Lord of the Flies Background Information You may want to consider taking some notes…

Lord of the Flies Background

Information

You may want to consider taking some notes…

Now would be a good time to start that note-taking thing…

Just a suggestion. What do I know? I’m just the teacher.

William Golding• Born in Cornwall, England in 1911

• He studied English and physics at Oxford

• He faced the atrocities of war – Living through the First World war– Joined the British Navy in 1940 (WWII)

William GoldingLord of the Flies was published in 1954

Booker McConnel Prize (British Literature)

Nobel Prize (1983)

Died in Wiltshire, England 1993

ThemesThe most obvious of the themes is

man has a great need for the construct of civilization. Contrary to the belief that man is innocent and society evil, the story shows that

laws and rules, policemen and schools are necessary to keep the

darker side of human nature in line. When these institutions and

concepts slip away or are ignored, human beings revert to a more primitive part of their nature.

ThemesEvil (the beast) is within man himself.

Golding implies that the loss of innocence has little to do with age but is related to a person's understanding of human nature. It can happen at any age or not at all. Painful though it may be, this loss of innocence by coming to

terms with reality is necessary if humanity is to survive.

Themes

Fear of the unknown on the island revolves around the boys' terror

of the beast. The recognition that no real beast exists, that there is only the power of fear, is one of

the deepest meanings of the story.

Is the novel realistic?

Golding establishes a sense of reality by his descriptions of the boys and by the language of their conversations with each other.

The boys have ordinary physical attributes and mannerisms of young boys. The group includes a variety of physical types: short, tall, dark, light, freckled, tow-headed, etc.

To stress the universality of their later actions, Golding takes great pains to present the boys as normal. The ‘littluns” suck their thumbs, eat sloppily, etc., while the older ones rolling about the sand, stand on their heads, and swim.

Is the novel realistic?

Even their unkindness to Piggy is credible for children often display a “natural cruelty” to anyone they consider different or inferior.

Nor does their metamorphosis from ordinary schoolboys into bloodthirsty savages seem unlikely, for Golding has taken the descent one step at a time.

Is the novel realistic?

Characters as Symbols

• Ralph - common sense, and responsibility

• Jack - immediate gratification and irresponsible authority

• Piggy - ineffective intellectualism

• Simon - mystic, Religious side of man. Understands good and evil but no communication.

• Samneric - incapable of acting independently. They represent loss of identity through fear of the beast.

• Dead parachutist - the “sign,” evil developing on the island

Characters as Symbols

Each of the characters represents a part of man

Good Evil

SpiritualIntellectual

AdventurousWHAT ELSE?

Objects as SymbolsConch shell - law

and order. The shell looses authority as anarchy grows. The conch fades in color and power. It’s power is broken with the “fall of piggy.”

Lord of the Flies -Refers to the head of the pig which Jack has left as an offering to the “beast.” Literal translation of the “Beelzebub,” prince of demons. Symbolizes man’s capacity for evil

Objects as SymbolsHuts - represent

the desire to preserve civilization; when Jack gains power they move into caves like the animals they have become.

Fire - its use divides civilization from savagery. Ralph uses it for hope; Jack for cooking. It is Jack’s group that allows the fire (hope) to go out

Objects as symbols

Piggy’s glasses - They signify man’s ability to perceive, to think. That thought can be misused for destructive purpose is shown when Piggy’s glasses are used to smoke Ralph out.

Night and Darkness - an archetypal

symbol of evil, “the powers of darkness.” The boys would have recognized the chutist in the daylight, as would they have Simon. The beast is more real at night

Objects as SymbolsFace paint - The

paint helps the boys hide from their own consciences, turning them into anonymous savages who are freed from the restraints of “civilized” behavior.

Stick sharpened on both ends - Represents how much evil has taken the boys over. First it was used to offer the beast the pig sacrifice; next to offer it Ralph’s.

Jack

Jack, chief representative of evil

in the novel, is too inhibited by society’s

teachings to teachings to slay the piglet the first day, he later progresses to exhilaration in his

first kill.

Eventually he comes to kill for the sheer thrill of slaughter rather than the

need for meat, and this becomes the

motive for hunting.

Jack

Ralph

Ralph is a tall, blond twelve year old,

establishes himself as the leader of the

boys when he blows the conch shell to call

the first assembly. Throughout the

story, he struggles to maintain order and is

forced to compete with Jack for respect.

Ralph

A dynamic character is one who undergoes a

change during the story because he learns a truth or

comes to a realization about himself.

Ralph is such a character.

Original Character1. Enjoys the absence of

adults on the island2. Popular3. Indifferent to Piggy4. Enjoys the island5. Likes Jack6. Trusts others7. Refuses to accept the

beast.

What changes him

1. Decay of order2. Insistence on rules3. Need for

intelligence4. Brutal behavior

revealed5. Savagery in Jack6. Betrayed by all7. Savagery in himself

and other

Character changed

1. Wishes adults were present on the island

2. An outcast3. Appreciates and

misses Piggy4. Hates the island5. Fears Jack6. Trusts no one7. Knows the beast is

within