of civilisation as it shows human beings
sins of mankind. reaching the island. including himself. He is echoing Golding’s
have the capacity to resist their inner
own views here.
savagery and feel sorrow.
Jack
Uniforms evoke a sense of
authority, discipline, power,
order and control. Hitler
showed the Nazi uniform
every chance he got. Piggy
‘was intimidated by the
uniformed superiority’
1. ‘his black cloak circling.’
Alternatively the choir uniforms
could suggest the angelic innocence
of the boys before they start to
degenerate into savages
‘Circling’ suggests Jack is a
predator waiting for his moment to
commit violence. The choir
foreshadows the mob mentality
later in the novel.
Cloak is also a verb, meaning to
hide or conceal, hinting of
manipulation. There are hints of
gothic villainy.
Contextually this links to the
‘black shirt fascism’ – a regime
that endorsed violence to
maintain hierarchy
Straightway Golding shrouds
Jack’s character in darkness
and evil to give a sinister tone
of menace.

Writing after WWII, Golding is
wanted to prove it isn’t just the
Nazis who are evil, the English
have inherent evil too.
This foreshadows the later
tribalism as Jack is suggesting they
should follow rules because they
are English not because they are
humans.
This is ironic as Jack is the boy
who breaks the rules most
frequently.

2. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not
savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything.

By depicting a group of English In Chapter 2 Jack asserts they

Jack has been taught that the
English are a superior race but
Golding is challenging this popular
prejudiced view.
boys as ruthless, barbaric, and
savage, Golding is commenting on
mankind's inherent wickedness
and suggesting that civilization is
simply a thin veneer.
should follow the values of
the British civilisation they
were born in.

The fact Jack ‘hesitated’ and
missed the killing the pig show
he is still learning how to put
aside his conditioning.
3. ‘Jack slammed his knife into a trunk
and look around challengingly'
Jack feels ashamed for failing in the
hunt but the knife helps appear
intimidating to compensate for his
moment of weakness.
The knife is almost the opposite of
the glasses: the glasses represent His violence escalates from this
the old civilization, while the knife moment. Next he will target
represents a tribal and militaristic pigs and finally other humans.
leadership.
Jack is frustrated over failing
Golding presents the
to kill the pig and his failure
knife as a symbol of Jack’s
to win the leadership so stabs
corruption and innate
the tree.
need for bloodlust.

The simile ‘sprinter’ suggests
Jack’s athletic physique
It suggests he is so concentrated in
The comparison to a dog implies
what he is doing he doesn’t even
Jack is starting to become
notice his discomfort
animalistic in his behaviour due to
his obsession with hunting

4. ‘He was down like a sprinter...dog-like, uncomfortably

on all fours yet unheeding his discomfort’

It suggests he is ruthless and will go
to extreme lengths and stop at
nothing to satisfy his desire to kill
Golding is hinting that
Jack is a character who
will grow to be more
dangerous as the novel
progresses
In Chapter 3 Jack feels he has
to prove himself after failing
to kill the pig in Chapter 2 so
tries to adapt to help catch
the pigs.
Jack’s mask is a counter Jack wears the mask to The mask changes
symbol to the conch; makes appear more menacing Jack’s behaviour as he
Jack confident and gives and intimidating to the starts to act more like a
him power other boys primitive animal

5. ‘He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty

snarling…the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid,
liberated from shame and self-consciousness.’
The mask allows Jack to take on a Jack’s mask was initially to
The personified mask
new anonymous persona which is help camouflage him from the
allows Jack to feel no
freed from the shackles of the pigs but later it camouflages
shame for anything which
superego and civilisation thus his personality from the other
the 'painted savage' did.
allowing his id to rule his ego. boys who view him as an icon.
 Jack’s dictatorship is more appealing
The repetition and the use of Jack is promoting a Darwinian
than Ralph’s democracy as it offers the
monosyllables show Jack’s survival of the fittest mentality
boys more safety and certainty against
degeneration into savagery on the island. In a savage society
their deepest fears of the unknown
thirst for violence and loss of violence defeats order.
beast’
self control.

