1. Lord of the Flies
Kees IJzerman May 2013

2. Lord of the Flies
• Published 1954
• WW2 still very much in everyone’s memory
• Rationing still going on in England
• Cold War had already taken hold

3. The Story
• Group of boys get stranded on a desert island
(plane was shot; war going on)
• They are left to their own devices
• Ralph and Piggy find a conch
(big shell)
• Means to gather everyone;
rules

4. The story
• The boys start a fire; that gets out of hand
• Later, the ‘fire-watch’ is abandoned > fire out.
• Hunters.
• Slowly two groups start forming:
Ralph/Piggy vs Jack (hunters)
• ‘Littl’uns’ have nightmares

5. Loss of civilisation

6. The Story
• (In the book) A plane is shot down, pilot lands
on the island by means of parachute.
• Boys only see vague shape: ‘beast’.
• Expedition to ‘The Beast’.
• Head of a pig (Lord of the Flies) is an offering.
• Simon goes to the Lord of the Flies and has a
vision: Evil = the beast/in us?

7. The Lord of the Flies

8. The Story
• Simon goes back to the beach
• The others (including Ralph and Piggy) are
feasting in a frenzy.
• They kill Simon (c.f. excerpt in your reader).
• The Hunters want to make fire, so they steal
Piggy’s glasses.
• Ralph and Piggy go to the hunters’ camp to try
and retrieve the glasses

9. Final confrontation

10. The Story
• Roger kills Piggy and shatters the conch.
• Ralph goes and destroys the Lord of the Flies.
• Ralph is hunted like an animal
(smoked out)
• When he reaches the beach, rescuers are
there:
• They see savage, bloodthirsty young boys.

11. Interpretations
• Loss of civilization:
rules are needed, and need to be enforced
• Good vs. Evil
Ralph vs. Jack
• Science vs. crude, primitive instincts
Piggy vs. Roger
• Religion:
original sin?

12. Storyline
• The story in a nutshell on Sparknotes Video