Lord of the FliesLord of the Fliesby William Goldingby William Golding

an introduction

William Golding and William Golding and LOTFLOTF

……what did you find out?what did you find out?

William GoldingWilliam Golding

• 1911-1993• Studied science and

English at Oxford• Navy in WWII• Invaded the beaches of

Normandy on D-Day• Booker Prize 1980• Nobel Prize for

Literature in 1983• Teacher and writer

Golding’s WorldGolding’s World

• WWII 1939-1945• The fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940• “Aryan superiority”• Britain feared invasion and evacuated children

to other countries• 1940-a German U-Boat torpedoed a British

ship carrying children to safety, all children were killed and the evacuation program was suspended.

• Classroom debate was inspiration

Lord of the FliesLord of the Flies

• Setting:Setting: a deserted island thought to be located in the South Pacific

• Time period:Time period: during a fictitious nuclear war

• Context:Context: the boys are being flown out of their country to protect them from the horrors of war and their plane crashed on an island, all of the adults are killed and the boys must fend for themselves

• Published in 1954:Published in 1954: What had been/was going on in the world around this time?

The Title: The Title: Lord of the FliesLord of the Flies

• Beelzebub

• Comes from the Greek word meaning “lord of the flies” or “host of the flies”

• Also a synonym of Satan or the devil

• Thoughts on the title of this book?

GenreGenre

UtopiaUtopia DystopiaDystopiaany visionary system of

political or social perfection

a society characterized by human misery

The Coral Island The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyneby R.M. Ballantyne

• 1857• Main characters are

Jack, Ralph, Peterkin and Simon

• A group of boys get stranded on a deserted island and they all live happily ever after

• Very popular adventure story in England

– most children and adults would still be very familiar with it today

Golding was not a fan…Golding was not a fan…

• “Europe can better the world through conquering it and forcing Christianity upon everyone” book

• Golding read it when he was a wee boy, considered it racist, and fashioned Lord of the Flies so that it would function as a “screw you” to Ballantyne

• While the boys in The Coral Island encounter evil “primitives” (read: natives) and find a happy ending by burning “the false Gods” of the inhabitants, the boys in Lord of the Flies, the white boys, realize that they are evil themselves

• Golding argues that darkness is internal and inherent, not something you can attribute solely to those with a different skin color than you

ThemesThemes

• Primitivity• Innocence• Rules and Order• Fear• Power• Identity• Religion• Wisdom and

Knowledge• Good vs. Evil

“The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” ~William Golding

SymbolsSymbols

• The Conch• The Fire• Piggy’s Glasses• Hunting• The “Beastie”• The “Lord of the Flies”• Hair• Wounds• Clothing• The Characters• Flies

What are some What are some characteristics of flies?characteristics of flies?

Why do you think this is important?Why do you think this is important?

AllegoryAllegory

• This book is an allegory.• The Big Massive Allegory

– Before we get down to the details, we should address the fact that Lord of the Flies is one big allegory. Symbols aside, the boys as a whole can represent humanity as a whole. You can see where the pieces fall from there; the island is then the entire world, the boys’ rules become the world’s varying governments, two tribes are two countries, and so on. The boys’ fighting is then equivalent to a war. The only time we pull out of the allegory is at the very end of the novel, when the other “real” world breaks through the imaginary barrier around the island. Yet this is also the moment when the real message of the allegory hits home, when we can ask ourselves that chilling question, “But who will rescue the grown-ups?”

• Symbolism• Allegory is what makes it difficult• Also what makes it such a classic

CharactersCharacters

• Ralph

• Jack

• Piggy

• Simon

• Sam & Eric (Samneric)

• Roger

Christopher BookerChristopher Booker7 Basic Plot Types7 Basic Plot Types

1. Overcoming the Monster

2. Rags to Riches

3. The Quest

4. Voyage and Return

5. Comedy

6. Tragedy

7. Rebirth

…Which plot type do you think Lord of the Flies will be?

