Grade 9 English Literature (AQA) GCSE table with four pages of quotes and in depth analysis on the theme of 'Society' and 'Civilisation' from Lord of the Flies. Includes AO3 context and generic essay intro/conclusion. Can be used for revision and to help with essay writing.
Generic intro: Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a dystopian novel that takes place on
an uninhabited, tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, during a fictional worldwide war in the
late 1950's. Even though the novel is fictional, its exploration of the idea of human evil is
partly based on Golding's violent, real-life experience in the navy in World War II. In the
novel, a group of young boys arrive on the island when an airplane evacuating them
crashes. Free from the rules and structures of civilization and society, the boys descend into
savagery. The island therefore is a microcosm and arguably a political and religious allegory,
a metaphor for the workings of adult and human society; reflected by how everything in the
novel represents something or someone from Golding's world, such as behaviours of boys
and teachers from the boy’s Public school he taught at, politics, the government and
democracy, British civilisation and supremacy. The novel, alongside challenging these ideas,
responded as a parody to the 19th century book: The Coral Island by R.M Ballantyne. This
employs a similar plot, although the boys behave sensibly and as admirably as adults would,
unlike in Lord of the Flies, which uses shocking, violent events to present ideas about human
nature.
Quote Analysis
Society
Hunter's celebratory chant after first killing: Through acting as a group (a "single
“Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood” organism") in a shared act of violence,
(chapter 4) they could commit worse crimes, whilst
avoiding personal responsibility. In time
their irrational fear of the beast makes
them act on an emotional rather than
rational basis and influences them into
believing the potential threat of the beast
justifies their violent actions. The boys
leave Ralph for Jack just to feel more
protected from an imaginary monster.
This is similar to those of the Holocaust,
where people followed Hitler (also a
dictator) because of anti-semitism,
showing the danger of herd mentality.
(Chapter 9) Sow: "her" & Simon: "thing" Simon is the only boy to remain an
and "it" individual in their society and not turn to
violence, so it's satirical that unlike the
sow who is humanised (through gender
specific pronoun), he's dehumanised by
the boys (through nouns).
Kills 'small' Simon The realisation hits that if Simon had
been heard, Jack's violent totalitarian
rule may have ended - reflecting how in
society, good does not always triumph
over evil. The adjective “small” makes
the reader feel pathos – it's horrifying to
hear he's been helplessly killed by his
own friends.
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