Transcript Lord of the Flies by: William Gerald Golding

Life of Sir William
Gerald Golding
• Lived from 1911 to 1993
• Wrote mostly about the
eternal nature of man
• Highly imaginative and
original
• Other works include The
Inheritors, Pincher Martin,
Free Fall, The Spire, The
Pyramid, The Scorpion God,
Darkness Visible, Rites of
Passage, Close Quarters, Fire
Down Below.
His Greatest Work
• Lord of the Flies is a dark,
allegorical novel written in
1954.
• A group of boys attempt to set
up a democratic society when
they get stranded on a
deserted island. Their
“civilization” eventually
breaks down into savagery
and every man for himself.
Themes
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Society holds everything together. Without
society’s rules anarchy and savagery take
over.
Morals come directly from our
surroundings. If there is no civilization
around us, we will lose these values.
People will abuse power when it’s not
earned
When given a chance, people often single
out another to degrade to improve their
own security
You can only cover up inner savagery so
long before it breaks out, given the right
situation
It's better to examine the consequences of
a decision before you make it than to
discover them afterward
Symbolism
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Piggy and Glasses
Ralph, the Conch
Simon
Roger
Jack
The Island
The “Scar”
The Beast
Lord of the Flies
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Clear-sightedness, intelligence
Democracy, order
Pure goodness, “Christ” figure
Evil, Satan
Savagery, anarchy
A microcosm representing the world
Man’s destruction
The evil residing within everyone
The Devil
Inspirations
• Robert Ballantyne’s
Coral Island
• Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Jules Verne
Discussion Questions
• Explore the irony of the rescue at the end of
the novel.
• Are the defects of society directly related to
the defects of human nature as Golding
suggests in LotF? Explore by using
examples to support your point. Look at
your warm up from last week to inspire
your thoughts.
Discussion Questions
• The central symbol is the Lord of the Flies
(which is a translation of the Greek word
Beelzebub). The word Beelzebub connects
to decay, destruction, demoralization,
hysteria and panic. This being the case,
explore how this symbol truly is the central
symbol of this novel.
Essay
• Start to format a new thesis statement for
your essay.
• How are you going to work Lord of the
Flies into your essay.
• Are you going to come up with a new idea?