Voyage and ReturnVoyage and Return

1.1. Anticipation Stage: Crash and burnAnticipation Stage: Crash and burn– When their plane crashes, the boys who were on board find themselves on a strange

island where they have never been before. Needless to say, this is a new situation for them. They happily anticipate the thought of being in charge of themselves, but they unhappily anticipate being stuck here forever.

2.2. Initial fascination or Dream Stage: “This belongs to us.”Initial fascination or Dream Stage: “This belongs to us.”– The boys explore the island and are fascinated by it. The dream part comes in as they

establish a system of rules and order and mistakenly think it will hold up.

3.3. Frustration Stage: Ralph and Jack fight, and there may be a beastieFrustration Stage: Ralph and Jack fight, and there may be a beastie– Matters grow more difficult as the seeds of conflict sprout leaves of angry violence. The

frustration we get here is through the eyes of Ralph, who is irked by the growing difficulty of governing a group of wild boys. He goes head-to-head with Jack, and on top of it all has to deal with everyone’s irrational fears. It’s lonely, and frustrating, at the top.

4.4. Nightmare Stage: Simon’s death, Piggy’s death, and a run through Nightmare Stage: Simon’s death, Piggy’s death, and a run through the woodsthe woods

– And we’ve moved steadily away to murder and chaos. The island is ablaze and Ralph is on the verge of being killed himself.

5.5. Thrilling Escape and Return: The naval officer rescues the boysThrilling Escape and Return: The naval officer rescues the boys– At the last minute, when Ralph has fallen and is covering his head and crying for mercy,

he rolls onto the beach and looks up to see a Naval officer standing over him. This would be a thrilling escape if it weren’t for the fact that the boys are going back to a world as bad as the one they’re leaving.

Three Act AnalysisThree Act Analysis

• Act IAct I– at the end of Act I, the main

character is drawn in completely to a conflict

• Act IIAct II– during Act II, he/she is

farthest away from her goals

• Act IIIAct III– At the end of Act III, the

story is resolved.

Pop CulturePop Culture

• LOST• Gilligan’s Island• The Simpsons• Nine Inch Nails,

“Piggy”• Iron Maiden, “Lord

of the Flies”• What other

adventure stories can you think of?

Switching gears toSwitching gears to

……Dr. Suess?Dr. Suess?

Important Literary TermsImportant Literary Terms

• Symbol

• Simile

• Metaphor

• Extended Metaphor

• Allusion

• Motif

• Theme

• Allegory**These terms might be new or review, either way we will go more in depth with all of them throughout this unit!

AllegoryAllegory

A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.

Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

Kind of like a story with a moral, but more complex.

Dr. Seuss TimelineDr. Seuss Timeline

The Butter Battle BookThe Butter Battle Book

• Published in 1984

• Historical Context?

• Pay attention to the symbols, metaphors, allusions, etc…that make up the greater allegory.

• Active Listening = take notes on the aforementioned in order to deduce the allegory

TomorrowTomorrow

• The Lorax

• The Sneeches

• Yertle the Turtle

**Keep these “allegory deducing techniques” in mind as we continue through Lord of the Flies and you will have an easier time unraveling the mystery of William Golding’s allegory!

Before you go….Before you go….

With your group, make a prediction about what you think the main allegory is in LOTF and what symbols you think will be integral to the allegory’s meaning.

SymbolSymbol

In literature, something that stands for something else. Often times representing a philosophy or concept far greater than the symbol itself.

Example: red=anger, rain=foreboding mood

Metaphor/SimileMetaphor/Simile

• Metaphor the comparison of two UNLIKE things. Personification, anthropomorphism, hyperbole, parable, fable, animism and analogy are forms of metaphor.

• Metaphors are used to help us understand the unknown, because we use what we know in comparison with something we don't know to get a better understanding of the unknown.

• A similie is also a comparison of two unlike things, but it is an easier way to compare, by using “like” or “as”.

Extended MetaphorExtended Metaphor

AllusionAllusion

MotifMotif

ThemeTheme

The SneechesThe Sneeches

Yertle the TurtleYertle the Turtle

The LoraxThe Lorax