The ground beneath them was a bank covered with sparse... forest proper and the open space of the scar. (Ch 1)

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1 [Simon saw] the picture of a human at once heroic and sick. What does William Golding tell us about human nature and the development of tyranny in his novel Lord of the Flies?

1 1 [Simon saw] the picture of a human at once heroic and sick. What does William Golding tell us about human nature and the development of tyranny in his novel Lord of the Flies? The ground beneath them was a bank covered with sparse... forest proper and the open space of the scar. (Ch 1) The island at first appearance evokes a mingling of fear and awe. He [Ralph] jumped down from the terrace. The sand was... naked, looking at the dazzling beach and the water. (Ch 1) The weight of clothes refers to more than just a heavy belt here. By removing his clothes, Ralph lets go of the need for refinement and normal society. Piggy moved among the crowd, asking names and frowning to... they had given to the man with the megaphones. (Ch 1) The boys are still following the rules of society to which they were so accustomed before they ended up on the island. Where s the man with the megaphone? The fair boy shook his head. This is an island. At least I think it s an island. That s a reef out in the sea. Perhaps there aren t any grownups anywhere. (Ch 1) The boys understand that the ruling order of society that they are used to has disappeared. Shut up, said Ralph absently. He lifted the conch. Seems... chorister and head boy. I can sing C sharp. (Ch 1) Jack s desire for power is no product of the island; this is a trait that he s had from the start. We've got to have rules and obey them. After all,... We're English, and the English are best at everything. (Ch 2) While Ralph desires rules for their intrinsic value, Jack s view on the matter is governed by his feelings of superiority. A fire! Make a fire! At once half the boys... toward the island and was gone following Jack. (Ch 2)

2 Jack takes advantage of impulsive mob mentality to get his way, whereas Ralph appeals to reason. You got your small fire all right. (Ch 2) 2 For the first time, the boys realize their capacity for destruction. The ground was hardened by an accustomed tread and as... arm and hurled the spear with all his strength. (Ch 3) Jack is consistently portrayed as the hunter of the group, highlighting his primitivity and tendency toward violence. [Jack] tried to convey the compulsion to track down and... into his eyes again. I thought I might kill. (Ch 3) Jack s primitivity continues to heighten as the novel progresses. The interesting question is whether this is his real nature, having been subdued by culture, or whether the island is eroding his true self. There was a space round Henry, perhaps six yards in diameter, into which [Roger] dare not throw. Here, invisible yet strong, was the taboo of the old life. (Ch 4) The boys still feel the pull of their previous, ordered, civilized life in England. At least by this stage of the novel. [Jack] began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. (Ch 4) Jack s violent tendencies seem to be tied to some sort of primitive hunting instinct. The desire to kill reduces him to this basest form of being. He [Jack] capered toward Bill, and the mask was a... behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. (Ch 4) If Jack is hiding behind the mask, then does that mean the thing/person/creature committing these heinous acts isn t Jack; it s the mask. Does Golding exonerate Jack here in this line? Or is he pointing out that a mask/anonymity makes it easier for anyone to commit heinous acts? The hunters' thoughts were crowded with memories [ ] of the... taken away its life like a long satisfying drink. (Ch 4) Yet there is more here than a simple survivalist instinct to kill for food. The boys are combining their base, animal tendencies with the more evolved, human need to have power over others. Ralph pushed Piggy to one side. I was chief, and you were going to do what I said. ( ) Although Ralph asserts his power here, he does for the sake of the signal fire and the prospect of getting rescued. For Ralph, power is a means to an end, not the end itself. This is unlike Jack, who uses fear and intimidation to try to derive power.

3 3 We spread round. I crept, on hands and knees. The... Bash her in. Ralph watched them, envious and resentful. (Ch 4) The narration eases us in to the thought of boys killing boys. We start off with boys killing pigs, then boys pretending to kill boys who are pretending to be pigs, and finally Jack hunting down Ralph in pretending hopes of impaling his head on a stick. Maybe [ ] there is a beast [ ] What I mean is maybe it's only us. (Ch 5) Rather than combat the fear of the beast, Simon s comment that the beast may be inside the boys is actually more chilling than the notion of a thing with claws and teeth. If the beast is inside the boys, then it is terrifying in a far more profound way. It means that we, people, are responsible for the horrors of the world. Simon doesn t let us place the blame on some external object. Even the sounds of nightmare from the other shelters no longer reached him, for he was back to where came from, feeding the ponies with sugar over the garden wall. (Ch 6) This is the loss of innocence in Technicolor. Ponies and all! [Simon saw] the picture of a human at once heroic and sick. (Ch 6) Simon begins to realize that humans are capable of terrible behaviour as well as heroic, noble behaviour. This is how he realises the beast is, in fact, part of the boys themselves. No-one is truly evil or good they have the capacity to be either. All at once, Robert was screaming and struggling with the... flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering. (Ch 7) What happened to Ralph? Is it mob mentality or the lure of primitivity? Whatever it is, our admirable protagonist just joined the ranks of the savages. They surrounded the covert but the sow got away with... his cheeks... Right up her ass! (Ch 8) In this vivid description of the slaughter of the mother pig, we see that the boys have taken on a new viciousness in their desire to hunt. This is no longer about just having meat to eat the boys are obviously enjoying the power that they feel over the helpless animals and are excited by the blood spilling over their hands. Many critics describe this as a rape scene, with the excitement coming partly from the blood and partly from their newly emerging feelings of sexuality. Look at all the sexual imagery in this passage.

