Lord of the Flies, Chapters Ten, Eleven, and Twelve

When reading a novel, it is important to think about all of the choices the author makes to help the audience see his purpose. When the author includes ironic elements, whether they are situational, verbal, or dramatic, he or she often chooses the irony to help make the purpose even clearer to his or her audience. Golding used many examples of irony, from the initial plane crash to the deaths of some of the boys, to help illustrate the purpose of his novel, which included the idea that man’s heart is not quite as pure and good as most people would like to believe. That is why the novel was termed the Lord of the Flies. This is a literal reference to Beelzebub. When translated Beelzebub means devil. Clearly some form of evil overwhelmed the boys as time progressed on the island.