1. William Golding

2. Author Background Born: Cornwall, England
Fought in Royal Navy during WWII
War’s end returned to writing and teaching
Earned Nobel Prize

3. The World Golding Knew WWII 1939- 1945
Britain feared an invasion and evacuated children to other countries

4. Questions About Human Nature
Golding once allowed his class of boys total freedom in a debate, but had to intervene as mayhem soon broke out
Critical response to Coral Island by R.M. Ballanytyne-Parodic
Does man have a sinful nature?

5. It was his first novel- published in 1954
Rejected 21 times before it was published
It was his first novel- published in 1954
Not successful until the early 1960’s

6. Golding’s Style Heavy use of symbolism Irony
Abundant imagery and sensory detail
Figurative Language
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Golding is a master of all of these stylistic features

7. Facts About the Novel Rejected 21 times before published
Not successful until the early 1960’s
On the American Library Assoc. list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of

8. Whom Do We Think We Are?
“It was simply what seemed sensible for me to write after the war when everyone was thanking God they weren’t Nazis. I’d seen enough to realize that every single one of us could be Nazis.”
--William Golding

9. Themes in the Novel Civilization And Savagery compete.
Loss of Innocence occurs at point of wrong doing or the knowledge of wrong doing of others.
Essential illness is inevitable in mankind.
Goodness is rare and fleeting
Social order is necessary.

10. Allusions
Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the main characters from The Coral Island.
Simon from the Bible: Simon Peter (called Peter), was the other boy’s name in The Coral Island
Mention of Coral Island and Treasure Island
Numerous biblical allusions throughout

11. Symbols in the Novel The Conch- Civilization and order
The Beast- Represents the evil within ourselves
Piggy’s Glasses- Reason, science and insight
Lord of the Flies- From the Hebrew word Beelzebub, which means evil or satan
Fire Signal- Hope, salvation, rescue

12. Motif A repeated symbol, concept, or pattern in literature or art.
In Lord of the Flies, the pink granite and the butterflies are motifs. What do you think they mean?

13. Sponge Bob Squarepants
The episode Club Spongebob is a spoof of LOTF.

14. The Simpsons
The Simpson’s episode titled Das Bus is a parody of Lord of the Flies.

15. Survivor
Mark Burnett’s CBS island show is said to have been inspired by LOTF.

16. Popular Music
Bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Nine Inch Nails, AFI, Iron Maiden, and Pink Floyd have written songs about or have alluded to LOTF in their music.

17. Golding’s Message
“The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.”
--William Golding

18. Themes
“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."
- William Golding, Lord of the Flies, Chapter 12