Lord of the Flies By William Golding William

Lord of the Flies By William Golding

William Golding • • • Born 1911 -1993 British novelist Master’s degree from Oxford University Became a social worker 1939 became a teacher 1940 joined the Royal Navy and became a lieutenant • 1945 resumed teaching and writing • 1954 published Lord of the Flies • 1983 won the Nobel Peace Prize for literature

Themes in the Novel • • • Need for civilization Loss of innocence Power Fear of the unknown Nature’s indifference The nature of mankind

Setting • Tropical island • Time of war • Twentieth century

Main Characters • • • Ralph Jack Piggy Simon Roger

Allegory A story intended to be read on a symbolic level. The characters, setting, and events are meant to have meanings other than their surface level meaning. Microcosm: a little world

Discussion Prompt Golding’s warning: “The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable. ” What does Golding mean in his statement of the moral of the novel?

Primitive vs Civilized State • Golding’s purpose in writing Lord of the Flies was “to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. ” • Golding believes society is corrupted because of the nature of mankind. • French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau’s theory is that science, art, and social institutions have corrupted humankind and that the natural, or primitive state is morally superior to the civilized state.