Lord Of The Flies

''Lord of the Flies'' is an Allegorical Novel by Nobel Prize -winning author William Golding . It was Golding's first novel, and was published in 1954 . Although it was not a great success at the time — selling fewer than 3,000 copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print — it went on to become a bestseller, and required reading in many schools and colleges. It was adapted to film in 1963 by Peter Brook, and again in 1990 . The title is a reference to Beelzebub (from the Hebrew name Baalzvuv בעל זבוב), a synonym for the Devil .

It is generally regarded as a classic of postwar English literature. It depicts the savagery of a group of schoolboys stranded on a Desert Island without any adults, in the aftermath of a plane crash, while fleeing wartime Britain , presumably World War Two as there are many references to social/ cultural things of that time such as 'windbreakers' and the Slang used, such as 'wizzo', is now considered somewhat archaic and associated with 1940s Britain. The book was published during the Red Scare , before the end of McCarthyism and as the Cold War was building up.

PLOT SUMMARY

A number of boys crash land on a Desert Island , amid rumours of an Atomic War . The first two characters to meet are the athletic, somewhat heroic Ralph and a bespectacled, fat boy known only as Piggy, who use a Conch to call the other boys to them from across the island. One other potential leader arises from the boys - Jack, who had been leading a choir. Ralph, in fact, is elected as leader, and early on the book is full of optimism of what the boys expect to be fun. This is reflective of Ralph being a kind, democratic character, and Piggy his less popular, but intelligent back-up.

However, early on there is talk of a "beastie" - scaring a lot of the boys. The boys' first attempt to work together towards being rescued ends up in them starting a signal fire (lit by Piggy's glasses) which goes out of control, scorching half of the island. The life on the island continues to be disorganised - the major players (Jack and Ralph) have differing aims for the island, and the only person willing to co-operate with the building of shelters is Simon - who is often seen as representing religion, goodwill and spiritualism in the novel.

The descent of the boys into chaos starts, ironically, with the potential for rescue, but Jack had led a group off hunting rather than tending to a signal fire, and the ship sails past. The ensuing argument sees Piggy's glasses broken. Jack continues through the book as a tyrant, as do other members of his choir - the irony of the way these angelic children change is no accident.

A dead parachutist lands on the island, and the twins: Sam and Eric (Samneric, as they become known) assume it is the beast - causing mass panic. An expedition to investigate ends in Ralph, Jack, and Roger (Jack's sadistic friend) ascending the mountain, and coming back down even quicker. The "beastie" now becomes known as a "beast". Jack denounces Ralph as a coward, and leaves his chiefdom to create a new tribe. This new tribe is quickly able to hunt down a pig, and they decide to host a feast. Before that, they sever the pig's head and place it on a stick as an offering to the "beast". Simon comes across it, seeing that it has been infested with flies, and it speaks to him, though it is through Hallucination . Its messages foreshadow the fate of Simon and he faints after that. Jack's tribe hosts the feast and here, he also orders a ritualistic dance - and Simon, who has just run down from the mountain to break the news about the beast being a dead man and being talked to by the "Lord of the Flies", is mistaken as the beast and is beaten to death by the crazed boys, ultimately being drawn out to sea with the tide.

Ralph has seen his tribe dwindle in number. The larger, less civilized tribe of Jack, however, need to steal from them - Piggy's glasses allow them to light a fire. An overly optimistic Piggy demands them back, but is killed when Roger drops a strategically placed boulder on him. Jack fails to kill Ralph at this meeting, and the next day his tribe try to hunt him down. In doing this, they set up a Forest Fire , which is seen by a passing naval vessel - one of the ship's officers comes ashore and rescues the boys. Ralph's brush with death is tinged with irony, both since the forest fire started to flush him out alerts the passing ship and the boys are rescued by a ship of war, and as Ralph begins to weep for "the end of innocence", so do all the other boys. The rescue had come at an awful price.

ANALYSIS

Many people have interpreted "Lord of the Flies" as a work on moral philosophy. The environment of the island, a paradise with all the food, water, and all the necessities, can be seen as a metaphor for the Garden Of Eden . The first appearance of the "beastie" is that of a serpent, as evil appears in the Book Of Genesis .

One of the major themes of the book is on the nature of evil. This is clearly seen in the conversation that Simon holds with the skull of the pig, which refers to itself as "The Lord of the Flies" (a literal translation of the Hebrew name of Ba'alzevuv, or Beelzebub ). The conversation held also points to Simon as the character representing religion and good will in the novel, which is reminiscent of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

THEMES AND SYMBOLS

Lord of the Flies contains many themes and symbols. The characters are often seen as representing different parts of society:

Ralph represents democracy as he is leader by a democratic vote, and attempts to please the majority.

