Lord of the Flies, An Introduction

By William Golding

Overview - Plot

Setting: Wartime, deserted tropical islandCharacters: school-aged boysConflict: power

Overview - Themes

Civilization Democracy Dictator

Religion Established Created

Identity Society/school Island

Power Absolute Limited

Fear Unknown Known

Loss of Innocence Child Adult

Overview - AuthorLife

Born in Cornwall, 1911 Poor family, low social

standingSchool

Brasenose College Pushed to be scientist by

parents Delved into Literature Became a teacher in

Salisbury

Overview - AuthorNavy

Joined Royal Navy in 1940 Saw the sinking of the Bismarck Was present on D-Day invasion

Teaching After navy, resumed teaching LOTF published in 1954 Orig. titled The Strangers Within Rejected by 21 publishers Created LOTF scenario in

classroom—mayhem Retired in 1962 Died 1993

Overview - InspirationSchooling

Social inadequacy No faith from administrators

Coral Island Written by Robert M.

Ballantyne 1858 Boys deserted on tropical

islandWar experiences

Death, animalistic instincts Anarchy, chaos

Overview - InspirationPhilosophers

Thomas Hobbes Man vs. Nature Government

Plato Allegory of Cave

Psychologists Maslow

Hierarchy of Needs Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalytical Theory of Personality Id, Ego, Superego

Overview – Historical ContextLiterary Period

Post-War Fiction

Historical Events WWII Atom Bomb

The Philosophers – Thomas HobbesNature

Man is not a social animal Society cannot exist w/out a

governmentState of Nature

No society, continual fear, danger of violent death

Knowledge of Natural Law Men are condemned in endless conflict

Conflict Men cannot know good and evil

The Social Contract Do as you’re told

Violation of the Social Contract No right to rebel, King can do no

wrong

The Philosophers - Plato

Allegory of the Cave Most people see

shadows, not forms

http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/knowledge/story/sto_set.html

The Philosophers - Plato

What is this???

The Philosophers - Plato

This is NOT a cow!!!

The Philosophers - Plato

The Matrix The film uses the

Allegory of the Cave from Plato to explain REAL life to Neo

Shadows versus Forms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4ybxR9Io-g&feature=related

The Philosophers - Plato

Prisoners in Plato’s cave Human bodies in pods

Puppeteers create ‘reality’ Computers generate ‘reality’

Prisoner is freed from chains Neo is freed from pod

‘Reality’ are Shadows ‘Reality’ is the Matrix

The real world is made of Forms The real world is the Machine World

The Pyschologists - Maslow

Abraham Maslow Created Maslow’s

Hierarchy of Needs Ranks basic needs to

ultimate fulfillment needs

The Psychologists - Freud

Sigmund Freud Psychoanalytical Theory

of Personality Id, Ego, Superego