Breakdown of Top 9 Key Quotes from 'Lord of the Flies'
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Course
Lord of the Flies
Institution
AQA
Book
Lord of the Flies
This document provides in-depth analysis of the most useful quotes from William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'. It helped me to achieve a level 9 in my English Literature GCSE, which is the highest grade available.
The document identifies devices within each quote, gives relevant analysis, that can ...
‘a stain in the darkness, a stain that was Jack’
‘a’ indefinite article > idea that he his not unique > we are all stains
o He wasn’t the only cause that lead to the downfall of the boys on the island
PURPOSE > the opposing side weren’t the only savages in the war
Dehumanising him
‘stain’
He is worse than the darkness that he resides in
Permanents > unnatural > has become evil now that he is away from the constrains of
society
Sibilance > evil permeates through everything > evil is quiet/ like a whisper in most people,
but it shows in Jack
Can be cleaned > implies that the rest off the darkness can be cleaned away
o ALT > can never quite come out > leaves a mark > his actions are inescapable >
allegory of his evil > tainted by the island
Emphasises the innate evil within us
Contrasts to the end ‘little boy’ > reverts back to childlike innocence > was his innocence a
charade even before the island?
‘darkness’
Evil/ unknown/ death
Boys are unaware of evil within them
o (Simon understood = ‘you knew, didn’t you?’)
‘Jack planned his new face’ – P66
The mask frees him from the constraints of society
He had to become something else to embrace his savagery > implies this is not
innate to all humans = undermines PURPOSE
Idea that putting on a mask is similar to playing dress up = he is still a child/ innocent
> juxtaposes the savagery that he is showing
‘planned’
Premeditated, Jack wanted an excuse to hunt > savagery
Juxtaposition between controlled and deliberate actions and savage intentions
o Emphasises his distance from civilisation
Sense of intent > he decided to be evil > juxtaposes PURPOSE of novel: undermines
idea of innate savagery
‘mask was a thing on its own’
‘liberates from shame and self-consciousness’
‘awesome stranger’
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