Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. What does it
mean to say that
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical
novel? What are its important symbols?
2. Compare
and contrast Ralph and Simon. Both seem to be “good” characters.
Is there a difference in their goodness?
3. How does
Jack use the beast to control the other boys?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Of all the characters, it
is Piggy who most often has useful ideas and sees the correct way
for the boys to organize themselves. Yet the other boys rarely listen
to him and frequently abuse him. Why do you think this is the case? In what
ways does Golding use Piggy to advance the novel's themes?
2. What, if anything, might the
dead parachutist symbolize? Does he symbolize something other than
what the beast and the Lord of the Flies symbolize?
3. The sow's head and the conch
shell each wield a certain kind of power over the boys. In what
ways do these objects' powers differ? In what way is Lord
of the Flies a novel about power? About the power of symbols?
About the power of a person to use symbols to control a group?
4. What role do the littluns
play in the novel? In one respect, they serve as gauges of the older
boys' moral positions, for we see whether an older boy is kind or
cruel based on how he treats the littluns. But are the littluns
important in and of themselves? What might they represent?
