Lord of the Flies – Trial Activity
On the literal level, Lord of the Flies deals with what happens to a group of boys stranded on an island
with no adult supervision.
On the symbolic level, Lord of the Flies investigates what happens to civilized people when the
structures of civilization disappear.
How the activity will work:
The class will be divided into 3 groups
o The rescued boys from Jack’s point of view (Jack’s tribe)
o The rescued boys from Ralph’s point of view (the others)
o Adult judges (parents, police, and other authority figures)
Each group will prepare materials for discussion
The discussion will focus on the occurrences on the island and responsibility for those
occurrences
As a class, we will brainstorm the major conflicts in the novel that should be discussed
Group 1: Jack’s Tribe
Assign individual roles: Jack, Roger, Maurice, Robert, Bill, others
Consider the following questions by way of preparing for questions from the parents:
What happened on the island?
What events does each boy have firsthand knowledge of?
What events did each boy only hear about?
Which actions will each boy defend the most
emphatically/strongly?
What will each boy say about the others?
Prepare what you will say as individuals. Base your responses
purely on the plot from the novel and what you know about the
characters.
Once you are prepared, you will be interrogated by the adult
judges.
At the end, judges will give out punishments – and possibly
rewards – based on their findings.
Lord of the Flies – Trial Activity
On the literal level, Lord of the Flies deals with what happens to a group of boys stranded on an island
with no adult supervision.
On the symbolic level, Lord of the Flies investigates what happens to civilized people when the
structures of civilization disappear.
How the activity will work:
The class will be divided into 3 groups
o The rescued boys from Jack’s point of view (Jack’s tribe)
o The rescued boys from Ralph’s point of view (the others)
o Adult judges (parents, police, and other authority figures)
Each group will prepare materials for discussion
The discussion will focus on the occurrences on the island and responsibility for those
occurrences
As a class, we will brainstorm the major conflicts in the novel that should be discussed
Group 2: Ralph and the others
Assign individual roles: Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Sam, Eric, littluns
Consider the following questions by way of preparing for
questions from the parents:
What happened on the island?
What events does each boy have firsthand
knowledge of?
What events did each boy only hear about?
Which actions will each boy defend the most
emphatically/strongly?
What will each boy say about the others?
Prepare what you will say as individuals. Base your
responses purely on the plot from the novel and what you know about the characters.
Once you are prepared, you will be interrogated by the adult judges.
At the end, judges will give out punishments – and possibly rewards – based on their findings.
Lord of the Flies – Trial Activity
On the literal level, Lord of the Flies deals with what happens to a group of boys stranded on an island
with no adult supervision.
On the symbolic level, Lord of the Flies investigates what happens to civilized people when the
structures of civilization disappear.
How the activity will work:
The class will be divided into 3 groups
o The rescued boys from Jack’s point of view (Jack’s tribe)
o The rescued boys from Ralph’s point of view (the others)
o Adult judges (parents, police, and other authority figures)
Each group will prepare materials for discussion
The discussion will focus on the occurrences on the island and responsibility for those
occurrences
As a class, we will brainstorm the major conflicts in the novel that should be discussed
Group 3: Adult Judges
Assign individual roles: parents (ex. Piggy’s auntie, Ralph’s father in the Navy), police, other authority
figures (make up your roles)
In order to prepare a fair judgement, prepare a list of questions to ask the two groups of boys that
would help you determine who is responsible for the occurrences on the island. Consider the following
as you prepare your questions:
What do you need to find out?
How can you look beyond the boys’ personalities and
leadership styles to find an accurate depiction of
what happened on the island?
You must create questions that elicit both objective (either
yes or no) and subjective (personal response/variation)
answers.
When your questions are prepared, you will interrogate the
group of boys.
At the end, judges will give out punishments – and possibly rewards – based on their findings.