Lord of the Flies William Golding Background and

Lord of the Flies William Golding Background and Analysis Ms. Crystal Barbour Russell

William Golding • • Born Sept 19, 1911 Cornwall, England Attended Oxford University Studied English Literature and philosophy Joined Royal navy in WWII Career as school teacher Published Lord of the Flies in 1954

William Golding • LOTF - His first and greatest success • After it was published, he retired from teaching and wrote full time • Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983 • Knighted in 1988 • Died 1993 • His books deal with darker side of human nature

Writing Prompt • Are people inherently good or evil? • Or crazy?

Lord of the Flies Novel dramatizes struggle between impulse to have order, rules, and moral behavior AND the impulse to act self-indulgently, seek power over others, and behave amorally. Civilization/common good for society versus Anarchy/savagery/selfish instinct

Major Themes • Need for civilization – basic needs of society • Fear of the unknown • Blindness and sight • Use and abuse of power • Loss of identity • Evil within human beings • • • Survival Betrayal Justice / injustice Violence / death Leadership Loss of innocence

Lord of the Flies • • Ralph’s name – “counsel” (Anglo-Saxon) Jack’s name – “one who supplants” (Hebrew) Simon’s name – “listener” (Hebrew) Roger’s name – “spear” (Germanic)

Lord of the Flies Bart as Jack • Two extremes represented by: Ralph – protagonist Jack – antagonist

Symbols • Conch shell – symbolizes order and authority; organization. When Piggy dies the conch is destroyed. • Signal fire – symbolizes common sense and light of hope and rescue • Beast – symbolizes evil – both within and without; fear of the unknown

Symbolism Object/ Character Represents/Symbolizes Piggy, Clear-sightedness, intelligence. The glasses’ state represents Glasses/specs the status of social order. Science and technology Ralph, The Conch Democracy, Order. Simon Pure Goodness, "Christ Figure“ Martyr Roger Evil, Satan – sadist (likes hurting others) Jack Savagery, Anarchy, selfishness The Island A microcosm representing the world – 1 st chapter is life raft The "Scar" Man's destruction, destructive forces The Beast The evil residing within everyone, the dark side of human nature. Lord of the Flies The Devil, great danger or evil

Symbols • Huts – civilization, basic needs of society, shelter • Face paint – loss of identity and loss of self-consciousness • Sharpened stick – evil intentions of murder • Night and darkness – loss of sight, blindness • Samneric – loss of identity, normal people

Allegory • Social – conch, signal fire, glasses, Piggy, Ralph, huts, • Moral – beast, Lord of the Flies, jack, Roger, sharpened stick, • Religious – Simon, Lord of the Flies

Two movie versions