1. On Writing Lord of the Flies
“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.”
What does this quote mean?
--William Golding

2. Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is about a group of school boys from Britain who are marooned on a deserted island. They must learn to survive.
Could you survive in the wild with a group of people? Let’s find out.

4. William Golding British novelist Born on September 19, 1911, died 1993
Studied Science and English at Oxford
Fought in Royal Navy during WWII
Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day
At war’s end, returned to teaching and writing
Earned The Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983 "for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today".

5. Facts About the Novel First Published in 1954
Rejected 21 times before it was published
It was his first novel
Not successful until the early 1960’s
On the American Library Association’s list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of

6. Some Ideas posed by this novel
People’s baser instincts are often stronger than their nobler ones in creating human societies
We cannot escape our savage, violent tendencies
Without social order, we devolve into a state of chaos
The defects of society can be traced back to the defects in human nature

7. Inspiration
Golding once allowed his class of boys total freedom in a debate, but had to intervene as mayhem soon broke out
Experiences in war
Critical response to Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne
Philosophical questions about human nature

8. Philosophical Influence
John Hobbes
English Philosopher:
Man is by nature selfishly individualistic
Man constantly at war with other men
Fear of violent death is sole motivation to create civilizations
Men need to be controlled by absolute sovereignty to avoid brutish behavior

9. Allusions
Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the main characters from The Coral Island.
Simon from the Bible “Simon called Peter”,
Mention of Coral Island and Treasure Island
Numerous biblical allusions throughout

10. Golding’s Literary Technique
Heavy use of symbolism
Allegory: the entire novel is an allegory!
Def: The rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative so that objects, persons, and actions in the text are equated with meanings that lie outside the text.
Throughout the text the boys represent humanity as a whole.
Irony
Abundant imagery and sensory detail
Figurative Language
Simile
Metaphor
Personification

11. Lord of the Flies in Pop Culture
In Hook, Robin Williams compares Lost Boys to savages in LOTF
The Simpsons episode “Das Bus” is a parody
Inspiration for the anime series Infinite Ryvius
T.V. shows Survivor and Lost are said to have been inspired from LOTF
2006 movie Unaccompanied Minors makes reference to LOTF

12. Power/leadership styles Civilization vs. Savagery Loss of Innocence
Themes (ideas for what could turn into theme statements…Remember, you are looking for the message about these ideas throughout the book.).
Survival
Power/leadership styles
Civilization vs. Savagery
Loss of Innocence
Human nature
Duality of man
Nature Vs. Nurture
Good Vs. Evil

13. Lord of the Flies Essential Questions:
What is man’s true nature? Are human beings inherently evil or savage?
Is power, by its nature, corruptive?
How does experience shape an individual?
Why do certain groups of people alienate, isolate, and attempt to exterminate other groups of people?