1. Lord of the Flies by William Golding Section Three
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2. Contents (click to go straight to each chapter)
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Overview and Revision

3. Chapter Nine summary
Worksheet Twenty-eight accompanies this slide.

4. The storm In Chapter Nine the weather on the island changes suddenly.
Select four quotes which trace the build-up of the storm.
Over the island the build-up of clouds continued.
The dark sky was shattered by a blue-white scar.
All at once the thunder struck.
Then the clouds opened and let down the rain like a waterfall.
What is the significance of the storm? What might it symbolize?
The growing violence of the boys which is slowly becoming stronger and stronger.
Worksheet Twenty-eight accompanies this slide.
The brewing storm is symbolic of the growing savagery of the boys, which is about to come to a tragic conclusion. The storm erupts just as Simon is murdered. You might like to mention how Shakespeare used weather as a way of symbolizing the inner emotions of his characters for example in King Lear.

5. Simon Simon is portrayed as a truly good character in the novel,
and before his death we see him undertake a final act of
kindness in Chapter Nine.
What does he do?
In what other ways has Simon shown his ‘goodness’ throughout the novel?
Simon is savagely killed as he tries to tell the others the truth
about the beast’ The nature of his death has religious
overtones.
Worksheet Twenty-nine accompanies this slide.
Simon represents good in the novel – his actions confirm him as a saint, a Christ-like figure. When he tries to tell the others the truth about the beast he is in the role of a saviour and is then murdered at the hands of the other boys who mistake him to be the beast. This has overtones of Christ’s crucifixion.
Can you identify what Simon’s death could symbolize?
That it is the end of good on the island. The final stage of the boys violence. They have gone that final step

6. Chapter Ten summary
Worksheet Twenty-nine accompanies this slide.

7. Reaction to Simon’s death
The boys must deal with the terrible reality of Simon’s
death. Look at the responses of Ralph, Piggy and the twins.
What are their true feelings about the event? What do their reactions tell us about them?
Ralph is filled with guilt for his death. He becomes scared of what all have become. Piggy shows that he doesn’t want to believe they killed Simon, that is was not their fault, to ‘justify his death. Sam and Eric are also in denial about it all, they pretend to forget because they cannot handle the horror of it all.
We are not told of Jack’s reaction, but what do you think it would have been?
He would not of cared, he would think they did the ‘right thing’. He may feel some guilt. But he will justify it as something they had to do.
‘Sam touched a scratch on his forehead and then hurriedly took his hand away. Eric fingered his split lip.’
‘“It was an accident…
He was batty. He
asked for it.”’
‘“It was murder…
I’m frightened of us.”’
Worksheet Thirty accompanies this slide.
Ralph’s reaction suggests guilt and shock. His statement ‘I’m frightened of us’ alludes to this idea of the beast being something within the boys themselves, which has been unleashed on the island. This is confirmed for Ralph at the end of the novel where he cries for ‘the darkness of man’s heart’. Ralph’s reaction also shows he is brave enough to face up to the truth of what they have done.
Piggy’s reaction shows he is in denial, and so is trying to justify the death. He reveals himself to be dishonest and immature in comparison to Ralph.
Sam and Eric pretend to have forgotten about the events, showing that they are also in denial. They are unable to handle the seriousness of what has happened.

8. What are their true feelings about the event
What are their true feelings about the event? What do their reactions tell us about them?
Ralph is filled with guilt for his death. He becomes scared of what all have become. Piggy shows that he doesn’t want to believe they killed Simon, that is was not their fault, to ‘justify his death. Sam and Eric are also in denial about it all, they pretend to forget because they cannot handle the horror of it all.
We are not told of Jack’s reaction, but what do you think it would have been?
He would not of cared, he would think they did the ‘right thing’. He may feel some guilt. But he will justify it as something they had to do.

9. Jack the savage Worksheet Thirty accompanies this slide.
Events showing Jack’s increasingly savage behaviour: killing the pig; punching Piggy and smashing his glasses; creating his ‘mask’ behind which he can hide his savagery; leading the violent song and dance rituals; setting up his own tribe and torturing littluns.

10. Speech Imagine if Jack tried to get more people to join his tribe and
launched a political campaign to attract new members.
What do you think he would say in his campaign speech?
You are going to write it!
Think about what is important to Jack, and his approach to
leadership. You might like to include in the speech:
why you are such a good leader
what you can offer to all members of your tribe
why your tribe is better than Ralph’s group
a summary of your ‘rules’ and values.
You may wish to run through persuasive writing techniques with students before they begin this task.
Remember this is a speech so you will need to make
your writing as persuasive as you can!

11. Chapter Eleven summary
Worksheet Thirty-one accompanies this slide.

12. Piggy’s death
In Chapter Eleven we see a much braver Piggy than we saw at the beginning of the novel. Without his glasses he is very
vulnerable yet he insists on going to Castle Rock with Ralph.
Why do you think he does this?
To support Ralph, to make sure he is not alone, because he knows Ralphs cannot do it by himself.
At Castle Rock Piggy speaks out for civilized behaviour,
just before he is killed by Roger.
Worksheet Thirty-one accompanies this slide.
Which is better – to have rules
and agree, or to hunt and kill?

