2. William Golding 1911-1993

3. Author Background  Born: Cornwall, England  Fought in Royal Navy during WWII  Invasion at Normandy during D-DAY  War’s end returned to writing and teaching  Earned Nobel Prize

4. The World Golding Knew WWII 1939- 1945 The fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940 Britain feared an invasion and evacuated children to other countries 1940- A German U-Boat torpedoed a British ship carrying children, killing the boys, thus suspending the oversees evacuation program

5. Philosophical Influence –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

6. Golding’s Literary Technique Heavy use of symbolism Irony Abundant imagery and sensory detail Figurative Language Simile Metaphor Personification

7. Published Works  1950s-1960s  Fiction Novels— the destructiveness and dark side of human nature.  Allegorical: Characters and events symbolize truths of human life. 1955 1954

8. 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 1990-2000.

9. Story Synopsis Set in mid 1940’s when Europe was engulfed in 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.

10. Themes in the Novel Civilization vs. Savagery Loss of Innocence Original Sin Fear that separates one from God Nature of Good and Evil Goodness is rare and fleeting

11. Symbols in the Novel The Conch- Civilization and order The Beast- The fear that separates man from God Piggy’s Glasses- Reason, science and insight Lord of the Flies- Evil Fire Signal- Hope, salvation

12. Modern Day Allusions Allusion- (n.) an indirect reference to a well known person, place, or event. There are many modern day allusions to Lord of the Flies in popular culture. For example….

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. The End “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