Theme: Civilization vs. Savagery

The central concern of Lord of the Flies is the conflict between two competing impulses that exist within all human beings: the instinct to live by rules, act peacefully, follow moral commands, and value the good of the group against the instinct to gratify one’s immediate desires, act violently to obtain supremacy over others, and enforce one’s will. This conflict might be expressed in a number of ways: civilization vs. savagery, order vs. chaos, reason vs. impulse, law vs. anarchy, or the broader heading of good vs. evil. Throughout the novel, Golding associates the instinct of civilization with good and the instinct of savagery with evil.

The conflict between the two instincts is the driving force of the novel, explored through the dissolution of the young English boys’ civilized, moral, disciplined behavior as they accustom themselves to a ***wild, brutal, barbaric life in the jungle.***

Theme: Loss of Innocence

As the boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children longing for rescue to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters who have no desire to return to civilization, they naturally lose the sense of innocence that they possessed at the beginning of the novel. The painted savages in Chapter 12 who have hunted, tortured, and killed animals and human beings are a far cry from the guileless children swimming in the lagoon in Chapter 3. But Golding does not portray this loss of innocence as something that is done to the children; rather, it results naturally from their increasing openness to the innate evil and savagery that has always existed within them. Golding implies that civilization can mitigate but never wipe out the innate evil that exists within all human beings. ***The forest glade in which Simon sits in Chapter 3 symbolizes this loss of innocence.*** At first, it is a place of natural beauty and peace, but when Simon returns later in the novel, he discovers the bloody sow’s head impaled upon a stake in the middle of the clearing. The bloody offering to the beast has disrupted the paradise that existed before—a powerful symbol of innate human evil disrupting childhood innocence.

Theme: Biblical Parallels

Many critics have characterized Lord of the Flies as a retelling of episodes from the Bible. ***The island itself, particularly Simon’s glade in the forest, recalls the Garden of Eden in its status as an originally pristine place that is corrupted by the introduction of evil. ***

Taken from: http://www.gradesaver.com/ classicnotes/ titles/lordflies/ (again, remove all spaces from this link)

Partial analysis of ch. 3: ***The open space that Simon finds in the jungle is an indication that the boys do find themselves in an Edenic area. Simon views the jungle as a place of beauty and tranquillity, in comparison to Jack, who sees only the dangers that the boys face. In his excursion away from the boys, Simon shows himself to be the one character who has an affinity with nature. There are strong religious overtones to the area that Simon finds, which, with its candle-buds and serene stillness, resembles a place of worship. ***

From ch. 10-12: The paradise of the island comes to an end when the boys choose nature and instinct over rationality and awareness. Ralph loses his innocence when he realizes that the violence and sin inherent in humanity is part of instinct, barely controlled by the constraints of order and morality that civilization constructs.

Hope this is helpful. Best wishes!

Analysis of ch. 3:

Lord of the Flies – William Golding

Study Guides:

Features: Chapter-By-Chapter Summary and Commentary, Plot Summary, Character Descriptions, Study Quiz, Message Board

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/

http://www.bookrags.com/notes/lof/

http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Golding.html#Lord

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-64.html

http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/barrons/lordfly02.asp

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/lordflies/

http://litsum.com/lord-of-the-flies/contents.php

http://www.bookwolf.com/Free_Booknotes/Lord_of_the_Flies/lord_of_the_flies.html

http://summarycentral.tripod.com/thelordoftheflies.htm

http://www.rit.edu/%7esjg2490/lotf/summary.html

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=171380

Additional Resources:

Characters and Their Involvement in ‘Lord of the Flies’

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliescharacters.htm

http://www.homework-online.com/lotf/character.asp

http://www.schoolbytes.com/summary.php?id=396

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

Symbolism played an important part in the development of story. This narrative technique is used to give significance to certain people or objects, which represent some other figure. The following list shows many of the examples of symbolism used throughout Golding’s book.

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliessymbolism.htm

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliesdiscusssymbolism.htm

http://www.studyworld.com/newsite/ReportEssay/literature/Novel%5CSymbolism_In_Lord_Of_The_Flies-38847.htm

Themes in ‘Lord of the Flies’

http://www.apclarke.freeserve.co.uk/fliesthemes.htm

Good luck.