Themes

**EQ: What is theme? How does the author reveal and develop the theme(s) throughout the course of a novel?**

 The following themes are presented, developed and supported throughout the story.

 **1. Good versus Evil** - what the characters do and why they do it - Good verses evil is displayed in this book because Ralph and Piggy are sort of on the common sense side of things and all they want to do is get rescued and go home. On the other hand, Jack and his hunters (which is slowly becoming most of the group) are sort of evil in the way that they murdered Simon and are against Ralph and Piggy (who could be considered the "good" side). All they want to do is hunt and eat meat. At this point, they don't care about getting rescued, and they have also murdered Piggy now. They are hunting Ralph, but Ralph gets rescued, which signals good winning against evil.

 ** 2. The "Heart of Darkness" or how civilized people can descend into savagery ** - going from an advanced, orderly society into a primitive one ruled by "native" desires, needs and instincts. Are the boys turning into "savages"? Who? Why? How?  -Jack and some of the hunters have started to turn into savages by being obsessed about hunting. Also, a reason they might be turning into savages is because they are desperate for a purpose in their time on the island. Since they have been away from society for so long, they might forget about the way things used to be and drift into their own ways.  **3. Rules and Society and the World of Adult Authority** - the importance of rules, common goals, adult versus childish logic and reasoning. Who are the "adults" on the island? Are rules necessary? Do we need to be surrounded by the confines of society act civilized?  -The main characters that act like adults would be Piggy and Ralph because they are trying to get the boys to help keep up the island and try to get off. We think that rules are indeed necessary. They keep things in order. We also think that people do need to be confined by society and act civilized or people would tend to follow their own ways and go crazy.  **4. Nature versus Nature** - is person born "good" or "evil" or does that person learn to be good or evil? Which has a stronger effect on a person: genetics or the environment in which he/she is raised? - People naturally have evil inside of them but they can also change throughout their life, either increasing that evil or trying to do something about it. In the book's case, Jack becomes savage-like because of his surroundings and the situation that they are in. Also, some of the boys start to follow him because of their situation and the need for food.

 ** 5. Survival of the Fittest ** - what characteristics are valued? Who is "fit" to make decisions? Why? What skills (physical, mental) are needed to survive on this island? Which chratcers have those strengths? -Jack is beginning to become in charge of the whole island. He is overcoming Ralph by fear. Now Ralph is on Jack's bad side and believes that he and Piggy are his next targets/victims.

 **6. Fear** - how does fear rule the characters' lives? Is it real or imagined?  -The beast is causing a lot of the littluns to have nightmares at night and cause the hunters to go looking for it at the end of chapter 6. They murder Simon because they believe that the beast disguised itself as Simon when they are doing their little hunting chant/dance. One of the biggest things causing fear is the beast.

 ** 7. Humans versus Nature ** - how do the boys treat their surroundings? Do they have a thirst for natural destruction? Are they working against their natural environment or using it their advantage? Why environmental messages are being conveyed in the book? - In the book the rain plays a big part in the survival and unity of the boys. They all need shelter, and when it does rain, the boys happen to be split up. They are all scrambling for shelter and it has a very big impact on the boy's relationship.