New
New
Year 9

Exploring structure, allegory and genre in Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'

I can explain how Golding structures the text and subverts the traditional adventure novel genre.

New
New
Year 9

Exploring structure, allegory and genre in Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'

I can explain how Golding structures the text and subverts the traditional adventure novel genre.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The deaths in the novel drive the plot - they escalate in brutality and intention as the novel progresses.
  2. Golding foreshadows the death of Piggy and the attempted murder of Ralph from the beginning of the novel.
  3. Golding's novel is an allegory about the importance of rules and the innate evil of mankind.
  4. Golding alludes to 'Coral Island' throughout the novel, arguably to offer a different perspective of the same situation.
  5. Golding subverts the children's adventure novel genre to create a horrifying allegory about the true nature of evil.

Keywords

  • Tyranny - an extremely brutal and cruel style of leadership

  • Allegory - a story, poem or image that has a hidden message, typically a moral or political one

  • Foreshadowing - an advanced warning of what is to come in the future of a text

  • To subvert - to undermine or go against the expected norm

  • Inevitable - certain to happen - unavoidable

Common misconception

Lots of students do not realise that this novel was actually inspired by an earlier, 19th century novel called 'Coral Island' by Ballantyne.

Golding uses the established genre and subverts its conventions to create a horrifying exploration of what evil truly is and where it comes from.

There is a fantastic news article from 2020 about a group of boys who were stranded on a desert island for 15 months that might be useful to set for wider reading, or use as part of a non-fiction lesson.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the Faber & Faber 1997 edition of 'Lord of the Flies' 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.
Which of the following is a structural device?
Correct answer: mirroring
simile
semantic field
alliteration
Q2.
How do the boys treat nature in 'Lord of the Flies'?
they are respectful and awe-inspired by nature
they are indifferent towards nature
Correct answer: they are disrespectful and destructive towards nature
Q3.
What does Piggy represent in 'Lord of the Flies'?
democracy and civilisation
Correct answer: rationality, reason and logic
savagery and evil
nature and humanity
Q4.
Which character from 'Lord of the Flies' is described as "sinister" in Chapter 1?
Ralph
Piggy
Simon
Jack
Correct answer: Roger
Q5.
Match the method to its definition.
Correct Answer:allusion,a brief reference to a character or incident from another text

a brief reference to a character or incident from another text

Correct Answer:imagery,the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures

the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures

Correct Answer:personification,attribution of human characteristics to non-human things

attribution of human characteristics to non-human things

Correct Answer:semantic field,a set of words grouped by a common theme

a set of words grouped by a common theme

Correct Answer:symbolism,the use of images, words or nouns to represent abstract ideas

the use of images, words or nouns to represent abstract ideas

Q6.
What might an allegory be?
an invented perspective or speaker used by a writer
a poetic form consisting of 14 lines, written in iambic pentatemeter
a short story typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral lesson
a brief statement that refers to a character or incident from another text
Correct answer: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning

6 Questions

Q1.
What is genre?
a group of texts written by the same author
a group of texts from a specific time period or era
Correct answer: a style or category of a text
Q2.
Which of the following deaths in 'Lord of the Flies' is intentional?
the death of Simon
the death of the mulberry-birthmark "littlun"
Correct answer: the death of Piggy
Q3.
Which texts does Golding allude to in Chapter 1 of 'Lord of the Flies'?
Correct answer: 'Treasure Island'
'Peter Pan'
'Robinson Crusoe'
Correct answer: 'Coral Island'
Correct answer: 'Swallows and Amazons'
Q4.
Why might Golding have alluded so distinctly to 'Coral Island' in 'Lord of the Flies'?
He wanted to show how much more appreciative and kind children have become.
Correct answer: He wanted to portray a different idea about how children might behave.
Correct answer: He wanted to subvert the adventure novel genre to share his allegory about evil.
He wanted to conform to the adventure novel genre in a fresh and exciting way.
Q5.
Why might Golding have wanted to end 'Lord of the Flies' with the hunting of Ralph?
because Ralph is the main and most likeable character
Correct answer: to symbolise that the boys are actively seeking to destroy civility and order
to show how democracy can never prevail in face of tyranny
Correct answer: to show how savage the boys have become as they meticulously hunt Ralph
Q6.
Match the vocabulary up to its definition.
Correct Answer:tyranny,an extremely brutal and cruel style of leadership

an extremely brutal and cruel style of leadership

Correct Answer:allegory,a story, poem or image that has a hidden message

a story, poem or image that has a hidden message

Correct Answer:foreshadowing,an advanced warning of what is to come in the future of a text

an advanced warning of what is to come in the future of a text

Correct Answer:to subvert,to undermine or go against the expected norm

to undermine or go against the expected norm

Correct Answer:inevitable,certain to happen - unavoidable

certain to happen - unavoidable