Lord of the Flies

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Lord of the Flies

• Author Notes

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Author William Golding

• Born September 19, 1911 in Cornwall, Great
  Britain
• Died June 19, 1993

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Education

• Education Oxford University- studied Science for
  2 years.
• He then switched to English.
• He graduated in 1935 with a B. A. degree and a
  diploma in Education.

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Military Career

• During World War II, Golding joined the Royal
  Navy and served on a cruiser.
• He became a lieutenant in command of a rocket
  launching craft.
• During his naval career, Golding saw action
  against battleships, submarines, and aircraft.

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Military Career Continued

• He was present at the sinking of the Bismarck and
  took his rocket-launching craft to Normandy for
  the D-Day invasion.
• His experiences in the war influenced his views
  about human nature.
• Those dark views were first expressed in Lord of
  the Flies.

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Awarded the Nobel PrizeFor Literature in 1983
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His often allegorical fiction makes broad use of
allusions to classical literature, mythology, and
Christian symbolism.
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His Works

• Lord of the Flies (1954)
• The Scorpion God (1971)
• The Inheritors (1955)
• Pincher Martin (1957)
• The Paper Men (1984)

• The Pyramid (1967)
• The Spire (1964)
• Free Fall (1959)
• Rites of Passage (1980)

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Goldings Themes

• Goldings themes generally deal with the nature
  of mankind.
• Golding deals principally with evil, yet his
  writings emerge with a kind of dark optimism.

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• Evil is the inherent in the loss of moral values-
  an evil that manifests itself in war, brutality,
  death, and destruction.

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Lord of the Flies

• Is an allegory
• This means that the characters and objects are
  infused with symbolic significance that conveys
  the novels central themes and ideas.

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Lord of the Flies

• Based on The Coral Island by Robert Michael
  Ballantyne (1857), about boys shipwrecked on a
  tropical island populated by savages the boys
  adherence to English virtues enable them to
  triumph.
• This novel works as an allegory on multiple
  layers- it functions as a political, moral,
  religious, and social allegory.

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• This novel examines the idea of the Freudian
  Split the id, the ego, the superego, and the
  everyman.

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Lord of the Flies
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Situation

• A plane evacuating a group of schoolboys is shot
  down over a deserted tropical island
• This means that the boys have no adult
  supervision and are entirely on their own

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Lord of the Flies

• Character Notes

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Ralph

• The protagonist
• 12 years old
• Represents the civilizing instinct

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Jack

• The antagonist
• Leader of the choir
• Leader of the hunters

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Piggy

• Ralphs lieutenant
• Represents the rational, scientific side of
  civilization

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Simon

• Only naturally good character
• Christ Figure

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Sam and Eric

• A pair of twins closely allied with Ralph

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Roger

• Jacks lieutenant
• Represents the evil lurking within

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Themes

• Themes are the fundamental and often universal
  ideas explored in a literary work.

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Civilization vs. Savagery
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Loss of Innocence
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Symbols

• Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or
  colors used to represent abstract ideas or
  concepts.

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The Island

• At the beginning it represents Garden of Eden
• In the end, the corrupt nature of mankind.

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Islands Scar

• Mans destruction and corruption on the formerly
  peaceful tropical island.

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The Plane Crash

• Breakdown of society in the world outside.

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Big and Little Boys

• Represents emerging generations of evil and the
  evil that is to come.

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The Conch Shell

• Democracy and Order

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The Signal Fire

• Fire is hope and salvation rescue.

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Piggys Glasses

• Clear- sightedness and intelligence
• Their state represents the status of social order

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The Destruction of Piggy and the Conch

• Represents the absolute breakdown of society and
  reason.

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Logs and Spears

• Thrones of authority power.
• Masculine aggression and war. They are a phallic
  representation of male strength.

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Pigs Head on a Spear(Lord of the Flies)

• Evil
• Satan
• Darkness

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Killing of the First Pig

• The original sin

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Dead Man in Parachute

• Represents the beast

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Naval Officer

• Present generation of evil

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Movie Clip Journal 11/3/10

• Watch the clip.
• Were you surprised by the decision that was made
  by the people involved?
• Why or why not?
• If you were in that situation would you have
  wanted someone to push the button?
• Could you have been the one to do it?