6. "Bollocks to the rules! We're strong - we hunt! If there's a

beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll close in and beat and beat and
beat-"
After they miss the ship because the Golding is showing that This is a turning point which
fire has gone out, Ralph tries to without proper marks a shift from a peaceful
maintain a lawful society through enforcement society society towards a more tribal
rules while Jack calls for an end to crumbles and tribal and primitive one.
these rules preferring to hunt and society rises.
kill instead of following rules.
 Jack’s pride and obsession with Jack’s pride is not because he has
The simile paints a pessimistic
hunting is not for the good of the helped the group find food but
view of humanity as it suggests
group but to satisfy his own primal because he has used his power
there is immense pleasure to
desires. to take the life of another living
be found in being violent.
thing.

7. ‘His mind was crowded with memories…taken away its life like a
long satisfying drink.’
The metaphor of ‘crowded with
This quotation explore memories’ shows he is
Jack’s mental state after exhilarated by the kill and can’t
making his first kill think of anything else.

Jack’s mask is a counter
symbol to the conch;
makes Jack confident and
gives him power
8. Jack, painted and garlanded, sat there like an
idol.
The mask allows Jack to take on a
new anonymous persona which is
freed from the shackles of the
superego and civilisation thus
allowing his id to rule his ego.
Jack is the idol to which the
other boys defer, since he
has established his power
through brazen strength.
The personified mask
allows Jack to feel no
shame for anything which
the 'painted savage' did.
Jack is set up as a classic tribal
chief, representing the power and
strength of the tribe. He has
tributes, or sacrifices, of meat and
fruits around him, and he sits alone
in a position of power.
An idol is a physical
representation of a
supernatural being, such
as a deity suggesting Jack
has attained a god like
status.
Golding uses Jack to mirrors how
totalitarian leaders in the
twentieth century such as Hitler
use fear tactics to maintain power.
9. “He came disguised. He may come again.
So watch and be careful.”
Jack understands that as long
as the boys fear the beast they
will look to him for protection
so he is keen to keep the beast
alive.
Insisting the beast is still alive,
appeals to the boys Jack as it reduces
any guilt they may feel about their
role in Simon’s death
Jack shows no remorse for
Simon’s death but is instead
manipulative and commands
through fear by insisting the
beast still exists may come
back at any time in any
form.
 4 more Jack quotations
Jack focuses anger
First sign of violence
On Piggy
foreshadows savagery
The theft further shows the
Jack steals the glasses
abandonment of order on the island.
from Piggy

9. ‘Jack smacked Piggy’s head. 10. ‘From his left hand dangled
Piggy’s glasses flew off ’ Piggy’s broken glasses’

Originally the specs symbolised

Cracked lens marks Suggests Jack This marks the full civilisation but not they have been
beginning of boys doesn’t want order transfer of power from stolen for savage means
losing civilisation on the island Ralph to Jack

Jack makes sacrifice Jack uses beast used like

Jack exploits the Jack is manipulative To appease beast links religion as a tool to control
Fear of the beast And opportunistic to primitive tribes the boys through fear
to further his power

11. ‘my hunters will protect you from 12. ‘"This head is for the beast. It's a gift."
the beast. Who will join my tribe?
The pig’s head becomes a
The pig’s head later tool that allows Simon to
Jack’s appeals to ‘my’ shows confidence
becomes a version see the real truth.
their deepest fears In his own leadership
of the beast itself
Piggy

The adjective ‘fat’ is blunt and
nasty and has connotations of
The fact the narrator calls him
someone who is ridiculed. Weight-
‘fat’ gives the impression
related bullying was prevalent in
everyone is out to bully Piggy -
the 1950s as it still an injustice in
- not just one person.
society today.
Piggy’s real name is never
revealed and he is continually
dehumanised by the boys
throughout the novel. The fact he
never insists on being called his
real name suggests he is lower-
class and has been conditioned to
‘know his place’

‘the fat boy…

Piggy was an outsider, not only by accent which did not matter, but by fat, and
ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labour."’

