Doctor Who: Midnight Comparison to Lord of the Flies

In the episode 'Midnight', Doctor Who goes on a trip through on the planet with only a couple other passengers (another doctor, his assistant, a wife, husband and son and a lone woman) This episode eerily reflects the themes, characters and plot to William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies.


There are many plot similarities here to Lord of the Flies. One, the van breaking down and being stranded that's pretty obvious. When the driver says he saw something moving outside, that represents the mulberry kid bringing fear to the group with talk of a beast. Once the lady is possessed she kind of represents the beast, the physical aspect of it. The passengers figure they must have to kill the lady to be rid of it, reflecting Jack's thoughts on hunting the 'beast' Also, when they try to kill Doctor Who because they think he's the beast too that's sort of like when Jack is hunting for Ralph. When the hostess sacrifices herself for the good of others, that obviously represents Simon's 'sacrifice' to save the rest of the group.

The theme of Lord of the Flies is human nature. Basically, if humans are placed in a place where society limits have disappeared, they revert to their instincts or human nature...which isn't necessarily a good thing. In the episode 'Midnight', the passengers all seem very nice at the beginning, but once things go wrong the passengers change. For one, when they all agree to throw out the lady Doctor Who asks if they could really kill an innocent woman, which they all agree.

The characters in Lord of the Flies are also reflected in this episode. Doctor Who is obviously Ralph because he becomes the natural leader for the passengers when things go wrong. The other doctor is Jack, because throughout the episode this character is constantly trying to show up Doctor Who or contradicting him. Even as the episode nears it's end, and things are going mad the passengers vote that the other doctor should be leading them (much like how Jack created his own tribe). The other doctor's assistant is Piggy, because she is very smart but often put down by her boss, the other doctor. The son of the husband and wife can be thought of as a Simon figure, because in the beginning of the episode he is rather quiet and near the end of the episode he starts giving reasonably decisions and rationalities, however he too gives in to killing the woman. The hostess can also be a Simon figure because she sacrifices herself for the good of others.

Lord of the Flies Chapter 5 & 6

Chapters 5 of Lord of the Flies shows beginning of the break down of society on the island. The whole beginning of chapter 5, Ralph is getting ready for an assembly. The problems he addresses are: not going to the bathroom by the rocks, not everyone helping to build the huts and keeping the fire going. The group, especially the littl'uns, don't take it very seriously. Jack also keeps interrupting Ralph, even though Ralph has the conch. Ralph also questions why society is breaking down when the island was fun at first, but then people began getting frightened.This is the point in the story where the 'Beastie' becomes a bigger part of the story.

Jack blames the littl'uns for starting the scare of the 'Beastie' (the boy with the mulberry mark). This is a biblical reference to 'Cain and Abel', in which Cain killed his brother Abel with jealous rage. In return, God marked Cain for his sins so when people saw Cain they would be frightened. The boy with the mulberry mark is like Cain because the boy with the mulberry mark instilled fear into the whole group.

During this chapter, it is also implied that there is no beast but the boys are the beast themselves. For example, p. 83:
"What would a beast eat?"
"Pig"
"We eat pig"
Also on p. 89, Simon brings up this point.
"What I mean is...maybe it's only us"


Chapter 6 starts off on an ironic note. In chapter five, Ralph desperately wishes for a sign from the grown-up world while the others wish for their homes. This comes true, but in a dark way. A pilot from a war going on up above the island falls to the island. The pilot is soon discovered by the twins Sam and Eric on the mountain, they mistake the pilot for the beast and instill even more fear into the groups.

Ralph, Jack and the others immediately round up a group to search the island for the beast. On the way to the mountain, Jack discovers a 'shelter' and a large boulder placed precariously on the cliff. Jack wants to move everyone up there and the group agrees with him, but Ralph. Ralph makes a point that there's no water close by and no food. Ralph commands the group to move on. This is the beginning of the signs of a breakdown of the groups. P. 108 "Mutinously, the boys fell silent or muttering"

Chapters 5 & 6 are a turning point in Lord of the Flies because it shows the beginning of a breakdown in society and a breakdown in groups. The beast also becomes a bigger part in the story.