Artist: The Beatles

Album: Abbey Road

In the first chapter of Lord of the Flies, we find out that a plane full of british school boys has crashed on an island. The first chapter focuses on two characters, Piggy and Ralph. As the boys start to understand the situation they are in they start to form a plan. Piggy finds a conch and tells Ralph to blow it, signaling any other survivors to come to them, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us”( Golding 16). Once all the boys are with Piggy and Ralph, Ralph says that there needs to be a leader, “Vote for a chief...Him with  the shell.”(Golding 22). This relates to the song “Come together” because in the song it says “Come together, right now, over me”. Ralph is basically telling the boys that they have to work together to live, “Listen, everybody. I've got to have time to think things out… Everybody must stay round here and wait and not go away.”(Golding 23). He also is asking everyone to come together with him as their leader, just as the song says.

“We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us.”(Golding 16)

“Vote for a chief… Him with the shell.”(Golding 22)

“Listen, everybody. I've got to have time to think things out… Everybody must tsya round here and wait and not go away.”(Golding 23)

Artist: Smash Mouth

Album: Astro Lounge

In chapter 5, Ralph calls an assembly because the boys will not follow his rules. He is upset because they completely neglect and disregard the signal fire. Ralph uses the signal fire as a way to make the boys feel safe by saying that the fire keeps the beast away. Jack states that if there is a beast that him and the hunters will hunt it and kill it. Piggy doesn’t think that this is the best idea and Jack begins to fight with him. The lyric “Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running” has a literal meaning referring to the chapter. Ralph tells Jack to listen to Piggy because he (Piggy) has the conch. However, Jack doesn’t seem to care. Page 91 states, “‘Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let him speak.’ Jack’s face swarm near him. ‘And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do.’” Ralph then has to remind Jack of the rules, but he still doesn’t care. Page 91 states, “‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’” The next lyric of the song is ‘Didn't make sense not to live for fun.” Jack only wants to do what interests to him, which is hunt. He completely disregards Ralph’s rules and decides to go off on his own and do what sounds fun. “‘Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong-we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-!’” Both of these lyrics have a symbolic meaning that alludes to the chapter as well. This section of the book has the theme “civilization goes to savagery” (not following the rules), which is also basically the theme of the lyrics. 

“‘Jack! Jack! You haven’t got the conch! Let him speak.’ Jack’s face swarm near him. ‘And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do.’” (pg. 91, ch 5)

 “‘The rules!’ shouted Ralph. ‘You’re breaking the rules!’ ‘Who cares?’” (pg. 91, ch 5)

“‘Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong-we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat-!’” (pg. 91, ch 5)

Artist: Luke Evans, Josh Gad

Album: Beauty and the Beast

In chapter six some of the boys see “the beast” while tending to the fire, “Fifteen yards away from them came the plopping noise of fabric blown open.”(Golding 98). The boys run back to warn the other boys of the beast and when they do they describe him as a horrid beast, “It was furry. There was something moving behind it head-wings… Teeth. Claws. We ran as fast as we could.”(Golding 100). This relates to the song because in the song it says “He’s got fangs, razor sharp ones. Massive clawes, killer paws for the feast.” The way that the people describe the beast in the song is very similar to the way the boys describe the beast in Lord of the Flies. After the boys describe the beast a few of the boys form a plan to kill the beast, “You can’t have an ordinary hunt because the beast doesn’t leave tracks. If it did you’d have seen them. For all we know, the beast may swing through the trees like what’s its name.”(Golding 101). In both the song and the book they people are trying to kill the beast.

“Fifteen yards away from them came the plopping noise of fabric blown open.”(Golding 98)

“It was furry. There was something moving behind its head-wings...Teeth. Claws. We ran as fast as we could.”(Golding 100)

“You can’t have an ordinary hunt because the beast doesn’t leave tracks. If it did you’d seen them. For all we know, the beast may swing through the trees like what's its name.”(Golding 101)

Artist: David Ogden

Album: Pocahontas

In Chapter seven all of the boys go on a hunt. They see a pig but no one gets to it in time to kill it. All the boys playfully start mocking each other for losing the pig, until it gets taken too far. “The circle moved in and round. Robert squealed in mock terror, then in real pian. Ow! Stop it! You’re hurting!”(Golding 114). The song Savages from Pocahontas talks about the savages that live on the land, The boys on the island and the savages in pocahontas show similar characteristics. “This is what we feared. The paleface is a demon. The only thing they feel is greed. Beneath that milky hide. There’s emptiness inside . I wonder if they even bleed.”  The song goes on to talk about how these people have become savage killers, similarly to how the boys start to lose control and hurt one another. “All at once, Robert was screaming and struggling with the strength of frenzy. Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife. Behind him was Roger, fighting to get close. The chant rose ritually, as the last moment of a dance or a hunt. Kill the Pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!”(Golding 114). The boys have lost their minds and threaten to kill one of their own. In the end the “kill” is called off, “Jack’s arm came down; the heaving circle made pig-dying noises. Then they lay quiet, panting, listening to Robert’s frightened snivels.”(Golding 115). The chapter goes on as if that had never happened.

“The circle moved in and round. Robert squealed in mock terror, then in real pain. Ow! Stop it! You’re hurting!”(Golding 114)

 “All at once, Robert was screaming and struggling with the strength of frenzy. Jack had him by the hair and was brandishing his knife. Behind him was Roger, fighting to get close. The chant rose ritually, as the last moment of a dance or a hunt. Kill the Pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!”(Golding 114).