Repetition of ‘fat’ throughout

The reader will gain sympathy for
Piggy due to the way he is
victimised from the outset.
The list is used to list his
undesirable qualities that
marginalise him from the group.
Immediately Piggy is isolated from
the rest of the group due to his
inferior physical appearance
which contrasts with the more
athletic build of Ralph and Jack.
Chapter 1 highlights how
different he is to the other more
athletic boys. He is not
equipped for a macho
Darwinian survival of the fittest
mentality when it takes over
later in the novel.
 The spectacles represent the
The cracked lens marks the Jack takes an immediate dislike to
boys' only means of
beginning of boys losing their Piggy – perhaps he is jealous of his
obtaining fire through
ability to see and think clearly close relationship with Ralph or
reflecting the sun's rays, and
and rationally and the start of because Piggy’s likes rules while
fire itself is symbolic of
their descent into savagery Jack likes to break the rules.
survival and rescue.

2. ‘Jack smacked Piggy’s head. Piggy’s

glasses flew off…one side’s broken’
In Chapter 5 Piggy yells at Jack
The loss of his glasses make him Later in the novel Jack steals the for letting the signal fire go out.
vulnerable – perhaps he would glasses to show the triumph of This is the first example of Jack
have saw the boulder coming if he savagery over intellect. being violent to another human
had his specs. which foreshadows the later
escalation in savagery.
 He is fond of reminding the
Piggy dismisses both the Beast
boys what the adult world
and fear as unscientific. He is
would think but the other boys
a practical and logical and
are uninterested in what grown
finds solutions where he can.
ups would think.

3. ‘Life is scientific’
He is arguably the most intelligent Piggy’s trust in science is naïve In Chapter 5 he tries to resolve the
boy but his rational voice is not as he underestimates human’s issue of the beast by looking at it
listened to. This reflects society in inherent capacity for evil and through the lens of science which he
the adult world in which leaders doesn’t realise savagery can places great trust in.
are selected for popularity rather overpower logic.
than intellect.
The short sentences and
repetition of ‘nothing’ highlight
his direct attempt to convince
Ralph to believe in his ideas to
help save his sanity.
After Simon’s death,
Piggy represses his guilt
He is metaphorically if not
by claiming not to be
literally clear sighted and able to
directly involved.
see things like an adult would

4. ‘’We was on the outside. We never

done nothing. We never seen nothing.’’
Piggy surprisingly projects the It could be argued that Piggy is wise and realises it would
blame onto Simon himself by Piggy is in denial and be very difficult to live with
saying he ‘was batty’ for coming hasn’t acknowledged he themselves because of the guilt they
out of the woods in the dark. is also gradually would feel.
becoming more savage
like the other boys.
Piggy still relies on adult
behaviour as a model and
equates adulthood with
knowledge and higher
understanding.
5. ‘It’s them that haven’t no common
sense that make trouble’
Ralph admires Piggy’s ability to
think as a grown up and speak
about the problems on the island
in a way everyone can understand.
After Jack’s tribe leave, Piggy
tries to reassure Ralph that they He is metaphorically if not
are better off without them. literally clear sighted and able to
see things like an adult would
It is ironic he is the most intelligent yet
his grammar is the most inaccurate
suggesting he comes from a lower class
educational background.
When the boys go to meet Jack, In Chapter 11 Piggy suggests they Piggy’s constant reminders about
Piggy symbolically carries the go to Jack to demand his stolen the conch has weakened its value
conch, as he is now identified glasses to be returned. as a symbol of civilisation due to
with the authority it confers. his unpopularity within the group.

