Lord of the Flies Themes

Ralph is symbolic of...

• Leadership and Athleticism

• Civilisation and Democracy

• Peace and Purity

• Logic and Reason

Jack represents

• Fear

• Leadership and strength

• Society's dictators and monarchs

• Unbridled savagery and the desire for power

Simon represents...

• Weakness

• Peace and Quiet

• Purity and Innocence

• Obedience

Simon's death represents

• The boys' loss of innocence.

• The victory of savagery over civilisation.

• The fragility of flesh.

• The danger of darkness

The Beast that frightens all the boys is not real, but is actually...

• Made up by Jack to control the littluns

• The boys' unacknowledged fear

• The dead pilot

• the primal instinct of savagery that exists within all human beings

The eponymous "Lord of the Flies" - a severed pig's head on a pike - is symbolic of...

• The power of evil lurking within us.

• The shame the boys feel for their actions

• The boys' victory over the perils of the island.

• Jack's victory over Ralph.

Piggy is the embodiment of...

• Physical weakness

• Nerd Culture

• Logic and Reason

• Intellect and Rationalism

The conch is a symbol of...

• Peace and Leadership

• The ability to listen to others

• Unity, order and authority

• Dictatorship

Golding asserts that...

• The capacity for violence exists within all humans

• Without law and order, society would descend into chaos.

• Society's success depends on our ability to suppress our savage instincts

• We should always obey our leaders.