Download Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies
By William Golding – published in 1954
In the words of Golding, “the theme is an
attempt to trace the defect of society
back to the defect of human nature.”
Watch for the flaws in society and
human nature…Golding had a very
negative outlook of human nature
“Golding’s often allegorical fiction makes broad use of
allusions to classical literature, mythology, and Christian
symbolism. Although no distinct thread unites his novels
and his technique varies, Golding deals principally with
evil and emerges with what has been characterized as a
kind of dark optimism. Golding uses characters to
describe conflicts and traits inherent in society and its
members. Golding feels that man is inherently evil, and
this evil must be confronted and controlled. Society is both
a victim and controller of this evil. Although, like many
authors, he utilizes his personal history, Golding is unique
in the way that he uses the actual to build a structure of
meaning. The symbolism of his novels is often more
important than the action. Though the literal story in itself
is interesting, his characters, images, and settings go
beyond the merely literal, to represent universal truths
about human nature.” Juan Javier Herraiz Pujante
Allegorical Novel
• Adventure story
• Castaway fiction
• Loss of innocence
Themes
• Themes are the fundamental and often
universal ideas explored in a literary work.
– Civilization vs. Savagery (rules vs. chaos)
– Loss of Innocence
– Nature of Good vs. Evil
Symbolism- objects, characters, figures, and colors used to
represent abstract ideas or concepts.
• Piggy (and Glasses) - Clear-sightedness, intelligence.
Their state represents the status of social order.
• Ralph and The Conch - Democracy, Order
• Simon - Pure Goodness, "Christ Figure”
• Roger - Evil, Satan
• Jack - Savagery, Anarchy
Symbolism
• The Island - A microcosm
representing the world
• The "Scar” -Man's destruction,
destructive forces
• The Beast - The evil residing within
everyone, the dark side of human nature
• Lord of the Flies - The Devil, great danger
or evil
Motifs
• Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts,
and literary devices that can help to
develop and inform the text’s major
themes.
• Story in which people, things, and events
have a symbolic meaning
Narrator - Lord of the Flies
• Anonymous 3rd person
• Conveys the events of the novel without
commenting on the action or intruding on
the story
• Grammar used: he, she, and they
1930 to 1932 World Events
• The National Socialist German Workers’
Nazi Party – rise to power
• Nazis declare the “master race”
• Nazis blame the Jews for the loss of World
War I
• Nazis blame the Jews for the bad
economy
March thru September 1939
• Germany invades Czechoslovakia
• Germany invades Poland; World War II
begins
• France and Great Britain declare war on
Germany two days later
“At 1115 British Standard Time the
Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain,
announced the British deadline
for the withdrawal of German troops
from Poland had expired.” BBC Radio
June 6, 1944
• D-Day – Allied Forces land in Normandy,
France
• Invasion of western Europe begins
Germany 1933
• Jan. 30 Adolf Hitler becomes the Nazi
party leader
• March 10 first concentration camp in
Dachau, Germany
• April- Nazis pass first anti-Jewish law
• Anti Jewish law bans the public
employment of Jews
1938- Germany
• March 12-13 Germans invade and annex
(take) Austria
• September 29 Munich Agreement –
allowed Germany the right to annex
Czechoslovakia
• The agreement was drafted and signed by
France, Great Britain, Italy, and Germany
• November 9 -10 Kristallnacht (Night of
Broken Glass) the SS, Nazi police, and
Germans beat and kill Jews, loot stores,
and burn synogogues
1936- Germany and Italy
• Germany and Italy join forces (an alliance) in
October of 1936
• Axis leaders Adolf Hitler and Italian prime
minister Benito Mussolini meet in Munich,
Germany, 1940
Operation Pied Piper
• Evacuation means leaving a place. During
the Second World War, many children
living in big cities and towns were moved
temporarily from their homes to places
considered safer, usually out in the
countryside.
1939 - 1945 there were three major
evacuations in preparation of the German
Luftwaffe bombing Britain.
• The British evacuation began on Friday 1
September 1939.
• A second evacuation effort was started
after the Germans had taken over most of
France. From June 13 to June 18, 1940,
around 100,000 children were evacuated.
• When the blitz began on 7 September
1940, children who had returned home or
had not been evacuated were evacuated.
Children leaving England
Teachers and Students
evacuating England
Children waiting to leave England. A teacher, who
has evacuated with his students, watches over
them as they swim.
Evacuated children working
1945 World War II Ends
• May 8, 1945 – the war in Europe ends
• Germany surrenders to the Allies
• September 6 – Japan surrenders after the
US drops atomic bombs on Japanese
cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• World War II ends 2 weeks later