Lord of the Flies and MBTI

General Description: This advanced unit (recommended for students in grades 11 or 12) provides an introduction to the Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator (MBTI) as a means to understand literary characters and ourselves and to use that knowledge to improve decision making. Because of its specific focus, the plan can be part of a larger unit on Lord of the Flies. Golding’s novel provides an ideal context to explore MBTI because the four main characters—Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon—exhibit four distinct personality types as they face survival on a deserted island.