Jack represents Totalitarianism as he does not appreciate the results of the election, eventually seizing power in a coup and ruling alone. He also represents the anti thesis of democracy, dictatorship. Everyone must abide by set rules and he shows a distinct disrespect for the conch and its associations.

Another theory is that Ralph and Jack represent the Superego and the Id, respectively. The logic behind this is that Jack seeks to immediately satisfy the needs and act on instinct, fulfilling the description of the Id, while Ralph adheres and upholds the social norms of society. Examples of this are both positive and negative. The positive being democracy and teamwork, while the negative being mockery of societal oddities, such as Piggy being obese, wearing glasses and having asthma, or "ass-mar". Also, he blatantly ignores Piggy's request that he not call him Piggy in front of the others.

Jack being the head choirboy and the most savage can also be symbolized as a fallen angel, i.e. Lucifer .

Piggy represents rational thinking as he is logical but unpopular, and eventually Ralph comes to realise how much he depended on Piggy and his logic. Ralph admits this with "I can't think. Not like Piggy."

The choir boys represent the Nazi SS unit(not the army); they do what Jack tells them and use majority force to keep power.

Sam and Eric represent the masses as they are impressionable, and tend not to think for themselves. At several points in the book their behaviour mimics that of Dog s.

The 'beastie' represents propaganda and irrational fears, as it causes a panic and ultimately allies the boys around Jack.

Simon represents natural goodness because he is the only character on the island that continues being good even when the other boys forget about the rules of society. Some see similarities between him and Jesus, based on the religious references around Simon: his name (that of one of the disciples), his skill with carpentry, and his killing at the hands of a group. As well, the night before Simon dies he knows he won't make it home all right, just as the night before Jesus' arrest Jesus says he will be betrayed. Furthermore, Simon's actions also allude to the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Simon was mistakenly thought of as the beast, and the beast was initially thought to be a snake. In the novel, Simon gives the littluns the choicest fruit, as the serpent tells Adam and Eve to eat the fruit.

Jack uses typical scare tactics, much like current-day governments. even after the children kill Simon, thinking he is the beast, he says that the beast is still alive. he does this go keep the children scared, so they will look to him for help.

The glasses represent common sense, as when they break, focus and order is lost.

The conch represents civilization, order and democracy on the island, and it transforms accordingly as the boys transform, losing its colour gradually before being utterly destroyed.

The conch's white colour represents purity and innocence, which is destroyed when it is shattered. The description of the colour of the conch changes throughout the novel being described as increasingly darker as the novel progresses.

The Fire represents utility, a means to an end, which, when used incorrectly, becomes the end itself.

The Lord of the Flies and the 'beastie' represent the evil lurking within everyone's hearts, which, while not corporeal, is no less real.

And Roger represents total and absolute evil, even more so than Jack, as he is an ally to totalitarianism and truly sadistic. He is the first boy to intentionally murder another person.

The names of Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack, and Roger all have symbolic meaning. Ralph's name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for "council" , symbolizing Ralph's role as a leader , who forms meetings and councils on the island. Piggy's name is meant to symbolize how he is vulnerable, just as the pigs on the island were- the pejorative nickname also shows the hostility towards him from the other boys. Jack's name is derived from the Hebrew name "Yakov", which literally means "one who deceives" or "one who takes over", just as Jack took the role of leadership by force from Ralph. Simon's name means "one who listens" or "one who observes" in Hebrew, symbolizing Simon's quiet, attentive behavior. "Roger" means "famous with the spear".

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

The conch- the conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order in the novel. Piggy tries desperately to protect it and ironically when he dies, it is also destroyed. The shell effectively governs the boys’ meetings, for the boy who holds the shell holds the right to speak. This represents democracy and fairness in the way the island is governed. As the island civilization erodes and the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its power and influence among them. Ralph clutches the shell desperately when he talks about his role in murdering Simon. Later, the other boys ignore Ralph and throw stones at him when he attempts to blow the conch in Jack’s camp. The boulder that Roger rolls onto Piggy also crushes the conch shell, signifying the end of the civilized instinct among almost all the boys on the island. Anarchy quickly ensues because any hope of strong, central leadership has been abandoned. The island society collapses into chaos.

Glasses- Piggy is the most intelligent, rational boy in the group, and his glasses represent clear sightedness and intelligence. This symbolic significance is clear from the start of the novel, when the boys use the lenses from Piggy’s glasses to focus the sunlight and start a fire. When Jack’s hunters raid Ralph’s camp and steal the glasses, the savages effectively take the power to make fire, leaving Ralph’s group helpless. The state of Piggy’s glasses represents the state of the social order on the island i.e. as their condition deteriorates, so does the order and organisation of the boys.

