1. Introduction to Lord of the Flies by William Golding

2. Learning Target: I understand two main experiences which led William Golding to write the novel, the Lord of the Flies.

3. Lord of the Flies is about a group of school boys who end up stranded on a deserted island and create their own utopian society. However, not all is perfect in this new paradise. Plot Summary

4.  Born in Cornwall, England on Sept. 19, 1911, he died June 19, 1993 at his home in southwest England. Author Background  He graduated from Bracenose College, Oxford in 1934.

5.  After the war, he returned home to England and became a schoolteacher. Author Background Continued  In 1940 [during WW II] he joined the Royal Navy and commanded a rocket launching ship and participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

6. Experiences that Led to Writing LOTF  As a child, Golding read The Coral Island by Scottish author R. M. Ballantyne (written in 1858) and the ideas presented stuck with him.  The story tells the adventures of three boys (Ralph, Jack and Peterkin) who end up marooned on a South Pacific island as the only survivors of a shipwreck.  This was one of the first works of juvenile fiction to feature exclusively juvenile heroes.

7. More Experiences that Led to Writing LOTF  During the war, Golding reread his favorite Greek writers and evaluated their negative view of mankind in light of his situation.  The war affected him profoundly and started his search for an explanation for the evil in man.  Golding has said that the novel is “an attempt to trace the defects of human nature.”

8. William Golding once said that after World War II, he wanted to say to the British: “You think you’ve won the war and defeated Nazism, so you’re all nice, decent people, but look out, the evil is in all of us.”

9. Even More Experiences that Led to Writing LOTF  As a school teacher, he gained insight into the minds of children.  Together, all these experiences previously mentioned formed the basis for Lord of the Flies.

10. Themes from LOTF 1.Leadership and Power 2.Nature of Man (origins of evil) 3.Civilization versus Savagery 4.Loss of Innocence 5.Fear (of the unknown and as a motivator)

11. Check for Understanding In your composition notebook write down the answer to the following question: What are two things that impacted William Golding and led to his writing the novel, Lord of the Flies ?