About the LotF exam section

Literature Paper 2

The Lord of the Flies Exam Section appears on Literature Exam Paper 2. This is a closed book exam, which means that you will not have access to the novel in the exam.

The whole exam paper is 2 hours 15 minutes long. This exam paper has three sections.

See below for the content of each section and timings:

Literature Paper 2 Guide (1).pdf

What you will be doing in the exam:

You will be given a choice of two questions to answer on Lord of the Flies. You only need to answer one question for this section.

You will be asked to comment on the novel as a whole, demonstrating your understanding of the big ideas in the text; how these are presented through different characters, key events, symbols and how they are shaped across the novel as a whole.

You should spend around 45 minutes answering this question.

Here is an example of how the question will be laid out in the exam (this is not the question you will get):

___________________________________________________________

Assessment Objectives:

A01:

This tests your ability to come up with your own interpretations (an informed, personal response), as well as your ability to make close reference to the novel. As you are not given a passage from the play in this section, you will not be expected to quote. However, you will be expected to refer closely to key moments in the novel to support your points.

Although there is no expectation to quote, it is helpful to keep in mind short key quotes which highlight different key ideas. Think about why they are important, where they occur in the story and what messages are being conveyed through them.

See our key quote section here: Lord of the Flies key quotes

A02:

Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate. Here are some examples of Language, form and structure techniques you could comment on:

Symbols and motifs in the play:

1. 1. 1. 1. The conch as a symbol of democracy. The conch in Chapter 1 helps to bring the boys together; it is used in the opening assemblies to give everyone a voice and fair say in the decision making process. The fact that the conch is broken and shattered beyond repair, shows us the destruction of society and its rules the longer the boys are disconnected on the island.
      2. Masks / painted faces and the links to savagery / allowing ones hidden nature to be revealed.
      3. The symbol of fire. Fire is a symbol, paradoxically, of both hope of rescue and of destruction. The signal fire represents hope, yet it also signals the destruction of moral goodness, and represents the dangerous and violent tendencies of the boys.
      4. Piggy's glasses reveal to us his different nature: he is rational and intellectual, much closer to the reasoned adult world, than the world of the boys that act upon impulse.
      5. The Beastie - symbolises the power of the imagination to create irrational levels of fear, and how these fears can be manipulated, magnified and taken advantage of by key individuals.

Characterisation:

Characters each represent different ideas (summarised below):

Jack - dictatorship; ruling using fear to control
Ralph - democratic leadership.
Piggy - intellectual faculties; using reason to underpin decision making, rather than going along with the dominant characters in a group

A03:

This is all about the attitudes, ideas and perspectives of the writer. You will gain marks for A03 if you cover any of the following in your response:

Ideas about power systems: democracy VS dictatorship.
Exploring what the author is revealing to us about human nature / the innate evil within us.
Contrasts between civilisation and savagery.
Ideas about loss of individual identity and group conformity, including bullying behaviours.
Hidden desires which emerge throughout the story.