Lord of the Flies - Key Vocabulary and Concepts

Flashcards covering essential vocabulary, symbols, and concepts from William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies.

The Conch

An eighteen-inch, deep cream shell with fading pink lips, found in the lagoon and used to call assemblies and establish order by granting the holder the right to speak.

The Scar

The long, torn swathe smashed into the jungle growth by the cabin of the crashing airplane during the storm.

Piggy's Specs

Piggy's thick spectacles, worn since the age of three, which the boys use as burning glasses to focus the sun's rays and light the signal fire.

Littluns

The generic term for the younger boys on the island, around six years old, who suffer from nightmares, stomach-aches, and chronic diarrhoea while playing aimlessly on the beach.

Candle Buds

Simon's term for the aromatic, dark evergreen bushes with folded waxen green buds that open into wide white flowers under the evening stars.

The Mask

The red clay, white clay, and black charcoal markings applied to Jack's face, liberating him from shame and self-consciousness and compelling the other boys to follow him.

Castle Rock

A pink rock bastion at the tail-end of the island connected to the mainland by a narrow neck of land, which Jack establishes as the stronghold for his tribe.

Beast from Air

The body of a fallen pilot with a parachute from an aerial battle fought at ten miles' height, which lands on the mountain-top and bows forward when wind catches the lines.

Lord of the Flies

The decapitated sow's head jammed onto a stick as a gift for the beast, which becomes black with flies and speaks to Simon about the inherent evil within humanity.

Stick sharpened at both ends

A wooden stake prepared by Roger to mount the severed sow's head in a rock crack, later planned as the weapon for Ralph's execution during the final hunt.

Percival Wemys Madison

A mouse-colored littlun who weeps while reciting his home address at 'The Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Hants', an incantation that fades completely from his memory by the time the boys are rescued.

Ba'alzevuv

The Hebrew name translated as 'Lord of the Flies' (Beelzebub in Greek), representing a destructive force or modern psychological equivalent of the Id devoted to decay, demoralization, and panic.