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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