Lord of the Flies
1954
Introduction and
Background
Background of Lord of the Flies
Just read this slide…no notes are to be taken yet
• Lord of the Flies tells the story of
how in the midst of a raging war
(WWII), a plane evacuating a group
of schoolboys from Britain is shot
down over a deserted tropical
island in the Pacific Ocean.
• With no adults, the boys are left
to fend for and govern
themselves.
• The boys range in age from six to
twelve, and Ralph, one of the
older boys, becomes “chief” with
the assistance of a conch shell,
which when blown into,
establishes order on the island.
Title Translation
A. “Beelzebub” a Hebrew word
for LUCIFER
B. However, the literal translation of
“Beelzebub” into English is LORD OF
THE FLIES.
L.O.T.F Author
William Golding
Born in Britain
1911-1993
• As a child, Golding
had witnessed WWI.
• This gives the author
credibility in the
novel. Remember,
the setting of the
novel is during WWII.
War was something
the author knew
about.
Through LOTF, Golding is making the
statement that:
1. we cannot escape our
savage, violent tendencies and…
B. …and without
social order,
we enter
into a state of chaos.
LOTF Symbols (Objects, characters, figures, or
colors that represent ideas or concepts)
Piggy’s Glasses: used to
“see things clearly” both
literally and symbolically
Conch Shell- order/no
chaos
Snake- allusion—Garden of
Eden from Bible; evil things
Important Images
•The Beastie = this
will be discussed in
chapter 1. It is
unclear what the
“beastie” is
initially.
• Lord of the Flies= look
at the picture to the
right; this is the lord of
the flies. Write your
thoughts on what this
looks like next to letter
B on your paper.
TERMS to REMEMBER
MICROcosm = The
small things that
make up the large
thing
• MACROcosm=
The large or the
whole thing
Illustration of Micro and
Macrocosms
• MACROCOSM=
The large or the whole
thing
• MICROCOSM=
The small things
(people, in this case)
that make up the large
thing
Modern Day Allusions
Definition of Allusion- (n.) an indirect
reference to a well-known person, event,
place, story/storybook, etc…
Example: KING MIDAS was a king that
wished for everything that he touched to turn
to gold. So if I say that a person has the
MIDAS TOUCH, I am alluding to a person
who is very successful in his endeavors in
life, especially with making money (“gold”).
There are many, many modern day allusions
to Lord of the Flies in popular culture.
A Little Comedy For You…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOCipr
_8N6A
• Right click to open the link
FYI---Survivor
• Mark Burnett’s CBS island show is said to
have been inspired by LOTF.
SpongeBob
• The episode Club SpongeBob is a spoof
of LOTF.
Popular Music
• Bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Nine
Inch Nails, AFI, Iron Maiden, Rolling
Stones, and Pink Floyd have written songs
about or have alluded to LOTF in their
music.
Character Analysis
• Ralph ~ Main character
and Protagonist
Character Analysis
• Piggy: “fat kid”, as the
author describes him;
wears the highly
discussed glasses
Character Analysis
• Jack: craves
power; fierce
leader of the
choir boys
Character Analysis
• Simon- quiet;
innocent; meets the
“beastie”; often in
forest meditating
Character Analysis
• Roger: choir
boy; bully;
follows Jack
Character Analysis
Sam and Eric
(Samneric is how
they are referred to)
Twins: love nature;
always in forest; part
of the “littluns”
group; afraid of the
dark