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September 19, 1911—June 19, 1993
British novelist, poet, and playwright
 Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983
 Knighted in 1988
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Joined the Royal Navy in 1940
 Fought in the navy in WII
 Participated in D-Day invasion of
Normandy
 WWII influenced his experiences and
his writing
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Lord of the Flies: 1954, most famous
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Genre: fable, allegory, adventure story
 Blend of symbolic elements and an adventure
that symbolize larger elements of human
nature
 Characters and events represent larger aspects of society
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Reveals how evil resides in each of us
 Struggle between Jack and Ralph reveals opposing
lifestyles and governing styles
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Title: Lord of the Flies
 Beelzebub: another name for the Devil
 Comes from the Greek word for
“Lord of the Flies”
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Takes place during World War II
A group of British boys are flown out of the
country to protect them
 The plane crashes leaves them stranded on the
island
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The boys are left to fend for themselves
 Create their own society and system for survival
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Utopia: perfect society
Dystopia: often seem like a “utopian” society, but are
really not
 Authors use this genre to critique the world in which they
live
 Often create a sense of “doom” or failure within the society
 Golding uses it to display the breakdown of society and
morality
 Lord of the Flies reveals the breakdown of civilization
 The boys descend into savagery, cruelty, and violence
 Primitive instincts overthrow rules, logic, and reason
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Ralph
 The elected leader
 Rational, clear-headed, the greatest good
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Piggy
 Social outcast who sides with Ralph
 Means well, but is picked on throughout
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Jack
 Leader of the choir boys
 Hunter, violent, rash, disregards rules
 In competition with Ralph
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Simon
 Stands for the child-like innocence of many
boys
 Inquisitive, philosophical, kind-hearted
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Roger
 Violent, cruel, bully
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Society holds everyone together,
and without rules and order the
basic concept of right and wrong will be lost
 Evil is within all of us. All it takes is the right situation
for our own “savagery” to emerge.
 Civilization/society “reigns in” those tendencies
 Moral ambiguity and fragility of civilization
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Fear and the desire for acceptance are powerful
motivators
People will abuse power when it’s not earned or
checked.
 Do individuals control groups, or do groups control
individuals?
Are humans inherently good or evil?
 What would the world be like without a basic social
contract?
 What are the essential tasks that you would perform if you
were stranded on an island?
 What does it mean to be a leader?
 How do you keep hope alive in the face of despair?
 What does it mean “Without contraries there would be no
progression”?
 What do you fear most and how does that impact your
actions?
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Decorous - in keeping with good taste and
propriety; polite and restrained.
Hiatus - a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or
process.
Enmity - the state or feeling of being actively
opposed or hostile to someone or something.
Eccentric - of a person or their behavior)
unconventional and slightly strange.
Furtive - attempting to avoid notice or attention,
typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery
would lead to trouble; secretive.