Lord of the Flies
SIGNIFICANCE OF LANDSCAPE IN LORD OF THE FLIES
By: Zahir, Morgan, Andrew, and Nour
In Lord of the Flies, the story’s setting on an island holds great significance to the plot. The seclusion or detachment of the island from the rest of the world signifies their detachment from civilization. Suddenly, they are left alone with only wild nature, and their own human nature which Golding expresses is based on “original sin.” They are cut off completely from the nurture of civilization and democracy, and the ideas previously instilled by society very soon wear off and the true nature of man is revealed.
On the island, there are at least four main settings that are emphasized in the story: The Mountain, the Beach, Castle Rock and the forest Simon visited near the start of the book. The landscape of each of these settings is uniquely significant to the story.
Mountain
• The mountain is used as a viewing point from the outside world in, as it is the highest point on the island. They put the fire here, and rely on it to send out a signal so they can be saved. “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make some smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.”P.37
• It’s a sacred place that holds the hope of being saved. Keeping the fire going is first priority, and since fire is only allowed on the mountain this makes this place very important. “The fire is the most important thing on the island...We ought to die before we let the fire out... We won’t have fire anywhere but on the mountain.”Pp.86-87
• The fact that the mountain takes a while to reach, when going to the top comes into play when they see the smoke of another boat along the horizon. “Ralph started to run, splashing through the shallow end of the bathing-pool, across the white hot sand...battling with the complex undergrowth that was already engulfing the scar...by the time he had reached the landward end of the scar he was using precious
By: Zahir, Morgan, Andrew, and Nour
In Lord of the Flies, the story’s setting on an island holds great significance to the plot. The seclusion or detachment of the island from the rest of the world signifies their detachment from civilization. Suddenly, they are left alone with only wild nature, and their own human nature which Golding expresses is based on “original sin.” They are cut off completely from the nurture of civilization and democracy, and the ideas previously instilled by society very soon wear off and the true nature of man is revealed.
On the island, there are at least four main settings that are emphasized in the story: The Mountain, the Beach, Castle Rock and the forest Simon visited near the start of the book. The landscape of each of these settings is uniquely significant to the story.
Mountain
• The mountain is used as a viewing point from the outside world in, as it is the highest point on the island. They put the fire here, and rely on it to send out a signal so they can be saved. “If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make some smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.”P.37
• It’s a sacred place that holds the hope of being saved. Keeping the fire going is first priority, and since fire is only allowed on the mountain this makes this place very important. “The fire is the most important thing on the island...We ought to die before we let the fire out... We won’t have fire anywhere but on the mountain.”Pp.86-87
• The fact that the mountain takes a while to reach, when going to the top comes into play when they see the smoke of another boat along the horizon. “Ralph started to run, splashing through the shallow end of the bathing-pool, across the white hot sand...battling with the complex undergrowth that was already engulfing the scar...by the time he had reached the landward end of the scar he was using precious