Lord of the Flies
Unit Review Sheet
These facts and definitions should be mastered throughout this unit. This page can be used for periodic review and study as you are finishing the unit and in the future.
Facts and Definitions
Lesson 1: The Call
- Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding as he grappled to find the root causes of the violence he saw during active duty in World War II. After the war, Golding returned to teaching and writing.
- An imagined universe that is perfect is called a utopia.
- The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia. A dystopian universe is a dangerous, uncomfortable, stressful place to live.
- Know the definitions of the following vocabulary words: incredulous, errant, furtive, susurration, sepals, decorum, discursive, leviathan.
Lesson 2: Life on the Island
- Direct characterization comes from the details an author specifically tells the reader.
- Indirect characterization comes from the aspects of a character the author shows the reader rather than tells the reader.
- A clause is group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
- Clauses that are complete thoughts are independent clauses. All sentences contain at least one independent clause.
- Clauses that are not complete thoughts are called dependent clauses.
- Dependent clauses are introduced by words called subordinating conjunctions. Words like "because," "when," and "wherever" are examples.
Lesson 3: Paths in the Jungle
- Annotate means to use a pencil or pen to interact with and ensure a close reading of a text. You can highlight, write comments or notes with your questions and reactions in the margin of a text, circle important words, underline main points, and draw stars next to supporting evidence.
- The thesis is the main argument an author puts forth, serving as the central idea that guides the entire work. It is typically expressed in a single sentence and provides a clear stance or claim that the author will support with evidence and reasoning throughout the text.
- The topic sentence of a paragraph expresses that paragraph's focus or main idea.
- An omniscient narrator exists in a space and time outside the story and can relay characters' thoughts and histories.
- A first-person narrator can tell a story only from his or her own point of view.
Lesson 4: Images from Paradise
- Imagery involves creating mental pictures that evoke one or more of the five senses for the reader.
- Tone toward a subject is the author's attitude toward the subject matter; it is communicated through word choice.
- Dependent clauses function as noun clauses, adjective clauses, and adverb clauses.
Lesson 5: Not Hunting, But Hunted
- Writers can increase tension and suspense by controlling the order of and rate at which information and details are relayed to the reader.
- Narrative pacing refers to the rate at which the plot unfolds in a story.
Lesson 6: Symbolism, Part 1
- A symbol is anything that is used to represent something beyond the meaning of the original; symbols are often more complex or more abstract than the original.
Lesson 7: Bowed and Bowed Again
- Dramatic irony is present when the reader or audience is aware of information that a character or characters in a story do not know.
- A noun phrase is composed of a noun and all its modifiers.
- A verb phrase is made of a verb and the other auxiliary or helping verbs.
- In adjective phrases and adverb phrases, two or more words work together to function as an adjective or adverb.
- Absolute phrases modify entire sentences. They add information but do not specifically modify or connect to any particular word in the sentence.
- Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun. Words like at, around, before, for, in, near, off, and over are examples of prepositions.
Lesson 8: Defects of Human Nature
- The theme of a text is its main idea or viewpoint.
- William Golding described the central idea of Lord of the Flies as follows: "The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature."
- A novel can have more than one theme, and some themes are more central to the text than others.
- Minor themes support, expand, or elaborate on a main or central theme or themes of a story.
- Know the definitions of the following vocabulary words: incredulity, guano, dun, oblong, obtuseness, luxuriance, illusive, theological, propitiatingly, ululation.
Lesson 9: Symbolism, Part 2
- Archetypes are universal patterns in stories of characters, plots, themes, symbols, images, and ideas.
- Common archetypal characters include the hero, the villain, the innocent, and the mentor.
- When objects, characters, and scenarios are used symbolically in a story to represent an abstract idea or principles, the story is called an allegory.
Lesson 10: Which Is Better?
- Complex societies are called civilizations by historians. Civilizations have common traits such as literacy, skilled trades, social structure, and dense groups or settlements. The characteristics of civilizations — which include highly developed government, science, and culture — do not guarantee good behavior.
- Savagery is the state of being untamed and often fierce. It is often considered to be the opposite of civilized. However, savagery can occur within civilizations.
Lesson 11: The Film
- Adaptations of a piece of literature involve changing the work to be used in another format or context, such as adapting a novel into a stage play or film.
- Subtext is content communicated from below the surface of work. Actors can communicate subtext to viewers through body language and other actions.
Final Project: Now You Have the Conch
- The thesis is your claim — the argument you put forth — that you explain and justify to your readers.
- A thesis statement is a sentence that is specific, arguable, and supportable.
- An outline is the plan of the structure of your paper that follows the ideas in the thesis.
- The process of revising (Activity 6) is methodically reviewing a draft of your paper with new eyes and making necessary changes to things like the clarity of the thesis, organization, support, errors in logic, style, etc.
- As the final step of the revision process, editing (or proofreading — Activity 7) involves fixing errors in grammar, spelling mistakes, and other sentence-level mechanical errors.
