lord of the flies

• The fat boy looked startled.' (CH. 1)


  how Piggy is introduced
• Piggy's general characterisation


  overweight, outcast, suffers from recurrent asthma attacks but is useful to Raph because he offers logical solutions to problems
• symbolic meaning of the name 'fat boy'


  could be an allusion to 'fat man', the name of the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki by the USA; Golding was known to be obsessed with the atom bomb and the background of the story is an atomic war in Europe from which the boys have escaped
• general symbolic representation


  civilisation, order and reason: he continuously quotes his auntie, reflecting his desire for adult control
• significance of Piggy's name

  we never learn Piggy's real name; it is a common technique in dystopian fiction to dehumanise characters
• symbolic meaning of Piggy's glasses

  knowledge
• He took off his glasses and held them out to Ralph'


  the first time Golding introduces Piggy's glasses to the reader; here he holds them out to Ralph, possibly symbolising Piggy's willingness to pass knowledge on to Ralph
• I said I didn't care as long as they didn't call me Piggy; an' I said not to tell and then you went an' said straight out——' (CH. 1)

  Piggy had asked Ralph not to tell the others about his nickname Piggy but he betrayed Piggy's trust
• Stillness descended on them. Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. ' (CH. 1)


  after realising that he betrayed Piggy, Ralph begins to feel empathy for him
• "I saw the other part of the plane. There were flames coming out of it."


  Piggy introduces the reader to fire, one of the central symbols in the story, which represents technology, intelligence and destruction
• why Piggy dies


  he failed to maintain a balance between facts and imagination. His emphasis on facts clouded his imagination and therefore, the ability to develop hope which provides the necessary strength to fight against the ills of life.
• The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like a vapour. These painted savages would go further and further.' (CH. 12)

  'The breaking of the conch represents the destruction of democracy and the deaths of Piggy and Simon represent the death of the goodness in humanity
• Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.'


  A wise person has the ability to see things in a clearer way than others do, such as Simon and Piggy. Yet, they are both killed. Perhaps William Golding is suggesting that if there were more wise leaders in the world there would be less war and violence.
• The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon.'


  The opening line of the story, immediately identifies Ralph as the protagonist; the adjective 'fair' emphasises his European features but also suggests he is fair and just..
• strident


  loud / shrill; the narrator describes the sound Ralph makes with the conch as a 'strident blare', echoing the sound of an atomic bomb
• Ralph's symbolic meaning


  order, civilisation and democracy
• "... and of course we shall be rescued." ... The simple statement, unbacked by any proof but the weight of Ralph's new authority, brought light and happiness.


  Ralph is able to give the boys comfort but there is also the feeling that this statement may just be wishful thinking
• Ralph and the desire for power


  initially, he is very keen for Piggy to teach him how to blow the conch and to build a fire, similar to Jack
• ...Ralph's golden body...' CH. 1

  here, Ralph symbolises the ideal British boy
• but there was a mildness about his mouth and eyes that proclaimed no devil.'


  the narrator lets the reader know that Ralph is not evil, despite his flaws
• Ralph shrieked with laughter'

  Ralph is childish
• Ralph's flaws


  Ralph was chosen the leader of the boys, but despite his generosity and gallantry, and his earnest desire to get rescued, he fails to keep up order in the island
• Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.'


  Ralph and the little boys had not earlier wept, for they had not been fully aware of the nature of evil, but by the end of the story, when many had died, Ralph had become aware.
• Ralph's rules


  Ralph forms the initial rules on the island
• Ralph and the conch


  the conch represents Ralph's authority because when he blows it, the boys gather round to listen for instructions; similarly, when Jack leads the hunters away in chapter 5, Ralph knows he can't risk blowing the conch because if they don't come back he will lose his authority and credibility
• original good vs original evil


  'original good,' found in Simon, Piggy and Ralph, is not as strong as that of 'original evil' projected through Jack and his hunters' party; Ralph is only able to escape the Hunters via a near-miracle at the end
• The fire was a big one and the drum-roll that he had thought was left so far behind was nearer. Couldn't a fire out-run a galloping horse?'

  Ralph is being hunted by the Hunters at the same times as the island is being destroyed by fire; 'The book is concerned with what human beings were doing to each other and to the world in which they lived' - William Golding
• None of the boys could have found good reason for this; what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy, while the most obvious leader was Jack. But there was a stillness about Ralph as he sat that marked him out: there was his size, and attractive appearance; and most obscurely, yet most powerfully, there was the conch.'


  the boys vote for Ralph purely because his appearance, rather than some innate moral qualities
• Ralph and Jack's views about fire

  "Ralph thinks of smoke as a signal, whereas Jack wants the fire for hunting, and this urge for action involves him in crime. "
• characterisation


  he craves power, lacks human feelings, is obsessed with hunting and bloodshed, and is deceitful
• initial function in the story

  leader of the choir - ironically, music is often considered a symbol of civilised society
• autocratic


  relating to a ruler who has absolute power
• Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony: and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness.'


  Golding gives Jack an unattractive description to resonate with his evil persona; the combination of red and black also symbolise evil
• Jack's symbolic representation


  the devil figure, he represents the evils in the modern world; his characteristics are also the qualities of the autocratic rulers who had caused world wars.
• Jack is opposed to

  Ralph, Piggy and Simon who were moulded by elements of civilization
• "For hunting. Like in the war. You know—dazzle paint. Like things trying to look like something else—like moths on a tree trunk.”


  Jack explains to Roger why he asked his group to paint their faces, to keep the beasts unaware of his presence
• literal purpose of the painted faces

  to fool the pigs while hunting
• Jack planned his new face.... He looked in astonishment, no longer at himself but at an awesome stranger.'


  with the painted face, Jack has changed his identity; the adjective 'awesome' implies both fear and amazement
• symbolic meaning of the painted faces

  liberation from shame and self-consciousness, the qualities that were taboo of the civilization he had altogether discarded
• Jack vs Ralph's rules


  Jack persuaded almost all the boys to disobey the rules formed by Ralph.