Lord of the Flies By William Golding

William Golding Born in 1911 in the UK He attended college in Oxford and in 1932 he changed his studies to English Literature. In 1939, right after the declaration of war, he was married to his sweetheart, Ann Brookfield. In December of 1940, he joined the Navy and served five years. He began his first novel called Strangers Within in 1952. The novel was rejected by several publishers until it was finally accepted in September of 1953. In September of 1954, the book was published as Lord of the Flies. He went on to publish many more pieces of literature and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. He died in 1993 of heart failure.

Historical Background of Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel Lord of the Flies was written shortly after WWII and the Holocaust. Many publishers rejected the book because it was too “pessimistic and dark.” William Golding sends a symbolic message about the evil that lies inside every human being. This message was influenced by the recent war and inhumanity of man.

Meaning of Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies translates into the word Beelzebub, which means, Satan.

Definitions to remember symbolism- an method for exploring the unknown through the known. A familiar object, person, or place is used to represent the unfamiliar. allegory- a literary work in which characters, events, objects, and ideas have secondary or symbolic meanings. It teaches a moral lesson. simile metaphor personification- A figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to an object, animal, or idea. foreshadowing-A writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in a story. allusion- a reference to a historical or fictional person, place, or event with which the reader is assumed to be familiar. archetype-an ideal or perfect example of a type of group.

More definitions Asyndeton-Use of words or phrases in a series without connectives such as and or so. (“I came, I saw, I conquered”–Julius Caesar) Polysyndeton-The repetition of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect, as in the phrase here and there and everywhere. Synecdoche Substitution of a part to stand for the whole, or the whole to stand for a part. Examples: (1) The Confederates have eyes in Lincoln's government. (The word "eyes" stands for spies.) (2) Jack bought a new set of wheels. ("Wheels" stands for a car.) (3) The law pursued the bank robbers from Maine to Florida. ("Law" stands for police.)

Verisimilitude Having the appearance of truth; realism Verisimilitude Having the appearance of truth; realism. In a fictional work, a writer creates unreal characters and situations and asks the reader to pretend that they are real. To help the reader in this task, the writer tells his tale in such a way that he makes it seem credible–that is, he gives it “verisimilitude.” Verisimilitude is derived from the Latin words veritas (truth) and similis (similar). Thus, verisimilitude in a literary work confers on it the quality of appearing true or similar to the truth. 

Lord of the Flies operates on three levels As an action/adventure story As a psychological novel about people under stress As a symbolic novel about the nature of humankind and the role of civilization

Symbolism used in Lord of the Flies The conch shell The fire The island The pig’s head The spectacles

Themes explored in the novel Civilization vs. Savagery Loss of Innocence Innate evil in all humans

Sources http://gharris.org/LordoftheFlies1.aspx http://www.william-golding.co.uk/p_biography.html danmihalache.wordpress.com audiobookbargains.co.uk betterworldbooks.com Freedictionary.com