Lord of the Flies Themes Quiz
Lord of the Flies by William Golding · 15 multiple-choice questions with answers · about 12 min
Test your knowledge of Lord of the Flies with 15 themes questions with answers and explanations — the big ideas and what the writer is saying about them. Ideal for revision once you have read the whole novel.
The big ideas and what the writer is saying about them. Drawn from the whole novel — contains spoilers.
Skills tested: Theme · Difficulty: Challenge, Standard
The answers and an explanation for each question appear as you play, and on the answer-key page of the printout.
- What happens when Jack first corners a young pig tangled in the creepers?
He lets Ralph make the first cut · He drives it towards the water · He pauses, and the pig gets away · He kills it and shares the meat
- What rule does Ralph set for the assemblies?
The chief alone calls a meeting · Whoever holds the shell may speak · Hunters speak before the others · Only the older boys may speak
- What are the youngest boys doing while the shelters go up?
Eating fruit and playing games · Carrying wood up to the fire · Sitting in a ring to be counted · Weaving leaves for the roofs
- What happens to Piggy when he speaks up about the fire going out?
He is made to carry the meat · Jack hits him and a lens breaks · Ralph orders him to keep quiet · The hunters take his glasses away
- What does Simon suggest about the creature the boys fear?
That it lives out beyond the reef · That it may be the boys themselves · That the hunters have scared it off · That it is only a kind of squid
- What happens when the boys turn their hunting game on Robert?
Ralph refuses to take any part · Jack calls the group to order · The game nearly becomes a killing · Robert is made a hunter at once
- What do the hunters do with the sow's head?
Bury it by the bathing pool · Leave it as an offering · Hang it over the fire to cook · Carry it back to Ralph's camp
- How do the boys treat Simon when he stumbles out of the forest?
They push him in front of Jack · They take him for the creature · They make him join the dance · They carry him to the shelters
- What do the raiders take from Ralph's shelter in the night?
The shell from the platform · The spears the boys had made · The last of the stored fruit · Piggy's glasses from his face
- What is the significance of the shell breaking as Piggy falls?
Agreed rule ends with its holder · Jack loses his claim to be chief · The tribe is left without fire · The creature is proved real
- How do the hunters try to drive Ralph out of his hiding place?
They set the island alight · They roll rocks into the sea · They wait him out for a day · They block the pig runs off
- What does the shell stand for across the novel?
Agreed rules and orderly speech · Jack's claim on the hunters · The hope of being rescued · The boys' fear of the unknown
- What do Piggy's glasses come to stand for?
Jack's hold over the tribe · Reason and power over nature · The world the boys have lost · The weakness of the youngest
- What is the difference between the beach platform and Castle Rock as places?
One faces the reef, one the sea · One holds fire, one holds water · One is for talk, one for force · One is Simon's, one is Jack's
- What does the novel suggest about civilisation and savagery?
Order is a habit easily lost · Savagery is taught by hunger · Children need stricter rules · Islands make people cruel
Original questions written for Pagine. This book is in copyright, so questions paraphrase rather than quote it.
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