6. “I’m going to him with the conch in

my hands…because what’s right’s right”
Piggy has faith in justice as an
Piggy has the courage to confront abstract concept and assumes
Jack because he is emboldened everyone else shares his sense
with the certainty he is doing what of justice.
is right and decent.
 Piggy’s death represents the
vulnerable nature of intellect
and how it can be defeated by
brute force. The blood that
pours from his head
symbolises the tribe losing
their brains.
7. ‘Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a
pig’s after it has been killed’
The conch also shatters in his
hands, destroying the symbol of
law and order that once kept the
boys in harmony.
There is a sense of destiny as Piggy
finally turns into the sacrificial pig.
The graphic description has
similarities to the killing of the pig in
Chapter
The gory simile highlights the
brutality of his senseless death
and symbolises the complete
abandonment of the final traces
of civilisation on the island
Simon

The adjective ‘vast’ suggests Simon
sees the full truth of man’s infinite
capacity for evil about within the jaws
of the pigs head a stick.
Golding uses Simon to show all human
beings are capable of savagery. This
connects to the wider context of the
1950s as the world was just recovering
from the effects of WW2.

When Simon retreats alone and

confronts the Lord of the Flies it
has connections to Jesus visiting
the Garden of Gethsemane the
night before his death.
“Simon found he was looking into a
vast mouth. There was blackness
within, a blackness that spread”.

The verb ‘spread’ highlights

The repetition of the adjective Simon realising evil is corrupting
‘blackness’ represents the evil the boys on the island.
that is innate within human
beings.
 The violence of Simon’s death contrasts
The lack of words reveals the with the peaceful way nature responds
breakdown in communication. to free him from man’s corruption.

‘There were no words, and no movements

but the tearing of teeth and claws.’
The noun ‘claws’ conveys
Verb tearing shows how violent how animalistic the boys
his murder is. Jesus was also have become.
brutally killed.
 Link to Jesus’ feeding of the Unlike the others
Reveals Simon’s essential goodness which masses to paint Simon as a Simon is a loner who often goes off Simon is unafraid
contrasts with the other characters Christ figure by himself to explore the island. of the jungle and
enjoys finding
solitude there
‘Simon found for them the fruit that they could not reach’ ‘I wanted—to go to a place...just
a place I know. A place in the
jungle.
Simon has concern for the Golding creates Simon to
vulnerable in society as he By confronting the jungle it shows Simon has a mystical appreciation
represent spiritual men who he is not afraid to control the darkest of the wonders of nature on the
ensures the littluns have
have sought to help others aspects of human nature – later he island
the best food available
will climb the mountain alone to
discover the dead pilot.

Simon asserts that the beast is
something within the boys
themselves rather than a
physical monster
Simon meets and talks to the ‘beast’ In Simon’s supernatural vision, the
Simon’s words are central to
This moment in the novel is Lord of the Flies taunts and torments
Golding’s point that innate
compared to Jesus visiting the Simon by using grotesque language
human evil exists.
garden of Gethsemane to meditate to appear more hideous
the night before he was crucified.

‘Maybe it’s only us.’ ‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and
kill!’
The other boys laugh at his
suggestion and misunderstand Simon realises the boys This visit confirms Simon’s belief The vision causes Simon to faint.
what he means. His name means must confront their fears that the beast is the inherent evil Fainting was once thought of as a
a ‘listener’ in Hebrew but the of the beast to maintain within mankind. He decides he sign of a spiritual connect to a
boys don’t listen to him. civilisation must tell the others his news. higher power.
 His supernatural vision Simon is perceptive and can see Inarticulate shows at this point he lacks
To appease Ralph’s worries, makes him a prophetic, the beast is not real but within the language to fully understand or
Simon gives him a positive saintly figure their imaginations relay his abstract thoughts. A failure to
message of hope. communicate is a reason the boys
become savage.
‘became inarticulate in his
‘You’ll get back all right. I think so,
effort to express mankind’s
anyway.’
Ralph eerily repeats
essential illness’
The pronoun is ‘you’ not
this line during the It shows evil is an invisible force that
‘we’ which foreshadows Metaphor suggests
chase in Chapter 12. is hard to pin down but Simon shows
Simon’s death and suggests man’s evil is a sickness if it can be bravely acknowledged and
he had predicted it. and recalls Adam and confronted, it can be resisted.
Eve’s original sin.

