vietlordflies

The Lord of the Flies

During the Vietnam War a group of young men found themselves thrust on a land far from home and totally unprepared to deal with the beast that is part of war. An honest study of the war in Vietnam must involve the psychological impact of being so young, not knowing who the enemy was, and seeing man's inhumanity to man. The parallels between the actions of young boys castaway on a deserted island and some of the young soldiers who may have felt deserted in Vietnam become clear when one compares and contrasts William Goldings, The Lord of the Flies, and the Vietnam War.

One approach to this book in the course of a unit on the Vietnam war would be to have students write an extra chapter to the book. These chapters should include how the boys reacted to life once they were back in civilization, if they were able to discuss their experiences, and the problems they encountered. Chapters written by students could then be compared to the lives and experiences of soldiers who had witnessed man's inhumanity to man, as well as man's shadow side.

Teachers, be careful. This book and idea are not for the very young. This approach should only be used with mature and open-minded high school students or perhaps open-minded college students who have some background in psychology. Avoid judgmentalism and focus on understanding the psychology of why man can do what he does in times of desperation and in times of war. For a deeper understanding of this aspect of a unit on Vietnam, I highly recommend the use of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Lord of the Flies Discussion Guide Author: William Golding

Discussion Guide by Pat Bowes

Setting: Island in the Pacific, 1940’s

Main Characters:
   : Ralph
   : Jack Merridew
   : Piggy
   : Roger
   : Sam n’ Eric -- twins
   : Simon
   : Percival Wemys Madison
   : Johnny, Bill, Robert, Harold, Henry, Maurice, Phil, Stanley

About William Golding William Golding was born in 1911 in Cornwall, England. He spent two years at Oxford, where he changed his focus from Science to English Literature. His first publication was a book of poetry. Then, during World War II, he joined the Royal Navy and participated in quite a bit of military action against ships, submarines, and planes. Afterward, he devoted his time to teaching and writing. In addition to Lord of the Flies, his novels include The Inheritors, Pincher Martin, and The Two Deaths of Pincher Martin. He enjoyed classical Greek, sailing, and archeology. He points to Euripedes as having had one of the strongest literary influences on his work.

Reading and Discussion Schedule

Section #1: Chapters one through three
Section #2: Chapters four through six
Section #3: Chapters seven though nine
Section #4: Chapters ten through twelve

Section #1: Chapters One through Three

Review each question and be prepared to discuss it in class. Choose any 3 questions and write notes to prepare your comments in class. You do not have to write a formal response. You will be graded on your preparedness and the intellectual level of your comments in class.

1) What happened? Why are these boys on an island?

2) Choose two of these characters and write three adjectives to explain them. Use
evidence from the story to support your adjectives.
: Ralph, Piggy, Jack

3) Who becomes the leader?
   How does he become the leader? Was this fair?
   Do you see evidence that the chosen leader has leadership qualities?
   Do you think Piggy would make a better leader?
   Do you feel they needed a leader? Why or why not?
   If you were in a similar situation, could you be the leader? Why or why not?

4) Soon our country will be electing a new President and Congress. Over the next four
    years, the President and Congress will introduce and pass many laws that will
    affect your lives. What Amendment to the Constitution explains how old a person
    has to be to vote? How old do you have to be to vote? Do you think you should be
    allowed to vote for your leaders this November? Why or why not?

5) If you were to consider what the boys established early as a government, what form
of government did they establish? Support your response. Continuing with this
metaphor, what would Jack’s group represent?

6) Explain the relationship between Ralph and Jack.

7) The group decides to have rules. Are rules important in a society? Why can’t we all
just do what we want to do? Why should we have to live by the rules of the United
States? (You didn’t make these rules, they were made long before you were born!)

8) On page 34 the author writes of Ralph, “Something he had not known was there
    rose in him and compelled him to make the point, loudly and again. ‘But I tell you
    there isn’t a beast.’” Why did Ralph feel compelled to say this loudly and again?
    What does the author mean by this passage?

