Lord of the flies An introduction

William Golding was a British Teacher and Novelist About William Golding William Golding was a British Teacher and Novelist He fought in the Navy during World War II He also earned a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983

THE WORLD GOLDING KNEW WWII Britain feared an invasion by Germany, so they evacuated their children In 1940, a German U-Boat torpedoed a British ship carrying children, killing the boys, thus suspending the overseas evacuation.

Events of wwii 1939 – Britain joined France in war against Nazi Germany 1940 – Fall of France 1940 – Fascist Italy joins the Axis with Germany 1941 – Japan attacks Pearl Harbor causing the USA to declare war on Japan and enter the war 1944 – D-Day Normandy Landings 1945 – Bombing of Dresden 1945 – European victory celebrated 1945 – Atomic Bomb dropped in Hiroshima immediately killing 60-80,000 people (final death toll of 135,000 people)

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. Ballanytyne Philosophical questions about human nature

Facts about the novel Rejected 21 times before was published for being too bleak and pessimistic It was his first novel – published in 1954 It was not successful until the early 1960s On the American Library Associations list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.

Story synopsis Set in the 1940s when Europe was engulfed in an atomic war A plane carrying British school boys is mistaken for a military craft and shot down Only the boys survive the crash and try to form a society and govern themselves

The island they landed on

Themes Survival Power/leadership styles Civilization vs. Savagery Loss of Innocence Human Nature Duality of man Nature vs. Nurture Good vs. Evil

Allegory A work of fiction carrying two levels of meaning: A surface plot/narrative (literal) Symbolic/metaphorical meaning in which everything in a story symbolizes something greater

The role of an allegory Allegories were the method of choice for education many years ago. Why? Entertainment Easy to remember = Easy to pass on Underlying principles were used for teaching lessons

Allegory vs. symbol They are similar, but an allegory is sustained longer, and is more fully detailed. Example: In LOTF, Piggy’s glasses symbolize intellect and knowledge. Example: In LOTF, the allegory of Piggy’s glasses express the eventual and unavoidable decline of mankind when faced with terms of survival.

Political allegory The world was divided into two “camps” - the Free World vs. the Soviet Union. Free World = Ralph Soviet Union = Jack The Cold War brought about fears of atomic destruction – those of which were materialized in LOTF

Religious allegory Piggy = the fall of mankind Lord of the Flies = Satan/evil (living inside mankind) Simon = quiet/observer; always does good to benefit others (littluns); used as the sacrificial lamb; he is the Christ-like symbol. His encounter with the Lord of the Flies is important because it represents something pure/good vs. evil in its worst form (Satan).

Name meanings Ralph = Anglo-Saxon word meaning “council” Piggy = vulnerability comparable to vulnerability of pigs on the island; how much the other boys dislike him because of his intelligence (pigs=smart) Jack = Hebrew word, “Yakov,” meaning “one who deceives” or “one who takes over” Simon = Hebrew word, “one who listens,” “one who observes,” was one of Christ’s disciples Roger = “famous with the spear” Satan = Greek name translated to Beezlebub, which transfers to “Lord of the Flies” (the pig’s head surrounded by flies)

Golding’s literary techniques Heavy use of symbolism Irony Abundant imagery and sensory detail Figurative language Simile – Uses like or as Metaphor – Uses is or was Personification – Giving human characteristics/traits to non-human things