Signal Fire- the signal fire becomes a measure of the boys’ connection to civilization. In the early parts of the novel, the fact that the boys maintain the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society. When the fire burns low or goes out, we realize that the boys have lost sight of their desire to be rescued and have accepted their savage lives on the island. The signal fire thus functions as a kind of measurement of the strength of the civilized instinct remaining on the island. Ironically, at the end of the novel, a fire finally summons a ship to the island, but not the signal fire. Instead, it is the fire of savagery—the forest fire Jack’s gang starts as part of his quest to hunt and kill Ralph.

The beast- the imaginary beast that frightens all the boys stands for the primal instinct of savagery and evil that exists within all human beings. The boys are afraid of the beast, but only Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. When he tries to tell the boys this, they kill him. As the boys grow more savage, their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the novel, the boys are leaving it sacrifices and treating it as a god. The boys’ behaviour is what brings the beast into existence, so the more savagely the boys act, the more real the beast seems to become.

Lord of the Flies- tells Simon that evil lies within every human heart and promises to have some “fun” with him. This is an early warning of Simon’s death in the following chapter. In this way, the Lord of the Flies becomes both a physical manifestation of the beast, a symbol of the power of evil, and a kind of Satan figure who brings out the beast within each human being. The Lord of the Flies represents the devil, just as Simon represents Jesus. In fact, the name “Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the name of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself.

Ralph- Ralph represents order, leadership, morality and civilization.

Piggy- Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual aspects of civilization.

Jack- Jack represents unbridled savagery and the desire for power.

Simon- Simon represents natural human goodness.

Roger- Roger represents brutality and bloodlust at their most extreme.

Face paint: This is the excuse many of the boys use for living as hunting savages, instead of civilized English citizens. The paint symbolizes the smoke-screen the beast uses to infiltrate the boys’ souls. The boys use the paint to hide from morals and the sense of right and wrong and proceed to become savages.

CORAL ISLAND

In the - the book is not a realistic projection of what boys on a deserted island would do. However, it was very successful.

A number of references to Coral Island are made in Lord of the Flies, as Golding wrote it as an indirect response.

Golding read this as he was growing up and thought of Ballantyne as a racist man as the book teaches children that evil is associated with black skin and is external.
It is ironic that in Chapter 11, Piggy calls Jack's tribe "a pack of painted Niggers "

NOTES

The novel was written while Golding was teaching at Bishop Wordsworths School , a Church Of England Grammar School for boys in Salisbury , England. He taught English there from 1945 to 1962. It was because of this that '' The Times '' could comment that ''"Golding knows exactly what boys are like."''

''Lord of the Flies'' was produced into two films. The first one is a black and white film released in 1963 that follows the novel closely. The second film was released in 1990 and has more modern visuals, but the plot differs from the original.

An episode of The Simpsons titled '' Das Bus '' was a Parody of ''Lord of the Flies'', mirroring it in many ways. For instance while trapped on an island, they use glasses to make a fire and also hunt pigs. Another Simpsons episode, '' Kamp Krusty '', also makes reference to the novel in that in one scene there is a pig's head with flies around it in the background.

Nick Hornby commented that a newer novel, '' The Beach '' (written by Alex Garland ), is: ''"A Lord of the Flies for Generation X"''.

''Lord of the Flies'' is also the name of an episode of The X-Files , whose plot, however, bears no similarity to the novel's (as it concerns a person who can control Flies ).

English heavy metal band Iron Maiden composed a song about the novel. The song " Lord Of The Flies " can be found in '' The X Factor '' (1995) and was also released as a single.

Punk Rock band "Gatsby's American Dream" has a song inspired completely by Lord of the Flies entitled "Fable".

''Lord of the Flies'' served as the inspiration for Sunrise Animation's classic Anime series Infinite Ryvius . The series follows the lives of over 400 teenagers stranded aboard a space battleship, the Ryvius, which was hidden inside an astronaut training center.

The book was the inspiration for '' Battle Royale ''.

There is an inconsistency with the physics in the book. Piggy is portrayed as extremely Myopic and therefore would have had Concave Lens es in his glasses. However a Convex Lens is required to focus sunlight in order to start a fire; concave lenses scatter sunlight.

People have found many similarities between ''Lord of the Flies'' and the television show '' Lost '' − characters Sawyer and Charlie make references to the Lord of the Flies.

There is a song '' My Name Is Legion '' by Electric Hellfire Club , where the word-group "Lord of flies" is used.

It is claimed that Mark Burnett's Survivor Reality TV Series was inspired by the novel.

It has often been speculated that the Nine Inch Nails song "" Piggy "" is Trent Reznor 's vision of what Simon must have said to the Pig's head (aka "The Lord of the Flies") at the end of Chapter 8.