Lord of the Flies William Goldings Masterpiece 1911

Lord of the Flies William Golding’s Masterpiece 1911 - 1993

Author and Context Ú William Golding was born on September 19, 1911 in England Ú 1940 Golding joined the Royal Navy Ú Participated in D-Day Ú Experience in WWII had a profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. Ú His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies (1954)

About the Novel u. Set in mid 1940’s when Europe engulfed in war. u. A plane carrying British school boys is mistaken for a military craft and shot down. u. Only the boys survive the crash, and try to form a society and govern themselves.

The Island

Themes u Civilization vs. Savagery u Loss of Innocence u Original Sin u Fear that separates one from God u Nature of Good and Evil u Goodness is rare and fleeting u Absolute Power

Allusions – Reference to a well known “thing” from history, literature, work of art • Classical literature • Mythology • Christian Symbolism

Symbols in the Novel u. The Conchu. Piggy’s Glassesu. Lord of the Fliesu. Fire Signal-

Religious Symbols Ú The Island. . . Ú The snake in the Garden of Eden Ú The parachutist and Piggy. . . Ú Jack and Ralph. . . Ú Simon. . .

Allegory Ú A work of fiction carrying two levels of meaning: - 1) a surface plot/narrative (literal) - 2) symbolic/metaphorical meaning in which everything in story symbolizes something greater

Concerning the Title Ú Beel’zebub- Hebrew translation for Lord of the flies Ú The title is said to be a reference to the Hebrew name Beelzebub ( , בעל זבוב Ba'al-zvuv, "god of the fly", "host of the fly" or literally "Lord of Flies"), a name sometimes used as a synonym for Satan. [3] Ú Ba‘al Zebûb might mean 'Lord of Zebûb', referring to an unknown place called Zebûb, or 'Lord of things that fly' (zebûb being a Hebrew collective noun for 'fly', thus the common lay translation 'Lord of the Flies').

Modern Day Allusions u. Allusion- (n. ) an indirect reference to something There are many, many modern day allusions to Lord of the Flies in popular culture. For example….

The Simpsons u. The Simpson’s episode titled Das Bus is a parody of Lord of the Flies.

Survivor u. Mar. K Burnett’s CBS island show is said to have been inspired by LOTF.

Sponge Bob Squarepants u. The episode Club Spongebob is a spoof of LOTF.

Popular Music u Bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Nine Inch Nails, AFI, Iron Maiden, Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd have written songs about or have alluded to LOTF in their music.

We’ll revisit themes, allusions, symbols, and the concepts of allegory and microcosm upon the end of the novel.