1. Lord of the Flies
William Golding

2. A Well-Loved Book
Noted author Stephen King has said that Lord of the Flies is one of his all-time favorite books.
It has been ranked #41 by the board at the Modern Library in their List of Best Novels.
It was ranked #4 by Time Magazine in their list of the 100 Best Novels written in English.

3. Lord of the Flies in our Culture
Many authors and poets have referenced the images in Chapter 8-A Gift for the Darkness.
Castle Rock Entertainment is named after Chapter 11.
The term ‘Lord of the Flies’ is used by psychoanalysts and other social commentators to describe a mental phenomenon.
A “Piggy-like” or “Jack-like” character is often used as a synonym for certain personalities.

4. Setting Time: ~1950s, after some sort of atomic
warfare has taken place
Place: A tiny, previously uninhabited
coral island in the South Pacific.
The children have crash-landed
here after their plane was shot
down while they were on some
sort of trip with their schools.

12. Meaning of the Title
The title is a reference to the Hebrew name Beelzebub, "god of the fly" or "host of the fly"), a name sometimes used as a synonym for Satan.
The reason why William Golding selected this for his book’s title will be discussed later (I don’t want to give anything away!).

13. Did You Know?
Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was William Golding's first novel.
It was adapted to film in 1963 by Peter Brook and again in 1990 by Harry Hook.
Best Seller in the 1960s
It holds position #70 Most Frequently Challenged Books of all-time.

14. Challenged Classics (in US only)
1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald 2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger 3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck 4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker 6. Ulysses, by James Joyce 7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison 8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding , by George Orwell 10.The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

15. LOTF in Popular Culture
Iron Maiden composed a song about the novel.
The song "Lord of The Flies" can be found on The X Factor (1995).
It is claimed that Mark Burnett's Survivor reality TV series was inspired by the novel.
Nine Inch Nails song "Piggy" is Trent Reznor's vision of a conversation from chapter 8 in the novel.

17.           "Das Bus" from season 9 of The Simpsons.

18. Major Characters Ralph Piggy Jack Simon
Sam and Eric (sometimes written as Samneric)
Roger

19. Other Terms and Concepts to Help
Creepers = small bushes, weeds, branches.
The boys in the novel are from mid-1900s England
Pink-the sun splashed color of the landscape of the island.

20. Worldview Explorations
Democracy, or voting, is always the best way to make decisions for a group.
Deep down, people are basically good.
It is possible for a book to change the way one views themselves.

21. Worldview Explorations
Without rules, human beings would revert to savagery.
Whenever a group of people live together, they will naturally develop a struggle for power.
Everyone is capable of murder.
When faced in a life or death situation, people will always act selfishly.
Any problem can be solved if you think about it long enough.

22. Worldview Explorations
Children are capable of savage behavior.
When faced in a survival situation it is better to be stronger than smarter.
Is it better to give up moral beliefs in order to survive?

23. Lord of the Flies
Discuss Chapters 1 & 2