Lord of the Flies

1
Lord of the Flies

• By William Golding

Featuring Garfield
2
Background Information

• William Golding studied natural science and
  English
• Eventually became the most famous English
  novelist ever
• In 1983, Golding awarded the
• compelled Golding to join the navy
• During war he witnessed how men were
• Golding lost the belief that humans have an
  innocent nature. Even children he learned are
  inherently evil, thus foreshadowing his future
  and most famous novel, Lord of the Flies

3
Background Continued
No Sleeping just yet

• Lord of the Flies was first published in
• Because of Goldings experiences with war had a
  profound effect, his view of the world changed
  dramatically
• Golding searched for an explanation in the nature
  of human beings, in their capacity for and
• He took the idea of an innocent experience on an
  island and saw it in relation to the experience
  of Nazism and World War 2
• William Golding was born on September 19, , in
  Cornwall,
• he tried to write a novel as early as age twelve

4
Background Continued

• In 1940, a year after England entered World War
  II, Golding joined the
• Goldings experience in World War II had a
  profound effect on his view of humanity and the
  evils of which it was capable.
• After the war, Golding resumed teaching and
  started to write novels. His first and greatest
  success came with (1954),
• Golding wrote several more novels, notably
  Pincher Martin (1956), and a play, The Brass
  Butterfly (1958).
• He awarded the Nobel Prize for in 1983.
• Golding died in

5
Parallels

• Lord of the Flies is an (a story that has a
  literal mean and a symbolic meaning) because it
  can be read at different levels
• There are the ways in which the novel parallels
  the rise of , or any dictator
• Some characters may represent historical figure
  or types
• Lord of the Flies also expresses the use of
  and
• A myth is an ancient traditional story of and
  heroes
• A fable is a story with a specific or usually
  made up by one person.
• The message of this story is that is a powerful
  presence whose influence in us must be recognized

6
Lord of the Flies

• Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of
  English schoolboys stranded on a tropical island
  after their plane is shot down during a war.
• Though the novel is , its exploration of the
  idea of human evil is at least partly based on
  Goldings experience with the real-life violence
  and of World War II.
• Free from the rules and structures of
  civilization and society, the boys break into
  separate groups, some behave peacefully and work
  together while others rebel and seek only anarchy
  and violence.
• Although the setting is on an isolated island it
  represents the human struggles of versus

7
Characters

• Ralph  
• The novels , the twelve-year-old English boy
  who is elected leader of the group of boys
  stranded on the island.
• Jack  
• The novels , one of the older boys stranded on
  the island. Jack becomes the leader of the but
  longs for total power and becomes increasingly
  wild, , and cruel as the novel progresses.
• Simon 
• A shy, sensitive boy in the group. Simon, in some
  ways the only naturally character on the
  island,
• Ralphs lieutenant. A whiny, intellectual boy,
  frequently leads to new ideas, such as the
  makeshift sundial that the boys use to tell
  time. Piggy represents science and rational

8
Characters Continued

• Roger 
• Jacks lieutenant. A sadistic, cruel older boy
  who brutalizes the and eventually Piggy by
  rolling a boulder onto him.
• Sam and Eric 
• A pair of twins closely allied with . Sam and
  Eric are always together, and the other boys
  often treat them as a single entity, calling them
  The easily excitable Sam and Eric are part of
  the group known as the
• The Lord of the Flies 
•  The name given to the head. The Lord of the
  Flies comes to symbolize the instincts of
  power and cruelty that take control of Jacks
  tribe.

9
Theme Civilization versus Savagery

• The central concern of Lord of the Flies is the
  conflict between two competing impulses that
  exist within all human beings the instinct
  to , act peacefully, versus the , act
  violently to obtain supremacy over others, and
  enforce ones will.
• This can be shown in many ways civilization
  vs. , vs. chaos, vs. impulse, law vs.
  anarchy, or the broader heading of vs. evil.

10
Symbols

• The Conch Shell
• and discover the conch shell on the beach at
  the start of the novel and use it to summon the
  boys together after the crash separates them. The
  conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of and
  in the novel.
• Piggys Glasses
• Piggy is the most intelligent, rational boy in
  the group, and his glasses represent the and
  endeavor in society
• The Signal Fire
• The signal fire burns on the mountain, and later
  on the beach, to attract the notice of passing
  ships that might be able to rescue the boys. As a
  result, the signal fire becomes a barometer of
  the boys to .

11
Symbols Continued

• The Beast
• The imaginary beast that frightens all the boys
  stands for the primal instinct of that exists
  within all .
• This complicated symbol becomes the most
  important image in the novel that represents
  lies within every human heart

12
Novel Study Questions

• What is the status of Piggys father?
• What does Jack leave as a sacrifice for the
  beast?
• Compare the reaction of the fire in chapter 2
  versus the fire in chapter 12.
• Who is the most concerned about the conch?
• Why would Simon be considered a Christ figure?
• How are the littluns like the biguns?
• Why hasnt Ralph become consumed with killing and
  hunting like Jack?
• Why does Golding use the island as the setting?
  What is the islands purpose?