Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

blue-crystal
blue-crystal
Student
High School - 10th Grade

What is the difference between the beast from the air (parachutist), the piglet's head, and the real beast inside the children themselves in the novel?

why is the piglets head especially chosen as a title to the novel

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Posted by blue-crystal on Tuesday November 4, 2008 at 8:52 AM and tagged with beast, children, lord of the flies, parachutist.

Answers:


  1. gbeatty Teacher
    College - Freshman

    The parachutist is a real object, but transformed by the children's fears and failure to understand the world. The beat inside them is spiritually and emotionally real, but has no objective physical reality. The pig's head on a stick is a kind of totem; it symbolizes their transition from civilized humans to savages. As such, it is a kind of projection of their inner beast out into the physical world. That could be said about the parachutist as well: it is their beast-natures and ignorance which causes the boys to distort his reality and fear him.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/themes

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    Posted by gbeatty on Wednesday November 5, 2008 at 4:22 PM

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