William Golding 1911-1993

Author Background Born: Cornwall, England Fought in Royal Navy during WWII War’s end returned to writing and teaching Earned Nobel Prize

The World Golding Knew WWII 1939- 1945 Britain feared an invasion and evacuated children to other countries

Questions About Human Nature Golding once allowed his class of boys total freedom in a debate, but had to intervene as mayhem soon broke out Critical response to Coral Island by R.M. Ballanytyne-Parodic Does man have a sinful nature?

It was his first novel- published in 1954 Rejected 21 times before it was published It was his first novel- published in 1954 Not successful until the early 1960’s

Golding’s Style Heavy use of symbolism Irony Abundant imagery and sensory detail Figurative Language Simile Metaphor Personification Golding is a master of all of these stylistic features

Facts About the Novel Rejected 21 times before published Not successful until the early 1960’s On the American Library Assoc. list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.

Whom Do We Think We Are? “It was simply what seemed sensible for me to write after the war when everyone was thanking God they weren’t Nazis. I’d seen enough to realize that every single one of us could be Nazis.” --William Golding

Themes in the Novel Civilization And Savagery compete. Loss of Innocence occurs at point of wrong doing or the knowledge of wrong doing of others. Essential illness is inevitable in mankind. Goodness is rare and fleeting Social order is necessary.

Allusions Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the main characters from The Coral Island. Simon from the Bible: Simon Peter (called Peter), was the other boy’s name in The Coral Island Mention of Coral Island and Treasure Island Numerous biblical allusions throughout

Symbols in the Novel The Conch- Civilization and order The Beast- Represents the evil within ourselves Piggy’s Glasses- Reason, science and insight Lord of the Flies- From the Hebrew word Beelzebub, which means evil or satan Fire Signal- Hope, salvation, rescue

Motif A repeated symbol, concept, or pattern in literature or art. In Lord of the Flies, the pink granite and the butterflies are motifs. What do you think they mean?

Sponge Bob Squarepants The episode Club Spongebob is a spoof of LOTF.

The Simpsons The Simpson’s episode titled Das Bus is a parody of Lord of the Flies.

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

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

Golding’s Message “The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” --William Golding

Themes “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." - William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Chapter 12