Welcome to Your Novel Study Unit: Lord of the Flies By William Golding

Biography of William Golding 1911-1993

Early Life Born on September 19, 1911 in Cornwall, England (In his grandmother’s house!) His father, Alec, was a schoolmaster (science) at Marlborough Grammar School His mother, Mildred, worked in the suffragette movement He and his brother, Joseph, attended the school where his father taught His father was a socialist with a strong commitment to scientific rationalism Golding was passionate about writing and began writing at the age of 7

Academic Life 1930 Golding attended Oxford University where he studied Science for 2 years (at the wishes of his parents) He transferred to English Literature and received a B.A. From Oxford in 1935 It was earlier that year that his first book, Poems was published in London

Marriage and Family Life From 1935-1939 Golding worked as a writer, actor, producer and a settlement house broker. 1939 he began teaching English and Philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School Golding married Ann Brookfield on September 30th, 1939 They had 2 children, Judy and David He entered the Royal Navy shortly after he was married in 1939 when WWII broke out After the war Golding came home to his family and returned to teaching and writing

Golding’s Work & Achievements Lord of the Flies was turned down by 21 publishers before it was finally accepted! It finally won Book of the Year award and in the late 1950s became a bestseller among American readers The novel was a great success for Golding and he became more focused on his writing In 1961 Golding resigned from teaching and devoted himself entirely to writing

Golding’s Work & Achievements In 1965 he received the honorary designation Commander of the British Empire (CBE) In 1983 he won the Nobel Prize for literature In 1988 he was knighted Golding died on June 19, 1993 after just finishing the draft of his last novel The Double Tongue

Golding’s Subject Matter Golding’s writing focuses on: the inherent evil in human nature human’s lack of free will human’s inability to find meaning in life isolation

Golding’s Bibliography POEMS, 1934 LORD OF THE FLIES, 1954 - INHERITORS, 1955 - Perilliset (suom. Eila Pennanen, 1985) PINCHER MARTIN, 1956 - radio play in 1958 ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY, 1956 (in Sometime, Never: Three Tales of Imagination) THE BRASS BUTTERFLY, 1958 (play) FREE FALL, 1960 - Vapaa putoaminen (suom. Leevi Lehto, 1986) MISS PULKINHORN, 1960 (radio play) THE ANGLO-SAXON, 1962 BREAK MY HEART, 1962 (radio play) THE SPIRE, 1964 - film in production 2008, dir. Roger Spottiswoode, screenplay Helen Edmundson THE HOT GATES, 1965

Golding’s Bibliography (con’t) THE PYRAMID, 1967 - Pyramidi (suom. Rauno Ekholm, 1987) THE SCORPION GOD, 1971 DARKNESS VISIBLE, 1979 - Näkyvä pimeys (suom. Kersti Juva, 1983) RITES OF PASSAGE, 1980 (Booker Prize) - Merimatka (suom. Eila Pennanen ja Hanno Vammelvuo, 1981) A MOVING TARGET, 1982 THE PAPER MEN, 1984 - Paperimiehet (suom. Kersti Juva, 1985) AN EGYPTIAN JOURNAL, 1985 CLOSE QUARTERS, 1987 - Laskusilta (suom. Eila Pennanen ja Hanno Vammelvuo, 1990) FIRE DOWN BELOW, 1989 (republished under the general title TO THE END OF THE EARTH in 1991) - Laiva tulessa (suom. Eila Pennanen ja Hanno Vammelvuo, 1991) - TV mini-series 2005, prod. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), dir. David Attwood, screenplay by Tony Basgallop, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Brian Pettifer, Victoria Hamilton, Jamie Sives, Sam Neill, Jared Harris THE DOUBLE TONGUE, 1995

Word Association LORD FLIES and

Lord of the Flies Let’s Make some Predictions...

Lord of the Flies

Questions to ponder Is it better to have too many rules or too few? What are the qualities of a good leader?

Forms of Government Authoritarian The rule of the few Anarchy Absence of organized government Democracy The rule of the many

Lord of the Flies Story takes place on a deserted island in the South Pacific A plane crash occurs and only the children survive The boys create their own society—a world of freedom Can they survive without any adult control?..... YOU WILL HAVE TO READ TO FIND OUT!

Themes…

Themes in Lord of the Flies Role of fear The evil within Leadership Rite of passage—Child to adult/innocent to experience Survival The cruelty of children The nature of democracy

The South Pacific Ocean