The Lord of the Flies - by William Golding

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The Lord of the Flies - by William Golding
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The Lord of the Flies Title Significance

• Beelzebub is a Hebrew
• word for Lucifer
• The literal translation of
• Beelzebub into
• English is Lord of the
• Flies

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SIR WILLIAM GOLDING

• 1911-1993
• Born in Britain
• Was employed as a schoolteacher
• Served five years in the Royal Navy during WWII
• Lord of the Flies published in 1954

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Sir William Goldings Influences

• As a child, Golding had
• witnessed WWI, the war to
• end all wars
• In the decade before Lord of
• the Flies was published, Britain
• had been involved in two more
• wars World War II (which
• Golding served) and the
• Korean War

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IMAGES FROM WWII
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IMAGES FROM WWII
IMAGES FROM WWII
IMAGES FROM WWII
IMAGES FROM WWII
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PLOT OF LORD OF THE FLIES
William Golding sets his novel Lord of the Flies
at a time when Europe is in the midst of nuclear
destruction. A group of British school boys,
being evacuated from England, crash lands on a
tropical island. No adults survive the crash, and
the novel is the story of the boys' descent into
chaos, disorder, and evil.
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Artists Rendering of the Island
. The island in Lord of the Flies is never
actually pointed out in the real world. The
tropical location has a beach, as seen above,
where Ralph and Piggy emerge from the scar to
find the conch. Further inland is the dense
jungle, towards the center of which is Simon's
mat of creepers. This is also where pigs are
hunted and the Lord of the Flies is eventually
found. The mountain located at the very left of
this rendering is where the boys climb to the
summit in order to take in their surroundings. It
is also the location of the fire and the dead
parachutist. Castle Rock, the other high rising
formation found on the opposite end of the
island, rises high above the sea. The area is
turned into a fortress for Jack and his tribe.
The island is described as being in the shape of
a boat, which is approximated in the above
picture. The boat imagery and the island itself
are both symbols, as found on the analysis page.
The island is a microcosm for the real world,
along with all the problems and realities faced
in the world.0/8

• http//www.gerenser.com/lotf/island.html

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Character Analysis

• 1) Ralph- Main character described as fair
  haired, having broad shoulderslike a
  boxers, and has a face that proclaims no
  devil
• Committed to civilization and morality
• 2) Piggy - Described as fat, intellectual,
  asthmatic, and needs glasses
• Represents scientific, rational side
• of civilization, and social order

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Character Analysis

• Simon - Described as a skinny, vivid little boy,
  who meditates and he faints at different times
  in the novel, 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

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Character Analysis

• Sam and Eric (Samneric) Twins
• Described as barely having enough skin to cover
  both, bullet-headed, and they finish each others
  sentences
• The last to remain loyal to Ralph
• Represent the tug-of-war
• within us to remain good

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Character Analysis

• Jack - Described as having red hair, malevolent,
  aggressive, wears black with a snake clasp
• Cruel and manipulative
• Represents our savage instincts played out

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Character Analysis

• Roger - Silent and sadistic
• Targets the littluns
• The only one to premeditate murder
• Kills without conscience
• Pure evil

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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

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THEMES IN LORD OF THE FLIES

• Golding believes that we
• cannot escape our savage,
• violent tendencies and
• without social order,
• society dissolves into
• chaos and savagery.

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SYMBOLS

• 1) Piggys glasses the last surviving
• evidence of the lawful, structured,
• rational world
• 2) conch shell order and democracy
• on the island
• 3) The fire
• 4) The Island
• 5) The Beast
• 6) Jacks mask

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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

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REVIEWS OF THE NOVEL

• "beautifully written, tragic and provocative...
• vivid and enthralling
• completely convincing and often very
• frightening
• like a fragment of nightmare
• a dizzy climax of terror
• "It is not only a first-rate adventure but a
  parable of our
• times "

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Parodies of The Lord of the Flies

The Simpsons
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FILM CLIP

http//www.youtube.com/watch?vzvmi3oZ_vH8