What would happen if we

took away the school

rules?

• No class
• No consequences
• No authority
 Are people naturally
good or evil?

• Consider babies.
• Consider war.
• Consider our natural
inclinations (Are we inclined to be
good or are we taught to “be good”?)
 About William Golding

• British novelist
• Born on September 19, 1911, died 1993
• Studied Science and English at Oxford
• Fought in Royal Navy during WWII
• Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day
• At war’s end, returned to teaching and writing
• Earned the Nobel Prize in Literature
 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
 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 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 135,000 people)
 On Writing Lord of the Flies
“It was simply what seemed sensible for
me to write after the war when everyone
was thanking God they weren’t Nazis. I’d
seen enough to realize that every single
one of us could be Nazis.”
--William Golding
 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
 Philosophical Influence
• John Hobbes
– English Philosopher: 1588- 1679
– 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
 Facts About the Novel

• Rejected 21 times before it was published

• It was his first novel- published in 1954
• Not successful until the early 1960’s
• On the American Library Association’s list
of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged
Books of 1990-2000.
 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.
 Golding’s Message

“The theme is an attempt to trace the

defects of society back to the defects of
human nature.”
--William Golding
As a child, Golding had
witnessed WWI, which
was referred to as “the
war to end all wars”
HOWEVER,
22 years later Britain was
again involved in
ANOTHER WAR
to end all wars, which
caused more devastation
than was imaginable
Through LOTF, Golding is making the
statement that we cannot escape our
savage, violent tendencies…
 …and without
social order,
we devolve
into a state of chaos
 Themes
• Survival
• Power/leadership styles
• Civilization vs. Savagery
• Loss of Innocence
• Human nature
• Duality of man
• Nature Vs. Nurture
• Good Vs. Evil
 Allusions
Allusions are references to other works of Literature

• Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the

main characters from The Coral Island.
• Simon from the Bible “Simon called Peter”,
Peter was the other boy’s name in The
Coral Island
• Mention of Coral Island and Treasure
Island
• Numerous biblical allusions throughout
 Title Translation
“Beelzebub” a Hebrew word for
LUCIFER
However, the literal translation of
“Beelzebub”
into English is LORD OF THE FLIES
 TERMS to REMEMBER
• Microcosm = A small
world that represents
the world at large

• Edenic = Eden like,

paradise like, a setting
that has not yet been
spoiled by man
 Golding’s Literary Technique
• Heavy use of symbolism
• Irony
• Abundant imagery and sensory detail
• Figurative Language
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
 LOTF Symbols
(Objects, characters, figures, or colors that represent ideas or concepts)

Piggy’s Glasses = The last

surviving evidence of the
lawful, structured world

Conch Shell = New

democracy on the island

Snake = Evil…reference to the

serpent in the garden of Eden
 Important Images
• The Beast = The
imaginary evil that is
projected onto the island
by the boys’ paranoia

• Lord of the Flies = A

pig’s head on a stick
that becomes the
physical acceptance of
evil on the island
 Character Analysis
• Ralph ~ Main character
described as “fair haired,”
having “broad shoulders…
[like a] boxer’s,” and has a
face that “proclaims no
devil”

Committed to civilization
and morality

Translation = GOOD
 Character Analysis
• Piggy \ Described as “fat,”
“intellectual,” asthmatic,
and needs glasses

Represents scientific,
rational side of
civilization, and social
order
 Character Analysis
• Jack ~ Described as
having red hair, wears
black with a snake
clasp, ugly

Cruel and manipulative

Represents our savage
instincts played out

EVIL
 Character Analysis
• Simon ~ Described as a skinny,
vivid little boy, who
“meditates;” and he faints,
which some cultures have
believed is a sign of connecting
with the spiritual world

Seems to be connected with

nature, and he has an innate,
spiritual goodness
 Character Analysis
• Roger ~ “Silent”
and sadistic
Targets the “littluns”
The only one to
premeditate murder
Kills without conscience
Pure evil
 Character Analysis
• Sam and Eric (Samneric) ~
Twins

Described as barely having

enough skin to cover both,
bullet-headed, and they
finish each other’s
sentences

Represent the tug-of-war

within us to remain
good
 Character Analysis
• “Littluns” ~ The younger
kids

Represent the common folk,

who easily follow the lead
of others into savagery
when there is no enforced
structure in society
Lord of the Flies in Pop Culture
• In Hook, Robin Williams compares Lost Boys to
savages in LOTF
• The Simpsons episode “Das Bus” is a parody
• Inspiration for the anime series Infinite Ryvius
• Mel Gibson’s 2006 movie Apocalypto has a similar
ending.
• T.V. shows Survivor and Lost are said to have
been inspired from LOTF
• 2006 movie Unaccompanied Minors makes
reference to LOTF
 Popular Culture Cont.

• Stephen King uses the name “Castle Rock”

(from the novel) as the name of a town in his
books. He also makes reference to LOTF in the
novels The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Cujo
and Hearts in Atlantis
• Orson Scott Card makes reference in his novel,
Ender’s Shadow.
• Degrassi: The Next Generation, Danny
Phantom, The Daily Show all mention the novel
 Source of Inspiration to Musicians
• Musicians Iron Maiden, Gatsby’s American
Dream, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, A.F.I.,
and Danielle Dax have all recorded songs
about the novel.
Titles such as:
“Where the Flies Are”
“Touch Piggy’s Eyes”
“Lord of the Flies”
“Piggy
“Fable”
 Words that are difficult in CH 1
1. Creepers – vines that creep along the
ground
2. Scar – the “wound” that the plane crash
has made in the jungle/in the vegetation