Lord of the Flies
Island savagery tale
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by William Golding about British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island who descend into savagery.
The title refers to Beelzebub, a biblical demon.
The phrase has become shorthand for how quickly civilization breaks down without social constraints: The office became Lord of the Flies after the manager quit.
- RalphMale given name
- JackMale court card
- SimonMasculine given name
- conchSpiral-shelled marine gastropod
specs · beastie · parachutist · island · lagoon · scar · hunting · feast
Representing concepts through images
- microcosmMiniature representation of larger whole
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- human-natureInherent behavioral tendencies
morality · order · chaos · evil · fallen · society · breakdown · regression
Water-bounded land mass
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- maroonedLeft stranded and helpless
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
- remotenessQuality of being faraway
separation · confinement · exclusion · outsider · Simon · loneliness · alienation · uninhabited
Ability to solve problems creatively
- shelterProtected place or structure
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- rescueSave from harm
- fireCombustion with flames
signal · fruit · hunting · pigs · water · coconuts · wilderness · hunger
Superior influence over others
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
- leadershipAbility to direct others
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
manipulation · coercion · dictatorship · supremacy · subjugation · control · rivalry · chief
Golding
conch · specs · beastie · parachutist · island · lagoon · scar · hunting · feast · tribe
symbolism
Representing concepts through images
- microcosmMiniature representation of larger whole
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
human-nature · morality · order · chaos · evil · fallen · society · breakdown · regression · primitive
island
Water-bounded land mass
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- maroonedLeft stranded and helpless
- abandonmentAct of leaving permanently
remoteness · separation · confinement · exclusion · outsider · Simon · loneliness · alienation · uninhabited · tropical
resourcefulness
Ability to solve problems creatively
fire · signal · fruit · hunting · pigs · water · coconuts · wilderness · hunger · elements
dominance
Superior influence over others
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
- leadershipAbility to direct others
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
hierarchy · manipulation · coercion · dictatorship · supremacy · subjugation · control · rivalry · chief · hunters
- 20th Century Books1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Catch-22, Grapes of Wrath
- British LiteratureShakespeare, Dickens, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Austen
- Classic BooksPride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, Moby-Dick, Great Expectations
- British ClassicsPride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist
- CastawaysRobinson Crusoe, castaway, Gilligan, shipwreck, stranded
- classicsHomer, Iliad, the Iliad, Odyssey, the Odyssey
Lord of the FliesSwiss Family Robinson
Castaway family survival tale
Robinson Crusoe · utopian fiction · rescue story · redemption narrative · happy ending
Lord of the FliesPeter Pan
Eternal child who flies
utopian fiction · The Secret Garden · Pollyanna · A Christmas Carol · Les Misérables
Lord of the FliesPrince of Peace
Prophetic title for Jesus
angel of light · Garden of Eden · Narnia · divine grace · Pilgrim's Progress
lord, lords, lordly, lordship, lordless, overlord, landlord, flies, flying