Introduction and Background Lord of the Flies 1954 Introduction and Background

Background of Lord of the Flies Just read this slide…no notes are to be taken yet Lord of the Flies tells the story of how in the midst of a raging war (WWII), a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. With no adults, the boys are left to fend for and govern themselves. The boys range in age from six to twelve, and Ralph, one of the older boys, becomes “chief” with the assistance of a conch shell, which when blown into, establishes order on the island.

Title Translation A. “Beelzebub” a Hebrew word for LUCIFER B. However, the literal translation of “Beelzebub” into English is LORD OF THE FLIES.

William Golding Born in Britain 1911-1993 L.O.T.F Author William Golding Born in Britain 1911-1993

As a child, Golding had witnessed WWI. This gives the author credibility in the novel. Remember, the setting of the novel is during WWII. War was something the author knew about.

1. we cannot escape our savage, violent tendencies and… Through LOTF, Golding is making the statement that: 1. we cannot escape our savage, violent tendencies and…

B. …and without social order, we enter into a state of chaos.

LOTF Symbols (Objects, characters, figures, or colors that represent ideas or concepts) Piggy’s Glasses: used to “see things clearly” both literally and symbolically Conch Shell- order/no chaos Snake- allusion—Garden of Eden from Bible; evil things

Important Images The Beastie = this will be discussed in chapter 1. It is unclear what the “beastie” is initially. Lord of the Flies= look at the picture to the right; this is the lord of the flies. Write your thoughts on what this looks like next to letter B on your paper.

TERMS to REMEMBER MICROcosm = The small things that make up the large thing MACROcosm= The large or the whole thing

Illustration of Micro and Macrocosms The large or the whole thing MICROCOSM= The small things (people, in this case) that make up the large thing

Modern Day Allusions Definition of Allusion- (n.) an indirect reference to a well-known person, event, place, story/storybook, etc… Example: KING MIDAS was a king that wished for everything that he touched to turn to gold. So if I say that a person has the MIDAS TOUCH, I am alluding to a person who is very successful in his endeavors in life, especially with making money (“gold”). There are many, many modern day allusions to Lord of the Flies in popular culture.

A Little Comedy For You… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOCipr_8N6A Right click to open the link

FYI---Survivor Mark Burnett’s CBS island show is said to have been inspired by LOTF.

SpongeBob The episode Club SpongeBob is a spoof of LOTF.

Popular Music Bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Nine Inch Nails, AFI, Iron Maiden, Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd have written songs about or have alluded to LOTF in their music.

Character Analysis Ralph ~ Main character and Protagonist

Character Analysis Piggy: “fat kid”, as the author describes him; wears the highly discussed glasses

Character Analysis Jack: craves power; fierce leader of the choir boys

Character Analysis Simon- quiet; innocent; meets the “beastie”; often in forest meditating

Character Analysis Roger: choir boy; bully; follows Jack

Character Analysis Sam and Eric (Samneric is how they are referred to) Twins: love nature; always in forest; part of the “littluns” group; afraid of the dark