🐚 Lord of the Flies – William Golding (Exam Cheat Sheet)

📖 Overview

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Main Characters

  • Ralph – Elected leader, symbolizes order, democracy, and civilization.

  • Piggy – Intelligent, logical, physically weak (asthma, glasses). Represents reason, science, and intellect.

  • Jack Merridew – Leader of the hunters, symbolizes savagery, dictatorship, and primal instinct.

  • Simon – Spiritual, kind, connected to nature. Represents morality, innocence, and a Christ-like figure.

  • Roger – Sadistic, cruel, enjoys violence. Represents humanity’s darkest evil when unchecked.

  • The Littluns – The younger boys, symbolize innocence and vulnerability of ordinary people.

  • The Beast – Imaginary at first, but represents inner fear and the darkness of human nature.

📚 Plot Summary (Step by Step)

  1. Plane Crash – Group of British boys stranded on an island after a crash.

  2. Leadership Established – Ralph is chosen leader; Piggy becomes his adviser; Jack leads hunters.

  3. Building Civilization – Rules, a signal fire, and the conch are set up.

  4. Conflict with Jack – Jack grows obsessed with hunting and killing pigs. Tension builds between order (Ralph) and savagery (Jack).

  5. The Beast – Fear of a mysterious “beast” spreads; symbol of their inner darkness.

  6. Simon’s Death – Simon discovers the “beast” is just a dead parachutist. When he tries to tell the truth, he’s mistaken for the beast and killed in a frenzied dance.

  7. Piggy’s Death – Jack’s tribe becomes fully savage. Roger kills Piggy by dropping a boulder; the conch shatters (symbol of the end of order).

  8. Final Hunt – Jack’s tribe hunts Ralph, planning to kill him. They set the island on fire.

  9. Rescue – A naval officer arrives, shocked by their savagery. Boys weep, realizing what they’ve become.

🌍 Themes

  • Civilization vs Savagery – Without laws, humans revert to primal instincts.

  • Loss of Innocence – The boys transform from schoolchildren to killers.

  • Fear & The Beast – The beast isn’t real; it’s their inner evil. Fear drives their violence.

  • Power & Leadership – Ralph’s democratic rule vs Jack’s authoritarian dictatorship.

  • Human Nature & Evil – Golding suggests evil isn’t outside us, but inside us.

📝 Symbols

  • Conch Shell – Order, democracy, civilization. Shatters = collapse of order.

  • Piggy’s Glasses – Reason, science, ability to make fire. Broken = destruction of intellect.

  • The Beast – Fear and inner evil within humans.

  • The Lord of the Flies (pig’s head on a stick) – Symbol of evil, chaos, and temptation. (Biblical link to Beelzebub = “devil”).

  • Fire – Hope for rescue, but also destruction when used savagely.

📌 Important Quotes

  • “Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.” – Simon (truth about human evil).

  • “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” – End of order.

  • “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.” – Final realization.

  • “Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood.” – Chant showing savagery.

🔑 Character Symbolism

  • Ralph → Order, leadership, hope.

  • Piggy → Logic, intellect, fragility.

  • Jack → Savagery, desire for power, primal instinct.

  • Simon → Morality, spirituality, Christ-like sacrifice.

  • Roger → Pure cruelty, sadism, unrestrained violence.

  • The Littluns → The vulnerable masses who follow stronger leaders.

🧠 Exam Tips

  • Always show how Golding uses the island as a microcosm (mini-version) of society.

  • Use symbols (conch, glasses, beast, fire) to explain deeper meaning.

  • Contrast Ralph vs Jack to highlight civilization vs savagery.

  • Mention Biblical & allegorical references (Simon = Christ, Lord of the Flies = devil).

  • In essays, finish with Golding’s warning → if society collapses, human nature reverts to chaos.

⚡ One-Liner Takeaway

Lord of the Flies is Golding’s chilling warning: strip away rules and civilization, and humanity’s inner savagery will rise, destroying innocence and order. 🔥🐚

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