Lord of the Flies

Study Guide/Discussion Questions

Chapter One: “The Sound of the Shell”

  1. How do the boys happen to come upon the island?
  2. Describe the relationship between Ralph and Piggy. Use specific evidence from the text.
  3. Notice what Ralph, Jack, Roger, Simon, and Piggy do in their first actions. What do these actions reveal about each character? Consider indirect characterization.
  4. What do you notice about Golding’s writing style? How is it similar or different from other authors and/or works we have read this year?
  5. What factors contribute to Ralph’s election?
  6. What do the boys have that is the symbol of authority in the society they form?
  7. What does the reader learn about Jack when he slashed the green candle buds?
  8. Why do you think Jack hesitates when he lifts his knife to kill the piglet, and what does he promise will happen next time he meets a pig?
  9. What does a little 'un think he has seen in the forest?
  10. How and why do the boys make fire? Why does the boys' plan for rescue fail

Chapter Two: “Fire on the Mountain”

  1. What changes have taken place in the community in this chapter?
  2. Describe the role Piggy takes in Ralph’s government and in the community.
  3. What do you think about Ralph’s handling of the boy who told about the snake? Why do you think Ralph acted as he did?
  4. What do you think the beast is?
  5. What are the goals of this society? Are they reasonable? How go they go about achieving them?
  6. Assess how effective Ralph’s government is?
  7. Describe the relationship between Ralph and Jack.
  8. What episodes thus far reveal a violent streak in Jack?
  9. What factors caused the out-of-control fire to occur?
  10. What is implied at the end of the chapter regarding the small boy with a “mark on his face”?

Chapter Three: “Huts on the Beach”

  1. What indications of the passage of time does Golding give?
  2. What signs are there of order and organization?
  3. How have the group’s goals changed?
  4. What do you think of Simon? Evidence? What is he doing at the end of the chapter?
  5. How have the attitudes toward the beast changed since chapter two?
  6. Do you think Jack and Ralph will overcome their feeling of being separate and unable to communicate? Explain your thinking.
  7. What do you think the next major plot development will be? What leads you to this conclusion?

Chapter Four: “Painted Faces and Long Hair”

  1. What does it mean to have a “life so full that hope was not necessary and therefore forgotten”?
  2. What factions now exist in the group?
  3. What do you conclude about Roger from the way he teased Henry?
  4. What effect did the painted “mask” have on the wearer? On others?
  5. Piggy suggests making a sundial. Would a clock be useful to the group? Explain.
  6. In the crisis of the fire going out, Ralph uses language in ways that have not appeared earlier in the novel. What are they and what does their use signify?
  7. How do you feel about the boys’ reaction to killing the pig?
  8. Do you believe Ralph or Jack’s world is more appealing to a majority of the boys? Explain.
  9. Do you think Jack’s apology to Ralph is genuine? Explain.
  10. What occurrences in the chapter alienate Jack?

Chapter Five: “Beast from Water”

  1. What realization does Ralph have before the meeting?
  2. What does Ralph remember that makes him flinch? Why does he react that way?
  3. Do you think talking about fear will help or make things worse?
  4. What does Piggy mean when he says, “There isn’t no fear … unless we get frightened of people”?
  5. What is Simon trying to say at the meeting? Why?
  6. How does the boys’ language change when Simon speaks?
  7. Piggy asks if they’re humans or animals or savages. How do you think he would define the differences?
  8. What points does Jack make challenging Ralph’s leadership? Are the valid? Explain.
  9. Do you think Piggy’s insights into Jack’s character are true? Explain.
  10. Do you think there is a beast? Who or what might it be?

Chapter Six: “Beast from Air”

  1. How is the appearance of a “sign from the world of the grown-ups” ironic? What is the message the sign gives the reader?
  2. Why doesn’t Ralph blow the conch in chapter six?
  3. What do Sam and Eric tell the boys they have seen? What is it actually?
  4. Why do Ralph and Jack decide to go find the beast?
  5. What kind of government or society is Jack endorsing in his challenge to Ralph?
  6. What does Simon’s “vision” tell him about the “beast”?
  7. What do you think will happen in chapter seven? What leads you to believe this?