4 [Ralph is] like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. He isn't a proper chief. (Ch 8) 4 To Jack, intelligence is incompatible with strength, and the latter is necessary for chiefdom. Because Ralph uses logic and reasoning like Piggy does, according to Jack, he isn t fit to be the boys leader. Why are logic, reasoning and intelligence so threatening to those who want tyranny? Who thinks Ralph oughtn t to be chief? He looked expectantly... not going to play any longer. Not with you. (Ch 8) This quotation actually causes the reader to feel sorry for Jack. Passages like this are important to remind us that the boys really are young children; they get embarrassed, they cry, and they throw temper tantrums. When we are hit in the face with the boys humanity, we are that much more disturbed by the horrors that follow. I m warning you. I m going to get angry. D you see?... and Bill and Piggy and Ralph. Do you. See? ( ) Even the Lord of the Flies derives power through intimidation. The dark sky was shattered by a blue-white scar. [ ]... no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws. (Ch 9) This passage really conveys the frenzied state the boys are in when they kill Simon. But does it justify the action? Does it function as an excuse for the murder? I expect the beast disguised himself. Perhaps [ ]. We'd better... saw the effect of his words and stood abruptly. (Ch 10) Jack uses the boys fear as a means to control them, a technique often adopted by those who wish to enforce tyranny. That s them, said Piggy. They blinded me. See? That s Jack Merridew. (Ch 11) Notice how Piggy clings to the idea that good and evil are separate. He blames everything on Jack. He does not see, as Simon did, that they all have the capacity for good and evil and are all, to some extent, complicit in what has happened on the island. Roger too a small stone and flung it Some source of power began to pulse in Roger s body. (Ch 11) Compare this to the section in Chapter 4, where Roger is still constrained by adult authority and cannot bring himself to hit Henry with the stones. What s changed? Behind them on the grass the headless and paunched body of a sow lay where they had dropped it. (Ch 11) What does this suggest about the boys attitude towards life? The word dropped is important here.

5 5 [Ralph] gazed at the green and black mask before him, trying to remember what Jack looked like. (Ch 11) Note here how Jack has become almost unrecognisable. His physical change mirrors his descent into savagery. What freedom does his new anonymity allow him? Below [Roger], Ralph was a shock of hair and Piggy a bag of fat. (Ch 11) Notice how Roger dehumanises Ralph and Piggy. What does this make it easier for him to do? How does it link to the paunched and headless body of a sow dropped nearby? The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to... bit, like a pig s after it has been killed. (Ch 11) The conch explodes, marking the end of law and order on the island. As the law ceases to exist, so does Piggy. The end of democracy. Why has democracy failed on the island? Can Ralph and Piggy take any of the blame? Ralph launched himself like a cat; stabbed, snarling, with the spear, and the savage doubled up. (Ch 12) Ralph, in fighting for his own life, takes on the same vicious appearance and actions as those that are hunting him. Her bows [were] hauled up and held by two ratings.... the stern-sheets another rating held a sub-machine gun. (Ch 12) With the arrival of the British Navy, the boys begin their return to the civilized world. Ironically, this civilized world is no less violent than the ones the boys have been living in on the island. The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He... the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. (Ch 12) Ralph weeps for the end of his innocence and for those who have died. Consider which characters did die? The ones who had chosen heroism or sickness? Is Golding suggesting that heroism is useless in the face of tyranny that we should all let our baser instincts take over? Or is he saying something else about the price of heroism and how essential it is for maintaining our weak link to civilised behaviour?

English Holiday Homework

English Holiday Homework Term 3 Text Study : The Lord of the Flies Due Date: 16/07/18 1. Read Chapters One to Six 2. Complete a Summary of Chapters One to Six 3. Complete questions for Chapters One to