Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I. Introduction A. Post World War II Era—WWII scared everyone—even the winners

I. Introduction (continued) B. Two Opposing Views of Human Nature

I. Introduction C. The Story as an Allegory 1.What is an allegory? 2. What is a microcosm?

II. Main Themes A. Human Nature: Good vs Evil 1.What is good and evil? 2.Source for evil? 3.The God problem B. Civilization vs. Nature

II. Main Themes continued C. Loss of Innocence D. Fear and Ignorance (the unknown) E. The Love of Power

II. Themes continued F. Search for the Truth (blindness and sight) F. Loss of Identity

III. The Setting A. The island: paradise with cutting edges – a microcosm of the world

III. The Setting 1. beach and lagoon 2. fruit orchard (Eden) 3. jungle

III. The Setting

III. The Setting continued 4. The mountain 5. The castle (rock bluff) 6. Allegory of the island

IV. Characters A. Ralph B. Piggy

IV. Characters C. Jack D. Simon

IV. Characters E. Roger E. Samneric

V. Symbols (see symbol chart) A. Setting symbols B. Character symbols C. Object symbols

VI. Conclusion A. Psychological importance of Lord of the Flies to today’s world B. Social Importance C. Universal Importance