Nature responds to his Simon’s death restores

In death his body Beauty of the sea
death with a reverence peace and tranquillity after
becomes converts Simon’s
not afforded Piggy the violent murder
body
a work of art

‘shoulder became sculptured ‘Simon’s bright body

marble’ moved out towards the
open sea.’
Marble connotes Suggests he is a concept of He is carried to the sea with a halo
the precious goodness rather than a real His death frees him of ‘sea creatures’ to symbolise his
innocence of Simon character From man’s corruption purity
Roger
 Initial impressions of Roger

1. ‘There was a slight, furtive boy whom no-one knew, who kept to himself with an
inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy.’
• ‘slight’ suggests he is small and slender implying he will not be a significant
character.
• ‘furtive’, ‘avoidance’, ’secrecy’ foreshadows his menacing and untrustworthy nature.
• He is a loner who is socially remote from the morals of the rest of the group.
• ‘inner intensity’ hints at his infinite capacity for evil later in the novel.
• His lack of verbal skills leads him to communicate with more sinister actions later in
the novel.
• Rather than being a character who changes, he merely lifts his mask to reveal his
inherent evil.
 Roger’s mask of civility starts to lift
2. ’Roger remained, watching the littluns…the shock of black hair…seemed to suit his gloomy face and made what
had seemed at first an unsociable remoteness into something forbidding.’
• Roger’s behaviour becomes ominous as he watches the littluns like a predator watching prey.
• His destruction of the ‘sandcastles’ is a form of DISPLACEMENT to satisfy his id (primal desires)
• The ‘black hair’ reinforces the darkness of his character.
• Golding is firmly establishing Roger as the antagonist of the novel; his significance in the novel is growing.
• Roger’s mask of civility is starting to lift and his inherent evil is starting to manifest.

3.‘threw to miss…Roger’s arm was conditioned by civilisation that knew nothing of him and was in ruins’
• Roger is a bully who enjoys torturing the littluns who are seen as inferior to the older boys.
• He retains some sense of civilisation that prevents him from aiming to hit the littluns with stones.
• The id and superego within Roger’s unconscious mind are grappling.
• He can still hear the reprimanding voices of the adult word which restricts his evil actions.
• The verb ‘conditioned’ suggests civilisation is learned rather than innate to human beings.
• British culture places a high value on maintaining civility even under adverse circumstances.
• Being away from home on an island without adult authority is a chance to test boundaries
 Roger’s complete surrender to evil
4. ‘Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever’
• Roger is a sadist who gets immense enjoyment from killing Piggy.
• ‘delirious’ suggests his disturbed state of mind and his wild ecstasy.
• His thirst for violence suggests he has completely surrendered to his id.
• It suggests surrendering completely to savagery is exhilarating and intoxicating.
• The fact he leaned with all his weight suggests he had no hesitation or guilt.

5. ‘The hangman's horror clung round him’

• He has a menacing, threatening air of death about him.
• ‘clung’ suggests his inner evil is something innate that he can never shake off.
• Or perhaps it suggests he will never be able to shakes off the memories of the murder.
• The other boys are scared of him as a prisoner is scared of an executioner.
• He has completely lost his innocence and may never be able to return to normality
• The corruption he has experienced has turned him into an unidentifiable monster
• Now that authority and civilisation has been stripped away, his true evil is revealed.
• Golding’s idea of ‘mankind’s essential illness’ is embodied most by Roger’s evil.
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