The, Corai Is (and
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The, Corai Is (and
The Coral Island, written in 1857 by Robert Michael Ballantyne, is the adventure story that inspired Lord of the Flies. The situation is very
similar—three British boys are stranded on an island. The boys in The
Coral Island even have the same names—Ralph, Jack, and a third character named Peterkin. Peterkin, Golding explained, "is Simon...
Simon called Peter, you see."
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The boys have a fun, adventurous time on the island and are eventually
CORAL
ISLAND - BY
RM-BAUANTYNE
rescued by a missionary.
Golding read The Coral
Island as a child and loved it. But after his experiences in World War
II, he found the story's happy ending unrealistic. Golding believed
"that people are not like that; they would not behave like that if they were God-fearing English gentlemen, and they went to an island."
He decided to write his own story
about boys in that situation—and created Lord of the Flies.
The following selection from
The Coral Island takes place when the boys first discover they are stranded.
: LONDON.'PUBLISHED
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BY £•? DUTTON © CO
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Original cover of The Coral Island
