Transcript Lord of the Flies - Livaudais English Classroom | English

Lord of the Flies
William Golding’s Masterpiece
1911- 1993
Author and Context
 William Golding was born on September 19, 1911
in England
 1940 Golding joined the Royal Navy
 Participated in D-Day
 Experience in WWII had a profound effect on his
view of humanity and the evils of which it was
capable.
 His first and greatest success came with Lord of
the Flies (1954)
About the Novel
Set in mid 1940’s when Europe 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.
The Island
Themes
 Civilization vs. Savagery
 Loss of Innocence
 Original Sin
 Fear that separates one from God
 Nature of Good and Evil
 Goodness is rare and fleeting
 Absolute Power
Allusions
– Reference to a well known “thing”
from history, literature, work of art
• Classical literature
• Mythology
• Christian Symbolism
Symbols in the Novel
The ConchPiggy’s Glasses-
Lord of the FliesFire Signal-
Religious Symbols
 The Island . . .
 The snake in the Garden of Eden
 The parachutist and Piggy. . .
 Jack and Ralph . . .
 Simon . . .
Allegory
 A work of fiction carrying two levels of
meaning:
- 1) a surface plot/narrative (literal)
- 2) symbolic/metaphorical meaning in
which everything in story symbolizes
something greater
A Freudian Allegory
Ralph, Jack, and Piggy
 Id
– The part of the personality reflecting unorganized, instinctual
impulses. If unbridled, it seeks immediate gratification of primitive
needs.
 Ego
– The part of the personality corresponding most nearly to the
perceived self, the controlling self that holds back the impulsiveness of
the id in the effort to delay gratification until it can be found in
socially approved ways.
 Superego
– The part of the personality corresponding most nearly to conscience,
controlling through moral scruples rather than by way of social
expediency. The superego is said to be an uncompromising and
punishing conscience.
 Unconscious
– Memories, impulses and desires that are not available to
consciousness. According to the psychoanalytic theories of Freud,
painful memories and wishes are sometimes repressed – that is,
diverted to the unconscious where they continue to influence our
actions even though we are not aware of them.
Social Influence
 1. Compliance
– The person at whom the influence is directed (the target) publicly
conforms to the wishes of the influencing source but does not
change his or her private beliefs or attitudes. (The child eats the
spinach but continues to dislike it.)
 2. Internalization
– The target changes his or her beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors
because of a genuine belief in the validity of the position
advocated by the influencing source. (A middle-aged man gives up
smoking after reading – and believing – the surgeon general's
warnings that smoking causes cancer.)
 3. Identification
– The target changes his or her beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors in
order to resemble an influencing source that is respected or
admired. (A high school girl takes up smoking in order to be like a
group of older girls she admires.)
 Deindividuation – sense of self diminished when in a crowd (mob
mentality)
Concerning the Title
 Beel’zebub- Hebrew translation for Lord of the flies
 The title is said to be a reference to the Hebrew
name Beelzebub ( ,‫בעל זבוב‬Ba'al-zvuv, "god of the
fly", "host of the fly" or literally "Lord of Flies"), a
name sometimes used as a synonym for Satan.[3]
 Ba‘al Zebûb might mean 'Lord of Zebûb', referring
to an unknown place called Zebûb, or 'Lord of
things that fly' (zebûb being a Hebrew collective
noun for 'fly', thus the common lay translation 'Lord
of the Flies').
Modern Day Allusions
Allusion- (n.) an indirect reference to
something
There are many, many modern day allusions
to Lord of the Flies in popular culture.
For example….
The Simpsons
The Simpson’s
episode titled Das
Bus is a parody of
Lord of the Flies.
Survivor
MarK Burnett’s CBS
island show is said to
have been inspired
by LOTF.
Sponge Bob Squarepants
The episode Club
Spongebob is a
spoof of LOTF.
Popular Music
 Bands such as Taking
Back Sunday, Nine Inch
Nails, AFI, Iron
Maiden, Rolling Stones,
and Pink Floyd have
written songs about or
have alluded to LOTF in
their music.