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 weren’t Nazis. I’d seen enough to realize that every single one of us could be Nazis.” What does this quote mean? --William Golding

Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies is about a group of school boys from Britain who are marooned on a deserted island. They must learn to survive. Could you survive in the wild with a group of people? Let’s find out.

William Golding British novelist Born on September 19, 1911, died 1993 Studied Science and English at Oxford Fought in Royal Navy during WWII Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day At war’s end, returned to teaching and writing Earned The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983 "for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today".

Facts About the Novel First Published in 1954 Rejected 21 times before it was published It was his first novel Not successful until the early 1960’s On the American Library Association’s list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.

Some Ideas posed by this novel People’s baser instincts are often stronger than their nobler ones in creating human societies We cannot escape our savage, violent tendencies Without social order, we devolve into a state of chaos The defects of society can be traced back to the defects in human nature

Inspiration Golding once allowed his class of boys total freedom in a debate, but had to intervene as mayhem soon broke out Experiences in war Critical response to Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne Philosophical questions about human nature

Philosophical Influence John Hobbes English Philosopher: 1588- 1679 Man is by nature selfishly individualistic Man constantly at war with other men Fear of violent death is sole motivation to create civilizations Men need to be controlled by absolute sovereignty to avoid brutish behavior

Allusions Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the main characters from The Coral Island. Simon from the Bible “Simon called Peter”, Mention of Coral Island and Treasure Island Numerous biblical allusions throughout

Golding’s Literary Technique Heavy use of symbolism Allegory: the entire novel is an allegory! Def: The rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text. Throughout the text the boys represent humanity as a whole. Irony Abundant imagery and sensory detail Figurative Language Simile Metaphor Personification

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 T.V. shows Survivor and Lost are said to have been inspired from LOTF 2006 movie Unaccompanied Minors makes reference to LOTF

Power/leadership styles Civilization vs. Savagery Loss of Innocence Themes (ideas for what could turn into theme statements…Remember, you are looking for the message about these ideas throughout the book.). Survival Power/leadership styles Civilization vs. Savagery Loss of Innocence Human nature Duality of man Nature Vs. Nurture Good Vs. Evil

Lord of the Flies Essential Questions: What is man’s true nature? Are human beings inherently evil or savage? Is power, by its nature, corruptive? How does experience shape an individual? Why do certain groups of people alienate, isolate, and attempt to exterminate other groups of people?