1. Lord of the flies
An introduction

2. William Golding was a British Teacher and Novelist
About William Golding
William Golding was a British Teacher and Novelist
He fought in the Navy during World War II
He also earned a Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983

3. THE WORLD GOLDING KNEW
WWII
Britain feared an invasion by Germany, so they evacuated their children
In 1940, a German U-Boat torpedoed a British ship carrying children, killing the boys, thus suspending the overseas evacuation.

4. Events of wwii
1939 – Britain joined France in war against Nazi Germany
1940 – Fall of France
1940 – Fascist Italy joins the Axis with Germany
1941 – Japan attacks Pearl Harbor causing the USA to declare war on Japan and enter the war
1944 – D-Day Normandy Landings
1945 – Bombing of Dresden
1945 – European victory celebrated
1945 – Atomic Bomb dropped in Hiroshima immediately killing 60-80,000 people (final death toll of 135,000 people)

5. 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. Ballanytyne
Philosophical questions about human nature

6. Facts about the novel
Rejected 21 times before was published for being too bleak and pessimistic
It was his first novel – published in 1954
It was not successful until the early 1960s
On the American Library Associations list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of

7. Story synopsis
Set in the 1940s when Europe was engulfed in an atomic war
A plane carrying British school boys is mistaken for a military craft and shot down
Only the boys survive the crash and try to form a society and govern themselves

8. The island they landed on

9. Themes Survival Power/leadership styles Civilization vs. Savagery
Loss of Innocence
Human Nature
Duality of man
Nature vs. Nurture
Good vs. Evil

10. Allegory
A work of fiction carrying two levels of meaning:
A surface plot/narrative (literal)
Symbolic/metaphorical meaning in which everything in a story symbolizes something greater

11. The role of an allegory
Allegories were the method of choice for education many years ago. Why?
Entertainment
Easy to remember = Easy to pass on
Underlying principles were used for teaching lessons

12. Allegory vs. symbol
They are similar, but an allegory is sustained longer, and is more fully detailed.
Example: In LOTF, Piggy’s glasses symbolize intellect and knowledge.
Example: In LOTF, the allegory of Piggy’s glasses express the eventual and unavoidable decline of mankind when faced with terms of survival.

13. Political allegory
The world was divided into two “camps” - the Free World vs. the Soviet Union.
Free World = Ralph
Soviet Union = Jack
The Cold War brought about fears of atomic destruction – those of which were materialized in LOTF

14. Religious allegory Piggy = the fall of mankind
Lord of the Flies = Satan/evil (living inside mankind)
Simon = quiet/observer; always does good to benefit others (littluns); used as the sacrificial lamb; he is the Christ-like symbol. His encounter with the Lord of the Flies is important because it represents something pure/good vs. evil in its worst form (Satan).

15. Name meanings Ralph = Anglo-Saxon word meaning “council”
Piggy = vulnerability comparable to vulnerability of pigs on the island; how much the other boys dislike him because of his intelligence (pigs=smart)
Jack = Hebrew word, “Yakov,” meaning “one who deceives” or “one who takes over”
Simon = Hebrew word, “one who listens,” “one who observes,” was one of Christ’s disciples
Roger = “famous with the spear”
Satan = Greek name translated to Beezlebub, which transfers to “Lord of the Flies” (the pig’s head surrounded by flies)

16. Golding’s literary techniques
Heavy use of symbolism
Irony
Abundant imagery and sensory detail
Figurative language
Simile – Uses like or as
Metaphor – Uses is or was
Personification – Giving human characteristics/traits to non-human things