Lord of the Flies By William Golding – published in 1954 In the words of Golding, “the theme is an attempt to trace the defect of society back to the defect.

Lord of the Flies

By William Golding – published in 1954

In the words of Golding, “the theme is an

attempt to trace the defect of society

back to the defect of human nature.”

Watch for the flaws in society and

human nature…Golding had a very

negative outlook of human nature

“Golding’s often allegorical fiction makes broad use of allusions to classical literature, mythology, and Christian symbolism. Although no distinct thread unites his novels and his technique varies, Golding deals principally with evil and emerges with what has been characterized as a kind of dark optimism. Golding uses characters to describe conflicts and traits inherent in society and its members. Golding feels that man is inherently evil, and this evil must be confronted and controlled. Society is both a victim and controller of this evil. Although, like many authors, he utilizes his personal history, Golding is unique in the way that he uses the actual to build a structure of meaning. The symbolism of his novels is often more important than the action. Though the literal story in itself is interesting, his characters, images, and settings go beyond the merely literal, to represent universal truths about human nature.” Juan Javier Herraiz Pujante

Allegorical Novel

• Adventure story

• Castaway fiction

• Loss of innocence

Themes

• Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. – Civilization vs. Savagery (rules vs. chaos)– Loss of Innocence– Nature of Good vs. Evil

Symbolism- objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

• Piggy (and Glasses) - Clear-sightedness, intelligence. Their state represents the status of social order.

• Ralph and The Conch - Democracy, Order

• Simon - Pure Goodness, "Christ Figure”

• Roger - Evil, Satan

• Jack - Savagery, Anarchy

Symbolism

• The Island - A microcosm representing the world

• 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

Motifs

• Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

• Story in which people, things, and events have a symbolic meaning

Narrator - Lord of the Flies

• Anonymous 3rd person

• Conveys the events of the novel without commenting on the action or intruding on the story

• Grammar used: he, she, and they

1930 to 1932 World Events

• The National Socialist German Workers’ Nazi Party – rise to power

• Nazis declare the “master race”

• Nazis blame the Jews for the loss of World War I

• Nazis blame the Jews for the bad economy

March thru September 1939

• Germany invades Czechoslovakia

• Germany invades Poland; World War II begins

• France and Great Britain declare war on Germany two days later

“At 1115 British Standard Time the

Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain,

announced the British deadline

for the withdrawal of German troops

from Poland had expired.” BBC Radio

June 6, 1944

• D-Day – Allied Forces land in Normandy, France

• Invasion of western Europe begins

Germany 1933

• Jan. 30 Adolf Hitler becomes the Nazi party leader

• March 10 first concentration camp in Dachau, Germany

• April- Nazis pass first anti-Jewish law

• Anti Jewish law bans the public

employment of Jews

1938- Germany

• March 12-13 Germans invade and annex (take) Austria

• September 29 Munich Agreement – allowed Germany the right to annex Czechoslovakia

• The agreement was drafted and signed by France, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany

• November 9 -10 Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) the SS, Nazi police, and Germans beat and kill Jews, loot stores, and burn synogogues

1936- Germany and Italy

• Germany and Italy join forces (an alliance) in October of 1936

• Axis leaders Adolf Hitler and Italian prime minister Benito Mussolini meet in Munich, Germany, 1940

Operation Pied Piper

• Evacuation means leaving a place. During the Second World War, many children living in big cities and towns were moved temporarily from their homes to places considered safer, usually out in the countryside.

1939 - 1945 there were three major evacuations in preparation of the German Luftwaffe bombing Britain.

• The British evacuation began on Friday 1 September 1939.

• A second evacuation effort was started after the Germans had taken over most of France. From June 13 to June 18, 1940, around 100,000 children were evacuated.

• When the blitz began on 7 September 1940, children who had returned home or had not been evacuated were evacuated. 

Children leaving England

Teachers and Students evacuating England

Children waiting to leave England. A teacher, who has evacuated with his students, watches over them as they swim.

Evacuated children working

1945 World War II Ends

• May 8, 1945 – the war in Europe ends

• Germany surrenders to the Allies

• September 6 – Japan surrenders after the US drops atomic bombs on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• World War II ends 2 weeks later