Lord of the Flies

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Lord of the Flies

• William Golding

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William Golding (1911-1993)

• Born in Cornwall, UK
• Studied anthropology, archaeology, literature in
  college
• Became a school teacher (1935-1961)
• Entered the navy during WWII participated in the
  invasion of Normandy on D-Day
• Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983

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Historical Perspective

• WWI the Great War or the War to end all
  wars
• Can we ever have peace?
• WWII the advent of the atom bomb power to
  destroy the world?
• Britain feared an invasion and evacuated children
  to other countries
• 1940- A German U-Boat torpedoed a British ship
  carrying children, killing the boys, thus
  suspending the oversees evacuation program

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On Writing Lord of the Flies

• It was simply what seemed sensible for me to
  write after the war when everyone was thanking
  God they werent Nazis. Id seen enough to
  realize that every single one of us could be
  Nazis.
• --William
  Golding

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Lord of the Flies

• Published in 1954
• Rejected 21 times before being published!
• On the American Library Associations list of the
  100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of
  1990-2000.
• Written partially in response to The Coral
  Island, a story of how people supposedly ascend
  in their goodness on an island.
• Human nature
• Duality of man
• Nature Vs. Nurture
• Good Vs. Evil

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Lord of the Flies

• Title
• Translation of Beelzebub or Satan
• Setting
• A tiny coral island in the South Pacific during a
  war when the atomic bomb may have (and most
  likely has) been used. This world becomes their
  microcosm, which is definitely one of your
  symbols!
• Plot
• A group of young boys is stranded on an island
  and they must negotiate the social issues of
  cooperation and self-government
• The outside world is consumed with war
• Main characters
• Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Simon, Sam and Eric

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Lord of the Flies

• Guiding Questions
• Does every human being have a dark side? Are
  humans inherently good or evil?
• What does it mean to be civilized?
• Rules of government democracy vs. dictatorship?
  What type of government works best? Why?
• What are the outcomes when evil is an influence?

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From the author
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Symbols

• The island
• The conch
• Piggys glasses
• The fire
• The beastie
• The littluns
• The pig
• The names of the boys

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Basic Philosophies to Consider While Reading

• Humans are inherently evil society establishes
  government to curb evil instincts
• We all saw a hell of a lot in the war that cant
  be accounted for except on the basis of original
  evil
• Humans are inherently good humans are born good
  and are corrupted by society
• Humans are inherently neutral our experiences
  determine the balance between good and evil
• Which do you agree/disagree with now? Choose the
  one with the closet alignment to your own ideas.

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Goldings Literary Technique

• Heavy use of symbolism
• Irony
• Figurative Language
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Abundant imagery and sensory detail
• Allusions (references to stories, names, history
  outside the text)

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Allusions

• Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the main
  characters from The Coral Island.
• Simon from the Bible Simon called Peter, Peter
  was the other boys name in The Coral Island
• Mention of Coral Island and Treasure Island
• Numerous biblical allusions throughout

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Lord of the Flies in Pop Culture

• In Hook, Robin Williams compares Lost Boys to
  savages in LOTF
• The Simpsons episode Das Bus is a parody
• Inspiration for the anime series Infinite Ryvius
• Mel Gibsons 2006 movie Apocalypto has a similar
  ending.
• T.V. shows Survivor and Lost are said to have
  been inspired from LOTF
• 2006 movie Unaccompanied Minors makes reference
  to LOTF

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Popular Culture Cont.

• Stephen King uses the name Castle Rock (from
  the novel) as the name of a town in his books.
  He also makes reference to LOTF in the novels The
  Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Cujo and Hearts in
  Atlantis
• Orson Scott Card makes reference in his novel,
  Enders Shadow.
• Degrassi The Next Generation, Danny Phantom, The
  Daily Show all mention the novel

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Source of Inspiration to Musicians

• Musicians U2, Iron Maiden, Gatsbys American
  Dream, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, A.F.I., and
  Danielle Dax have all recorded songs about the
  novel.
• Titles such as
• Where the Flies Are
• Touch Piggys Eyes
• Lord of the Flies
• Piggy
• Fable
• Boy
• Shadows and Tall Trees

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Sources Cited

• http//www.william-golding.co.uk/
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Golding