By William Golding
William Golding (1911-1993)
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Was in World War II
 1940 – Royal Navy
 Took part in D-Day and the sinking of the
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Bismarck
Affected by what he saw in war
Returned home, returned to teaching and
wrote LotF in six weeks
Published the novel in 1954
popular in 1950s, especially among teens
Lord of the Flies
The novel explores human nature – it
assesses moral and ethical capabilities
of man.
 Asks the question is man innately good
or evil?
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Terms to know:
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Allegory = a work that functions on two
or more levels of meaning by comparing
objects to symbols beyond the scope of
the work
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Bildungsroman = “formation novel”;
follows a child or naïve person from
innocence to experience or from youth
to adulthood
Terms continued:
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Dystopia = imaginary place where
people are dehumanized and lead
fearful lives; condition of life is extremely
bad
Symbols in the novel:
Island
 Huts
 Rocks
 Glasses
 Conch
 Painted faces/chanting
 Long hair
 sow
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Symbols in the novel:
Fire
 Beastie
 Flies
 Lord of the Flies
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Characters are also symbolic
Ralph
 Jack
 Simon
 Piggy
 Samneric
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Setting is Significant!
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Archetypal settings – settings that are
symbolic
 River
 Garden
 Wasteland
 Maze
 Deserts
castle
tower
wilderness
sea
threshold
Setting of the novel:
Post WWII
 The boys are on a plane that travels
from England east
 It passes the Rock of Gilbraltor – a link
between Africa and Europe – savagery
and enlightment
 The plane crashes on an unchartered
island in the Indian Ocean (maybe the
Pacific)
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Setting of the novel:
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The island contains:
 Warm sand
 Fruit
 Palm trees
 A lagoon
 A reef to protect from surf
The island also contains a scar, pink granite, a
rock fort, grasslands and a jungle
Theme topics
Disaster
 Isolation
 Survival
 Power
 Rebellion
 Violence
 Guilt, grief
 coercion
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
1. Physiological needs -water, food, oxygen –
we would die without them
2. Safety Needs – shelter, protection
3. Love and Belonging – (culture can begin
here) escape loneliness, give and receive
love, a sense of belonging
4. Esteem needs – to feel value, respect. If not
met, a person feels weak, inferior, worthless
5. Self-actualization – all needs are met; it is
finding one’s calling
Maslow
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Maslow’s is generally a positive view of
man. As long as the basic needs are
met, man achieves growth towards selfactualization
Sigmund Freud
Physiologist, medical doctor,
psychologist, father of psychoanalysis
 Theory that the mind is structured into
three parts: Id, Ego, and Superego
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Freud’s Structure of Mind
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Id
 Irrational and emotional part of the brain
 Primitive mind
 “pleasure principle” – I want it, I want it now
 We equate id with child
 If the Id is too strong = bound up in self-
gratification and uncaring to others
Freud’s Structure of Mind
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EGO
 Functions with the rational part of the mind
 Negotiates between the ID and the
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SUPEREGO
Operates on reality
Compromises
“adult”
Seeks to balance pleasure (ID) with longterm consequences (Superego).
Freud’s Structure of Mind
 SUPEREGO
○ Moral part of the mind
○ Last part to develop
○ Embodiment of parents’ and society’s views
○ Strives for perfection
○ Follows rules
○ Creates anxiety
Reading Schedule
Plan to read a chapter a day between
1/20 and 2/7 – 12 chapters in 19 days
 You will have reading checks on class
meeting days.
 January 20-23 – chapters 1-2 should be
finished by our class meeting on 1/24
 24th – chapter 3
 25th – chapter 4
 26th – chapter 5
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Reading Schedule
27th - chapter 6
 28th – chapter 7
 29th - catch up day
 30th – chapter 8
 31st – chapter 9
 Feb. 1 – chapter 10
 Feb. 2 – chapter 11
 Feb. 3 – chapter 12
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