“Jack’s arm came down; the heaving circle made pig-dying noises. Then they lay quiet, panting, listening to Robert’s frightened snivels.”(Golding 115).

Artist: Eagles

Album: Hotel California

In chapter 9, Simon is killed while attempting to tell the other boys that there is no beast on the island. The boys are caught up in all of the excitement of Jack’s wild hunting dance and chant, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152) Even Piggy and Ralph, the most civilized boys on the island, join in. Page 152 states, “Piggy and Ralph under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society.” (Golding 152) Shortly after Ralph and Piggy join in, them and the rest of the boys see a shadowy figure emerge from the forest which is Simon. The boys mistaken him for the beast and use their spears to rip him apart and kill him which goes with the lyric “They stab it with their steely knives. Page 153 states, “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.” (Golding 153) The lyric “But they just can't kill the beast” alludes to this chapter perfectly. The boys on the island go through all the trouble killing Simon, thinking that he is the beast that has been plaguing the boys with fear, but they don’t actually kill the beast. With the murder of Simon, the last of the civilized order on the island is stripped away.

Evidence Cited:

“Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (ch. 9, pg. 152)

 “Piggy and Ralph under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society.” (ch. 9, pg. 152)

“At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore.” (ch. 9, pg. 153)

Artist: Calvin Harris (ft. John Newman)

Album: Motion

This first lyric,“Guilt is burning, Inside I'm hurting,” describes how Piggy and Ralph felt at the beginning of chapter 10. They are ashamed of their actions the previous night on the island and feel guilty about playing a part in Simon’s death. As the chapter continues, the two boys begin to blame it on anyone/anything but themselves (“So blame it on the night, Don't blame it on me”). First, Piggy doesn’t want to accept the fact that the boys murdered Simon and uses fear as an excuse. “‘That was murder.’ ‘You stop it!’ said Piggy… ‘It was dark. There was that-that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was scared.’”(Golding 156) Piggy then claims that the whole situation was an accident. “‘It was an accident,’ said Piggy suddenly, ‘that’s what it was. An accident.’” (Golding 157) He wants to believe that both himself and Ralph were both caught up it the moment and that they were plagued by Jack and the rest of the group’s savagery (“Can't you see it, I was manipulated by it… I had no choice in this”) Then, Piggy blames it on Simon by saying that it's Simon’s own fault that he died when he says,“‘Coming in the dark. He was batty. He asked for it.’” (Golding 157)

“‘That was murder.’ ‘You stop it!’ said Piggy… ‘It was dark. There was that-that bloody dance. There was lightning and thunder and rain. We was scared.’”(ch. 10, pg. 156) 

“‘It was an accident,’ said Piggy suddenly, ‘that’s what it was. An accident.’” (ch. 10, pg. 157) 

“‘Coming in the dark. He was batty. He asked for it.’” (ch. 10, pg. 157)

Artist: The Doors

Album: The Future Starts Here

In chapter 11, Piggy is killed and Ralph is in complete shock, “The body of Piggy was gone. This time the silence was complete. Ralph’s lips formed a word but no sound came.”(Golding 181) Throughout the book Piggy provided common sense and wisdom, so when he is killed the island is just full of ruthless boys, “Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs, then sheared off and fell in the water.”(Golding 181).  The song The End by The Doors talks about the loss of friend, “This is the end. Beautiful Friend”. This is how Ralph felt when he lost Piggy, and not only did he lose Piggy he lost control of the island and everything on it. “ Ralph turned and ran… He obeyed an instinct that he did not know he possessed and swerved over the open space so that the spears went wide… Then he was crashing through the foliage and small boughs and was hidden by the forest.”(Golding 181). All the boys that once followed Ralph were trying to kill him. Ralph lost everything, much like the song says. “The end, Of our elaborate plans. The end, of everything that stands. The end, No safety of surprise.” 

 “The body of Piggy was gone. This time the silence was complete. Ralph’s lips formed a word but no sound came.”(Golding 181) 

“Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph. The point tore the skin and flesh over Ralph’s ribs, then sheared off and fell in the water.”(Golding 181). 

 “ Ralph turned and ran… He obeyed an instinct that he did not know he possessed and swerved over the open space so that the spears went wide… Then he was crashing through the foliage and small boughs and was hidden by the forest.”(Golding 181). 

Artist: Dirty Money (ft. Skylar Grey)

Album: Last Train to Paris

In the last chapter of Lord of the Flies, the boys are discovered on the island by a naval officer who noticed the fire made by Jack and his tribe. Ralph and the rest of the boys are overwhelmed by the fact that they are finally being rescued and began to cry. “And infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.” (Golding 202) The first few lines of the song, “I'm coming home, I'm coming home, Tell the world I'm coming home,” have a more literal meaning alluding to the chapter considering the boys are leaving the island and being saved. The next lyric in the song is “Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday.” At the very end of the book, Ralph cries tears of grief for the boys’ loss of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and Piggy’s death. “But the island was scorched up like dead wood-Simon was dead-and Jack had… The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body.” (Golding 202) He wants the devastating events that have occured during their span of time on the island (Piggy and Simon’s death/ the boys’ savagery) to be forgotten. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true wise friend called Piggy.” (Golding 202)

“But the island was scorched up like dead wood-Simon was dead-and Jack had… The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body.” (ch. 12, pg. 202)

“And infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.” (ch. 12, pg. 202)

“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true wise friend called Piggy.” (ch. 12, pg. 202)