Lord the Flies Notes 1

ENG 10R- William Golding’s Lord of the Flies

William Golding on his allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies:

“It was what simply seemed for me to write after the war when everyone was thanking God they weren’t Nazis. I’d seen enough to realize that every single one of us could be Nazis…”

Essential Questions for Lord of the Flies:

1. What makes an individual powerful?

2. How does individual power change in relationships with others?

3. Do individuals control groups, or do groups control individuals?

4. What creates anarchy?

5. How do fear and desire for acceptance influence human behavior?

6. Do adolescents automatically want to rebel against adult authority? Why or why not?

7. Does violence create power or control?

8. What is an individual’s responsibility to a community?

9. How do actions of characters reveal their personalities?

10. What does it mean to be civilized?

11. Is the restriction of freedom a good thing?

12. What qualities make a person a leader?

13. Are people influenced by their surroundings? How so?

14. Does good AND evil exist in everyone?

15. What is an individual’s responsibility to his or her community?

Complete the following activity in assigned groups: After a plane crash, you and your group are stranded in a tropical island. There is fruit in the trees, a fresh water spring, and fish in the stream, but no adults have survived. The clouds are gathering. (Why might this be significant? ) Discuss the following issues and come up with reasonable answers as a group.

1. Will you appoint a leader? Why or why not? If you do appoint a leader, who will it be and why?

2. Think of three jobs that will be necessary for the group to survive. Who will do these jobs?

3. What are three problems that you predict you will face? How will you deal with them?

4. Prioritize the following goals: having fun, working hard, trying to get rescued. Be prepared to explain and defend your choices.

5. Finally, consider the list of “essential questions” above. Which do you find the most intriguing and why? Come up with an answer to the questions you agreed on as a group.

TV's Lost is Indebted to William Golding's Lord of the Flies

By Adam Willard

Lost and Lord of the Flies are both stories of human survival and critiques on human nature.

ABC first broadcast Lost in the fall of 2004, and it wasn't long before the show became a big hit. The show's mix of intrigue, survival skills and critique on human nature seems to be what draws over ten million viewers each week.

The show Lost is so successful that after recently completing the third series, ABC has already announced a final three series - an unprecedented announcement in the land of TV series.

On the other hand, William Golding first published his novel Lord of the Flies in 1954. The novel's mix of intrigue, survival skills and critique on human nature seem to be what has made the book such a hit over the years. The book has been so successful that it is now required reading in many high school English classes.

The TV show Lost is by no means a copycat of William Golding's famous book, yet if looked at closely, there is no way the TV show could exist without the book. There are many ways in which Lost is indebted to Lord of the Flies. Some are obvious and others aren't.

To start with, the characters in both Lost and Lord of the Flies first arrived by plane crash and they landed on a deserted island. Also, although only a select few survived in both fictions, those who did were relatively unharmed.

In Lord of the Flies, only the children survived, with the oldest being about 12 years old. Not a single adult authority was left to help the kids in their survival or their attempt at being rescued. In Lost, there were many adults that survived (in contrast, few kids), but not a single adult authority. The reason this similarity is important is that in both fictions, the emergence of authority from people who didn't previously hold specific authority positions is a major force in moving along the plotline.

In Lord of the Flies, one of the main character's/leader's name is Jack, just as in Lost. If you consider it character-wise, Jack in Lost is more like Ralph in Lord of the Flies. Nonetheless, there's little doubt in my mind that the name Jack was chosen for Lost because of the prominence of the character Jack in Lord of the Flies.

Also, one of the first motivators in both fictions was securing food. In both Lost and Lord of the Flies, wild boar is the main (even only) source of meat and those who hunt it receive special recognition. Even many of the scenes, wherein the wild boar is charging the hunters and knocking them over, seem eerily familiar in both stories.

Early in the show Lost, as in the book Lord of the Flies, the fear of an anonymous monster or beast takes over the survivors. In both stories the fear of a beast makes most of the camp scared of the forest and they choose to stay on the beach to avoid it. In Lord of the Flies, the reader finds out that the beast is just a human, whereas the identity or source of the monster in Lost has not yet been revealed. With the strong similarities so far though, it would come as no surprise if Lost's monster was also of human origin.

Lord of the Flies first used the phrase, "the Others", in reference to an opposing tribe on the same island. The same phrase is used constantly throughout the TV series, Lost. The one major difference is that in William Golding's book, "the Others" were once a part of the original tribe, whereas the source of "the Others" in Lost is only occasionally hinted at.

It may be true though, that "the Others" in Lost are mainly survivors of other plane crashes who were once turned against their fellow survivors and made to join "the Others." This same thing explicitly happens at least once after the development of the two tribes in Lord of the Flies.

Also, something that is continually recurring in Lost is "the Others" killing people from the original surviving tribe. That's exactly how it happens in Lord of the Flies. One main difference is that the TV series Lost has gone on long enough that the killing happens back and forth, whereas in the book Lord of the Flies, the surviving tribe never attempted or succeeded in killing any of "the Others."

Finally, one of the central points of Lord of the Flies is a critique on human society and human nature. It can be equally argued that this is a central point of the TV show Lost. In both, the inherent evil nature of humanity is greatly considered. In Lost, several of the main characters have criminal backgrounds and are murderers. The rest of the cast just seem burdened by varying human weaknesses: pride, insecurity, and vanity.

