Lord of the Flies
1. Golding said that Lord of the Flies was written as “an attempt to trace back the defects in society to
the defects in human nature.” What was/were the most corrosive defect(s) in human nature,
according to the events in the story?
2. Examine the function of symbolism in Lord of the Flies. How does one major symbol, or two
symbols working either together or in opposition, reflect the larger meaning of the events in the
story? Examples:
a. the adult world
b. the island itself / reef / sea / ship
c. the conch / the pig’s head;
d. the signal fire / the glasses;
e. the Beast
f. the dead pilot / the nuclear war
g. the dance
h. the Lord of the Flies
i. uniforms / face paint
3. Examine the function of theme in Lord of the Flies. How does one major theme develop
throughout the story to reveal a message for the reader about human nature? Examples:
leadership, power, reason, logic, unity, friendship, trust, the allure of wildness, order vs. anarchy,
children vs. adults, hope vs. despair, identity, loss of identity, etc.
4. What led most to the descent into savagery that the boys experienced on the island? One mistake?
A top three? A particular person? Was the descent inevitable? Examine the major factor(s) and make
a case for why it/they led to the circumstances at the end of the book.
5. Choose a lesser character (not Ralph or Jack) and examine his role in the story. What made this
boy necessary to the plot? How did his actions affect others? How did his actions affect the plot?
6. Whose leadership are we meant to admire, Ralph’s or Jack’s? How is this made clear to the
reader? (Your argument will be stronger if you include one paragraph acknowledging the obvious: If
Ralph’s was better, be sure to consider why his chieftainship didn’t prosper; if Jack’s, consider why
his chieftainship is so disturbing.)
7. Do you think William Golding believed there was hope for mankind? Give evidence from the text
to back up your interpretation. (Your argument will be stronger if you include one paragraph
acknowledging the opposition: If your answer was yes, be sure to consider why the situation gets so
dark near the end of the book. If no, consider why good characters existed in the book and why the
story ends as it does.)