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Lord of the Flies Introduction Notes (adapted from a presentation created by Ms. Danielle Mier, Westlake High School, Westlake Village, Califiornia) William Golding… British novelist Winner of the Nobel Prize in literature Fought in Royal Navy during WWII Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day At war’s end, returned to teaching and writing William Golding... Golding’s first and most successful novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in England in 1954 but its popularity was not established until five years later when it appeared in paperback. William Golding... This book was followed by a series of other novels, each concerned in one way or another with the theme of man’s capacity for evil (The Inheritors, Free Fall and The Brass Butterfly). About the Novel Set in mid 1940’s when Europe engulfed in war. A plane carrying British school boys is mistaken for a military craft and shot down. Only the boys survive the crash, and try to form a society and govern themselves. The World Golding Knew WWII 1939- 1945 The fall of France to Nazi Germany in1940 Britain feared an invasion and evacuated children to other countries 1940- A German U-Boat torpedoed British ship carrying children killing the boys, thus suspending the oversees evacuation program William Golding on his novel Lord of the Flies “It was simply what seemed sensible for me to write after the war when everyone was thanking God they weren’t Nazi’s. I’d seen enough to realize that every single one of us could be Nazi’s.” Philosophical Influence Thomas Hobbes – English Philosopher: – Man is by nature selfishly individualistic – Man constantly at war with other men – Fear of violent death is sole motivation to create civilizations – Men need to be controlled to avoid savage behavior Symbols in the Novel The Conch- Civilization and order The Beast- The fear that separates man from God Piggy’s Glasses- Reason, science, and insight Lord of the Flies- Evil Fire Signal- Hope, salvation Motifs (Patterns) in the Novel Biblical parallels (book criticized for retelling episodes in the Bible) Pristine/innocent places corrupted by evil Beel’zebub- Hebrew translation for Lord of the flies Modern Day allusions Allusion- (n.) an indirect reference to something There are many, many modern day allusions to Lord of the Flies in popular culture. For example…. The Simpson’s episode titled Das Bus is a parody of Lord of the Flies. Mark Burnett’s CBS island show is said to have been inspired by LOTF. The episode Club Spongebob is a spoof of LOTF. Bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Nine Inch Nails, AFI, and Pink Floyd have written songs about or have alluded to LOTF in their music. The Television Series Lost The survivors of a plane crash struggle with some of the classic dilemmas of society (science vs. faith, fear vs. love as way of control, knowledge vs. ignorance). Enjoy reading it!