9) Ralph and Jack have different priorities. What does each person believe is most
important to do first? With whom do you agree? Why?

Section #2: Chapters Four through Six

1) Although there are no parents or adults on the island, Maurice “still felt the unease
    of wrongdoing.” Why would he feel badly about doing something wrong if there
    were no adults to correct him? Have you ever done something wrong when your
    parents were not around? Did you feel guilty about it? Why or why not?

2) On pages 57 and 58 Jack paints his face. Reread these pages and explain the
    psychology behind what he is doing. Take into consideration the effect his action
    will have on others and comment on it. Predict how will this affect the rest of the
    story?

3) Agree or disagree with this statement and provide specific evidence to support your
position: Piggy is discriminated against.

4) After Jack breaks Piggy’s glasses, Jack goes on to mock Piggy and make fun of
him. The hunters begin to laugh hysterically. How did Ralph react? Have you ever
been in a similar situation and reacted the way Ralph did? Explain.

5) During his Inaugural Address in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “... the
only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Relate his famous comment to this section
of the book.

6) How does Simon feel about speaking up? What is it about “mankind’s essential
illness” that he is trying to explain (p 80)?

7) If you feel you have a challenging and interesting question for the group, write your
question and answer, and then share it in class. This will serve as one of your
three responses.

Section #3 - Chapters 7 through 9

1) Why do you think Ralph begins to like hunting?

2) Jack, Ralph, and Roger see a beast on top of a mountain. What is the beast and
how did it get there?

3) Why do you think Simon says “You’ll get back all right.” Does Ralph find Simon’s
comment odd?

4) In the United States we intentionally prevent the military from running the
government, and we established the president and Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces. Why is this important? Relate this thought to the story.

5) When Simon sees the Lord of the Flies, the author writes on page 125, “At last
    Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood -- and
    his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition.” What is that ancient,
    inescapable recognition”?

6) Throughout the story, Ralph has felt the fire is the most important thing on the
island. Why? Do you agree? Why does William Golding have Ralph constantly
mention this?

7) Explain the meaning of Simon’s interlude with the Lord of the Flies at the end of
chapter eight on pages 130 and 131.

8) I had a relative, Father Dan Rice, who was a missionary priest in India and he said,
“Feed a hungry man and he’ll do anything for you.” Relate this thought of Father
Dan Rice to the events in chapter nine.

9) What happened at the end of chapter nine? Why did it happen? Why didn’t Ralph
stop it?

Section #4: Chapters 10 through 12

1) In chapter 10, Ralph and Piggy are discussing what had happened to Simon.
    Ralph says, “That was murder. ... I wasn’t scared, I was -- I don’t know what I was.”
    If he wasn’t scared, what was Ralph that fateful night? What happened to him?
    Why is Piggy disagreeing?

2) “Memory of the dance that none of them had attended shook all four boys convulsively.” What is happening in this scene? Why are they shaking?

3) On page 146, Stanley is confused when Jack says they did not kill the beast. Why
would Jack not want to admit to killing the beast? (There are at least two significant
reasons.)

4) Why does the author mention that Piggy has myopia? Is this an important detail?
Why or why not?

5) Why do Sam and Eric want to have their faces painted? What did the author mean
when he wrote, “They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the
concealing paint brought.”

6) Compare and contrast this story to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

7) On page 168, Golding writes of Ralph, “Then there was that indefinable connection
between himself and Jack; who therefore would never let him alone; never.” What
does this passage mean?

8) Why are Sam and Eric instructed to throw their spears at Ralph “like a pig”?

9) “Now the fire was nearer; those volleying shots were great limbs, trunks, even,
bursting. The fools! The fools! The fire must be almost at the fruit trees -- what
would they eat tomorrow?” To what is the author referring?

10) At the end of the story Ralph reflects on life. Reflect on this story. What have you
learned?