Background to Lord of the Flies

Part One: The Author

Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding

Golding graduated from Oxford University He began by studying science, but graduated with a degree in literature.

William Golding He wrote poetry & Worked in amateur theatre for a while

William Golding Eventually he become a teacher at an all boys school…

William Golding When World War II began in 1939, Golding joined the British Royal Navy

After the war, Golding began his first novel Lord of the Flies, which was published in 1954

Wills Lord of the Flies was a great success and allowed Golding to retire from teaching.

Wills Golding surprised many when he received the highest honor in literature in 1983 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Golding’s winning the award speaks to his great accomplishments in literature and to what he always hoped to achieve with his writing:

“The purpose of writing is to understand humanity” According to the dictionary, HUMANITY is defined as: “the quality and condition of being human” or “human nature”

This is a bold goal for an author to strive to accomplish… As readers and critics of Lord of the Flies, we must decide for ourselves if Golding accomplishes this goal or if he fails.

Part Two: Influences on Lord of the Flies

Influence One: The Coral Island The Coral Island was a popular adventure book that Golding had read to his sons.

The Coral Island It was a lighthearted adventure tale about boys stranded on a deserted, tropical island

Major characters were: Jack and Ralph

The Coral Island The story involved: Hunting Pigs Buried Treasure And Pirates

The Coral Island Most of all… A Happy Ending

This book inspired Golding with the plot involving boys stranded on a deserted island, but he wondered… “What would really happen if boys were stranded on an island with no adults?”

As you will soon find out, in Golding’s version, the good guys might not always win…

Influence Two: WAR

Golding was unprepared for the violence he witnessed during the war…

His experience in the war exposed him to savagery and cruelty in the world, which changed his outlook on life.

This attitude is evident when reading Lord of the Flies.

Influence Three: Nuclear Holocaust

Lord of the Flies was published during a period of time known as the COLD WAR

The Cold War was a period of intense conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, although no official war was ever declared

Nevertheless, many people at the time believed that a nuclear war would occur which might destroy the world

In fact, t he boys ended up on the island in Lord of the Flies because they were being evacuated from England due to a nuclear war breaking out.

Influence Three: Teaching

Golding’s experiences as a teacher allowed him to observe and understand boys around the age of the characters in Lord of the Flies and many of the characters were based on his students

His interaction with boys this age made him question whether humans were naturally inclined to obey rules or whether it was institutions such as: School Government &

- that kept humans cultured and obedient

Golding began to wonder if human’s natural state was: Savage rather than Civilized

Which brings us to… Part Three: Themes in Lord of the Flies

The first theme is: Civilized vs. Savage

Lord of the Flies deals with the conflict between REASON and INSTINCT

REASON is believed to be THINKING, then ACTING

INSTINCT is believed to be ACTING, without THINKING

Golding believes that CIVILIZED people stop to REASON While SAVAGE people follow their INSTINCTS

Golding also believed that there were two competing forces that exist within all humans…

The desire to live by rules and morals

VERSUS

The desire to get what we want no matter what it takes

Ultimately Golding decided that people were instinctively evil and a society of law and order was need to protect humans from each other.

Golding believed if it were ultimately up to Man, if they had complete freedom, people would naturally become cruel, savage and barbaric.

The boys on the island in Lord of the Flies have complete freedom and the novel becomes a study on what will happen when children are put in this situation…

The second theme is: Loss of Innocence

Children are often thought to be INNOCENT, meaning that they have no evil in them until it is introduced to it from an outside influence…

The children in this book progress from being well- behaved and orderly… …to cruel, blood- thirsty hunters

However, no one corrupts the children on the island. It is something they do to themselves.

Golding suggests that with no set of rules to keep the children in-line they will eventually unleash the evil and savagery that has always existed in them.

What this implies is that civilization (rules and order of society) can control, but never wipe out the inner evil that exists within all human beings.

There are many other themes and important concepts in Lord of the Flies but hopefully this introduction prepared you for some of the issues this novel deals with.

THE END