13. Piggy’s death How did you feel when you read about Piggy’s death?
That it was not right, and that it is the end of order on the island
How do you think Golding wanted you to feel?
He wanted us to feel just how evil kids could truly be
Think back to Chapter Four. Was Piggy’s death foreshadowed?
When Piggy is killed, the conch, which he is holding, is also destroyed.
Worksheet Thirty-one accompanies this slide.
Roger kills Piggy with a boulder and in Chapter Four we saw a suggestion of his sadistic nature when he threw stones at a littlun.
Piggy’s death and the shattering of the conch signify the end of everything Piggy and the shell represented on the island – rational thought, order, rules, democracy.
What is the significance of Piggy’s death and the shattering of the conch?
Roger hurt that littlun with stones earler in the novel and this is just an upscale of that and it shows Rogers true nature.
It signifies what they represented, order/rules/democracy.

14. Chapter Twelve summary
Worksheet Thirty-two accompanies this slide.

15. The ending When Ralph is rescued at the end of the novel, he breaks
down and weeps for:
‘the end of innocence,
the darkness of man’s heart.’
What does Golding mean by this?
Are you satisfied with the way the novel ends?
Think of an alternative ending for Lord of the Flies and write down your ideas. Once you have a plan, have a go at re-writing the final chapter.
Imagine if Golding had added an extra chapter where Ralph and Jack share their story with the naval officer as they travel home. How might this go? Write a script of the conversation between the officer and the boys.
Worksheet Thirty-two accompanies this slide.
Golding’s message behind the novel is essentially summed up in this last sentence. You might like to refer back to Golding’s quote in Section One.ppt (slide 6) – his intention with Lord of the Flies was to show how children would really behave and move away from the typical portrayal of all children as good and innocent. Golding believed that evil could exist in everyone and Ralph recognises this ‘darkness’, just as Simon had done earlier on in the novel.
Ralph meets his rescuer just as the hunters are about to attack him. You might like to mention the term ‘deus ex machina’.
This term, literally meaning ‘god from the machine’ originates from ancient Greek drama and refers to dramas or stories where the author uses some unexpected or improbable arrival allowing a character to work his or her way out of a difficult situation. The arrival of the naval officer at the end of the story could be termed a ‘deus ex machina’.

16. What does Golding mean by this?
That evil could exist in everyone, children and adults. Ralphs has merely discovered this fact and he sees how truly awful it is.

17. Lord of the Flies
by William Golding
Overview and Revision

18. Hot seating
This hot-seating exercise is intended to encourage understanding and empathy with the characters. You may like to have students select quotes to support what they say for each character. This will be useful for revision purposes.

19. Setting

20. “When I think back to my time on the island I feel…”
Creative response
Imagine you are Ralph as an older man and you are remembering your time on the island.
Write about your excitement on first finding yourself on the island and then your feelings as things started to go wrong.
“When I think back to my time on the island I feel…”
Imagine you are Jack as an older man and you are
remembering your time on the island.
Write about your experiences on the island. How do you feel now about what happened? Do you look back with regret?

21. Symbolism

22. Style Choose one of the following passages and explore Golding’s
style and use of language:
Passage 1: Chapter Nine, from ‘With the running of blood Simon
passed into the weariness of sleep’ to ‘Then he took the lines in his
hands; he freed them from the rocks and the figure from the wind’s
indignity.’
Passage 2: Chapter Twelve, from ‘What was to be done, then?’ to
‘The cries were far now, and faint.’
Look closely at:
Another passage which you may find suitable for this exercise is Simon’s burial at sea at the end of Chapter Nine.
the actual words Golding uses and their effect
the length and complexity of the sentence structure
use of imagery and language devices and their effect.

23. Light the fire!

24. will need to think about all of the following:
Revision
CHARACTERS
Their physical appearance, how they
behave, their relationships with others,
significant events they are involved in.
THEMES
Leadership, democracy,
good vs. evil, civilization,
savagery.
SETTING
Five main settings
in the novel and
what is associated
with them.
CONTEXT
The historical and political background to novel.
When revising
Lord of the Flies you
will need to think about all of the following:
This page is to help the students organize their revision.
SYMBOLISM The allegorical nature of the novel including the conch, the meaning of the beast, the pig’s head, the island, the religious symbolism.
THE MESSAGE What is Golding saying about society?

25. Anagrams

26. Essay questions
1. Piggy is a tragic figure. He is a victim and an outsider,
but his role in the novel is just as important as that of Jack
and Ralph. Discuss.
2. When the boys are choosing a leader we are told that
‘the most obvious leader was Jack’. Do you agree with this?
Explore Jack’s leadership throughout the novel.
3. Lord of the Flies is regarded as an allegorical novel? What does this mean? What are its main symbols?
4. The characters’ loss of identity is a key theme in the
novel. Discuss each of the main characters’ loss of identity
as the story progresses, and how this brings about the
disintegration that develops.