The Flies Essay Questions

What does The Flies tell us about the political situation in France at the time of writing?

The play is extremely illuminating about the political situation in France at the time of writing, but only if we understand that it is an allegory and not really a Hellenic play at all. The anti-Fascist French wanted Marshall Petain, the Vichy France president, to defend France and maintain independence, but instead he capitulated immediately and collaborated with the Nazi German government. He ended up imposing the same policies and rounding up the same groups of people as the Reich; the Vichy French were, notably, of Germanic heritage and were supportive of the Reich even before they were invaded. This was unacceptable to the anti-Fascists who believed in freedom, autonomy, and democracy. The way in which the Argives capitulate to the invader so quickly in the play reveals how easily the French capitulated to the Germans. It also shows us how the Resistance grew at a grassroots level because it was the only way in which the anti-Fascist contingent could try to work to maintain a democracy and to regain freedom for France.

How does Sartre's philosophy intertwine with the plot of the play?

Sartre wrote Being and Nothingness the same year that The Flies was penned. At this stage of his writing, his philosophical interest was chiefly in the idea of freedom being the key to human consciousness. He believed that man should not be controlled by government; man should have the freedom to decide his own actions and only then can he feel responsibility for them and generate a future. He also believed that man could be blinded by freedom and not realize that he has it, blindly following the dictates of others when he should be interpreting the world around him for himself. This was reflected in the characters in the play; Orestes recognizes his freedom to think for himself but is the only character who has this awareness. He does not feel responsibility for murdering the invading King and Queen because he was forced to do so by the circumstances created by their actions. This is key to Sartre's obsession with Existentialism.

What is Sartre trying to tell his fellow French citizens through the character of Orestes?

Sartre is trying to inspire his fellow citizens to defy their collaborationist government and to interpret the situation around them for themselves rather than allowing Marshall Petain and his government to interpret it for them. He is also trying to lead them to stand up to the Occupation as he does. If they break a law for the good of the nation, then he wants them to do so without feeling a sense guilt or responsibility. Sartre himself joined the French Resistance, an anti-Fascist organization that made enormous contributions to the Allied war effort. Through Orestes, he is trying to tell his fellow citizens that they can only have a bright future if they shake off the chains of the past, and the first step to glimpsing this future is to interpret the world for oneself rather than accepting the interpretation of it given to them by an external governing force.

What does the play say about collectivity/community?

While the play certainly has a message about the importance of the individual and his/her choices and actions, Sartre also conveys something about the necessity of community and collectivity. Critic Andrew Ryder explains that the play "is as much about the creation of fraternity through revolt, the necessary forging of community by a break with the inertia of shoddy individual soul-searching, as it is about the act of a free individual." Orestes, after all, doesn't just not have remorse; he takes on all of the remorse and guilt of the city. It is a gift to them and a burden to Orestes, and even though he does not remain in Argos, he gifts the citizens their own freedom and sense of responsibility outside of the structure of a ruler and his subjects.

What are the meaning, signification, and importance of the flies and Furies?

In an allegorical sense, the flies represent the German occupiers; however, they also represent the plague of guilt and remorse that afflicts the Argives. The flies feast on the people's guilt like actual flies feast on carrion; as embodied by the Furies later in the text, they can devour Electra because she remains beholden to the culture of guilt, but cannot touch Orestes as he has chosen complete freedom. The flies, then, can only plague people who allow themselves to be plagued. Once Electra begins to feel guilt for the crime, the flies oppress her and then turn into the Furies, the goddesses of vengeance. If she followed her brother's path of total freedom, she would be liberated from her persecutors.