Also, the ongoing competition between official leadership and subversive attempts at leadership is always a major plot point in episodes of Lost. This was the same driving force throughout Lord of the Flies plot.

As the TV show Lost continues, I have no doubt that more and more similarities between it and William Golding's classic novel will appear. A viewer may even be able to find out how the TV series will progress by reading Lord of the Flies. Only time will tell, but one thing is sure: Lost is deeply indebted to its predecessor, Lord of the Flies.

ENG 10R- Lord of the Flies prereading activity

Rules can come from religious codes of conduct, moral philosophy, experiences you have had, or any other source that has inspired you to behave in a certain way. Why do you have rules by which to live your life? What would happen if people did not live by rules? Are there different rules for different people, cultures, religions, etc.?

Directions: Read the following article, which was originally published in The New York Times on December 20, 2002. As you read, pay close attention to the boldfaced, underlined words and be prepared to discuss their meaning. Also, answer in complete and thorough sentences the questions that follow on a separate sheet of paper. Provide textual evidence to support your answers.

A Cadet Hopes to Honor his Father Killed in Combat- Chris Hedges

Jeremy D. Scott plans to go to flight school after West Point. His father's Army helicopter was shot down 12 years ago.

WEST POINT, N.Y. — When Jeremy D. Scott was 10, his father, a United States Army helicopter pilot, was shot down by rebels in El Salvador and killed.

The boy played out his grief on the living room floor. He set up plastic soldiers that fired away at a pretend helicopter. Then he swooped down with his toy gunship to wipe out enemy troops. No helicopters crashed when he played. In his games the helicopter pilots always won. The soldiers, little green plastic men, always lay scattered about, only to be righted again for another battle.

"Maybe I played a little rougher than other kids," Mr. Scott said. "Maybe my emotions were held in, coming out in big lump sums. Things built up. I was explosive. It was tough to watch fathers play with their sons. I don't know when I really got over it. Maybe when I began daily devotions."

He lived through a decade of anger and mistrust. Now 22, Mr. Scott said he still finds it difficult to cope with the fact that there are things about the mission the government cannot tell his family, such as where his father was flying and why he was in combat.

"I did not accept that my dad could be taken away," he said. "At first I was angry at the Army. I blamed the Army for taking him from me."

But the pull of devotion and the sense of duty would prove greater than his anger. For Mr. Scott, the struggle to rekindle the spark of his father's life and career translated into following the same path. Four years ago, it took him to West Point. This spring, Cadet Scott plans to graduate, then go on to flight school.

"My mother is a little wary about me going into aviation after what happened to her husband," he said. "But she has not opposed it. She just tells me it is dangerous."

He conceded that it has not been an easy journey; indeed, the twinges of pain are evident as he nervously wrings his hands as he speaks about the loss. But he sees his route as one that allows him to validate not only his own life but also that of his father. And giving in to anger, turning on the military profession that led to his father's death, was a negation he was not prepared to endure. In the end, Cadet Scott found that one of the most straightforward of the commandments — one that many can fulfill without great sacrifice — profoundly shaped his destiny.

"I do believe that through my life I am honoring my father," Cadet Scott said. "For the most part I believe that any little boy growing up wishes to honor his father and make him proud. I remember my father telling myself and my mother that if I was to ever join the military to be an officer. Not only am I going to be an officer but I am graduating from a prestigious military academy. My father would be proud of my determination and ability to make it through West Point."

He carries in his wallet a high school picture of his father, Daniel S. Scott, a picture that his mother gave to him when his father died. In his desk he keeps copies of the military reports on the incident, filled with stilted jargon and cold descriptions of wounds and bodies. His father, according to a report dated Jan. 4, 1991, and issued by the Armed Forces Medical Examiners Office, "sustained blunt force injuries to the neck and chest resulting in incapacitation, unconsciousness and hypovolemic shock."

"CW4 Scott," the report reads, "died of injuries from the crash."

The two other American soldiers on board were executed by rebel gunmen after being pulled from the wreckage, the report stated.

"I don't speak about it much," Cadet Scott said. "A lot of the other cadets don't even know that my father passed away or the circumstances. I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable."

His father was a Christian who attended the Wyoming Bible Institute and Bob Jones University.

"He had a big booming voice," his son said, "a preacher's voice."

By the time his father was stationed in Central America, flying helicopters in El Salvador for American military advisers to the Salvadoran army, his contact with his son was mostly through letters. His father diligently wrote him two or three times a week and did the same for his mother and four sisters. The stacks of letters are now small personal treasure-troves.

"He called me Buddy," Cadet Scott said. "He would tell me to take care of my mother and sisters, that I was the man of the house. I was only 8 or 9 years old.

"The postcards he sent me were pictures of helicopters," Cadet Scott said. "I reread them a year ago."

But the cards and letters had asides and offhand comments that disturbed the son. His father mentioned that he could hear shooting in the streets near the air base. And in the last letter he described how one of the helicopters had limped back "full of bullet holes."

"He asked me to pray for him to have strength," Cadet Scott said.

He remembers flashes of the funeral service, like star bursts. The bright sunlight in the cemetery in San Antonio, the 21-gun salute, the array of men in uniform, the casket with the flag and air medal for valor, the way everyone was hushed and quiet, and the effort by his grandfather and uncle, both preachers, to come to terms with the death.

"My grandfather said at the funeral that he was proud to be an American," Cadet Scott said, "and while it sounds like a cliché, that got to us. Those words hit my family pretty hard."