New
New
Year 9

Golding's use of setting in 'Lord of the Flies'

I can explain how the settings represent the characters.

New
New
Year 9

Golding's use of setting in 'Lord of the Flies'

I can explain how the settings represent the characters.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Golding uses contrasting imagery to present the island as a utopian paradise that has the potential to corrupt.
  2. Golding uses the setting to reflect the condition of the boys.
  3. Arguably, Golding uses the setting to foreshadow the boys' descent into savagery by the end of the novel.
  4. By the end of the novel, the island is unrecognisable due to the environmental damage the boys have caused.
  5. The boys harm their environment as much as they harm each other, showing mankind's capacity for destruction.

Keywords

  • Utopia - a perfect or idealistic world-like paradise

  • Foreshadow - when the writer makes subtle hints about future events

  • Devolution - descent into a lower or worse state

  • To corrupt - to change someone from moral to immoral

Common misconception

Pupils think that the island is presented as idyllic in the first chapter.

Whilst there are aspects of the description that present the island as idyllic, Golding's descriptions are characterised by a sense of threat in more ominous undertones. He achieves this through his use of dark and light and through his use of verbs.

You could use a map to show how the boys destroy their environment by slowly taking over parts of the island one a time.
Teacher tip

Equipment

A copy of the Faber & Faber 1997 edition of 'Lord of the Flies' is essential for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
How do the boys arrive on the island in 'Lord of the Flies'?
a train crashes into the island
they are taken there on a school trip
Correct answer: a plane crashes into the island
the boys are shipwrecked onto the island
Q2.
Which of the following words has connotations of magic?
logical
Correct answer: enchantment
smashed
incredible
Q3.
is the place where a text's events happen.
Correct Answer: Setting
Q4.
is the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures in the reader's mind.
Correct Answer: Imagery
Q5.
How do the boys destroy the island at the end of 'Lord of the Flies'?
Ralph sets the jungle on fire to destroy the pig's head
Ralph hacks down all the trees to build himself a shelter
Correct answer: Jack sets it on fire trying to smoke Ralph out
Q6.
What is foreshadowing?
a detailed analysis and assessment of a text
the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures
the process of creating and developing character in a story
Correct answer: making subtle hints at events to come
a brief statement that refers to a character or incident from another text

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following words show that the island is utopian in 'Lord of the Flies'?
"invaded"
Correct answer: "dazzling"
"broken"
Correct answer: "glittering"
"darkness"
Q2.
Which of the following words show that the island has the capacity to be dangerous in 'Lord of the Flies'?
Correct answer: "darkness"
"incredible"
Correct answer: "shadowy"
"endless"
"shimmering"
Q3.
Which of the following words suggests that the boys have taken over the island and are exploiting its resources in 'Lord of the Flies'?
"thrust"
"shadowy"
"decaying"
Correct answer: "invaded"
Q4.
In 'Lord of the Flies', which of the following words does Golding use to describe the setting at the end of the novel, that reflects what the boys have become?
"split"
Correct answer: "monstrous"
Correct answer: "wild"
"jagged"
Q5.
What does the “scar” the plane crash leaves in 'Lord of the Flies' represent?
the suffering of the hunted pigs
Correct answer: the permanent harm the boys do to the island
Correct answer: the environmental damage the boys cause
the murder of Piggy, Simon and the littlun
Q6.
At the end of 'Lord of the Flies', Golding uses the colour "black" to describe the sky. Which of these is not a reasonable explanation for why Golding uses this colour symbolism?
the colour "black" could represent the darkness that has consumed the boys
the colour "black" could represent the savagery the boys have succumbed to
Correct answer: the colour "black" could represent how dirty and unclean the boys are
the colour "black" could represent the deaths of Piggy, Simon and the littlun