WILLIAM GOLDING

Biographical notes Golding was a British novelist, poet and playwright of the 20 th century. He was born in Cornwall in 1911, he studied English literature at Oxford University and he had a lot of jobs like schoolmaster, lecturer, actor and musician. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy and spent six years in service. After the War, in 1954 he published his first novel, Lord of the flies. The novel was initially rejected but many years later it became popular with the film. In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature and in 1993 he died.

Lord of the flies: the Plot Divided into twelve chapters, the novel tells the story of a group of British children who become marooned on an island following a plane crash. Ralph soon takes over as a leader of the group, while Jack becomes leader of the hunting party and Piggy tries to maintain order. At first the boys seem to enjoy their lives but the situation soon changes. They are convinced that a ‘beast’ or a monster is hidden in the island and they organised an expedition to find it. Then Jack separes from Ralph and with his group kill a pig. When they have finished eating it, they celebrate a ritual by dancing around its head mounted on a stick but the boys, mistaking Simon for the beast kill him with their spears. Ralph tries to re-establish order and democraty but he fails. Piggy is also killed. Ralph finds himself alone but he is finally saved by a sailor.

The characters Ralph: All the characters in the novel are children, the oldest is 12. Ralph is the oldest boy on the island. Determined, rational and sensible. He soon establishes himself as a leader and tries to solve problems democratically.

Jack: Jack, together with Ralph is the oldest boy on the island. He uses his strength to gain more power. He instigates violence and does not really care of the group. Symbol of man’s innate evil.

Piggy: He occupies a weaker position in the group and represents the loser. He is overweight and suffers from asthma. He is also intelligent, likeable and friendly. His opinions are often ignored; the boys criticise him for his appearance.

Main Theme The central theme in the novel is the braking down of social structures, from peace to violence, friends to enemies, ending in savage death.

Symbolism IslandBeastConchSimonPig

The author’s message The novel shows the flaws of our society and the evil lurking in human nature. Golding aims to underlines the idea that every one of us is bad and capable of committing terrible crimes. When we are isolated, or find ourselves in a situation where there is not law, we are all capable of reverting to a savage state to survive. All the boys return to this ‘basic instinct’ except those who are capable of perceiving evil: Simon, Ralph and Piggy.