William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding (September 19 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1983), best known for his work Lord of the Flies. He was also awarded the Booker Prize for literature in 1980, for his novel Rites of Passage the first book of the trilogy To the Ends of the Earth.
Biography
Early life
Golding was born on 19 September, 1911 in St. Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He showed an active interest in writing even as a child. Though his family later moved from Cornwall, he studied the Cornish language as a young man.
His father was a local school master and intellectual, who held radical convictions in politics and a strong faith in science. His mother, Mildred, was a supporter of the British Suffrage movement. The family moved to Marlborough and Golding attended Marlborough Grammar School. He later attended Oxford University as an undergraduate at Brasenose College, where he studied Natural Sciences and English Literature. His first book, a collection of poems, appeared a year before Golding received his Bachelor of Arts.
Marriage
William Golding met his future wife, Anne Brookfield, in 1938. After a brief courtship, they married in 1939, the same year he began teaching English and Philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s school. Anne and Golding had two children; the first, David, born in 1940; and a daughter, Judith, born in 1945.
Military service
His marriage and new career were quickly interrupted by World War II. Golding joined the Royal Navy and worked in antisubmarine and antiaircraft operations. During his service he was involved in the sinking of Germany's mightiest battleship, the Bismarck. He also participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.
At the end of the war, Golding returned to his teaching position and writing.
Golding’s perspective of man’s true nature altered at this time of his life. While he was in the Royal Navy he saw the “evil” nature of not only the enemy he was fighting against, but also of his partners with whom he was fighting with. This change of view would be used to write his most famous book, Lord of the Flies.
Writing
After his return from the war, Golding began in earnest to write, but threw away his first three novels as “rubbish”. His fourth novel, Lord of the Flies, was rejected by more than twenty publishers, before becoming one of the largest selling books of the decade. By 1961, his successful books allowed Golding to leave his teaching post and spend a year as writer-in-residence at Hollins College in Virginia. He then became a full-time writer.
He was a fellow villager of James Lovelock in Wiltshire, and when Lovelock was explaining his Gaia Hypothesis, it was Golding who suggested naming it after the Greek personification of the earth.
He was knighted in 1988.
Death
Sir William Golding died of heart failure in his home at Perranarworthal, near Truro, Cornwall, on June 19, 1993. He was buried in Holy Trinity churchyard, Bowerchalke, Wiltshire, England[1]. He left the draft of a novel, The Double Tongue, which was published posthumously (Faber, 1996).
Fiction
Golding's often allegorical fiction makes broad use of allusions to classical literature, mythology, and Christianity 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's first novel, Lord of the Flies (1954; films in 1963 and 1990), introduced one of the recurrent themes of his fiction—the conflict between humanity's innate barbarism and the civilizing influence of reason. The Inheritors (1955) reaches into prehistory, advancing the thesis that mankind's evolutionary ancestors, "the fire-builders," triumphed over a gentler race as much by violence and deceit as by natural superiority. In Pincher Martin (1956) Golding explores the conflict between the good and evil aspects of our nature again as that given us at birth and what we change it into by our own will, even to the point of futilely challenging our very existence and its demise. The novel caused a great controversy in the humanistic and relativistic literary world of his time, including calls for him to rewrite the ending. Golding sought in several interviews to explain his intent and the “meaning” of the story in religious terms. This so backfired on him that he never again would explain his work, only referring the reader to what he derives from the story. In Free Fall (1959), he explores how the consequences of our actions make us who we have become, using flashbacks. The Spire (1964) is an allegory concerning the protagonist's obsessive determination to build a great cathedral spire, regardless of the consequences.
William Golding has made quite an impact on the world with his most famous work, Lord of the Flies. This novel about a group of young upper class English schoolboys deserted on an island is now required reading in most high schools in America. Based on the premise that human nature, including that of well-bred children, is inherently evil, this book delivers a frightening view of mankind. It has become a modern classic. It has challenged many people’s perspectives on human nature in a way that few other books have. It has assured Golding of his position as one of the most important writers of the post-war period.
Golding's later novels include Darkness Visible (1979), in which he explores dual possibilities of fate in our inner response to tragedies through the twin orphans after World War II, and The Paper Men (1984), about the unraveling of pretentious literary and academic figures. He also wrote a historical sea trilogy To the Ends of the Earth, which includes Rites of Passage (Booker Prize, 1981), Close Quarters (1987), and Fire Down Below (1989). These books frame a critical exposé of British class attitudes of the 19th century in a long sea voyage from England to Australia. It has been produced as a BBC drama series.
Lord of the Flies
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| Author | William Golding |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Allegorical novel |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Released | 1954 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 272 |
| ISBN | 0-571-22767-8 (Faber and Faber edition) |
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of young boys who are stranded on a desert island and subsequently attempt to govern themselves, a task at which they fail disastrously. Its stances on the already controversial subjects of human nature and individual welfare vs. the common good earned it position 70 on the American Library Association's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000.[1]
Published in 1954, Lord of the Flies was Golding's first novel, and although it was not a great success at the time —selling fewer than 3,000 copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print —it soon went on to become a bestseller, and by the early 1960s was required reading in many schools and colleges. It was adapted to film in 1963 by Peter Brook, and again in 1990 by Harry Hook.
The title is a reference to the Hebrew name Beelzebub (בעל זבוב, Baal-zvuv, "god of the fly" or "host of the fly") a name sometimes used as a synonym for Satan.
Plot summary
The novel begins with a large number of young boys, ages 6 to 12, being stranded on a desert island. They were being evacuated and their plane has been shot down. The first two characters introduced are Ralph, an athletic and charismatic boy, and "Piggy", a fat boy with glasses. The two boys obtain a conch and use it to call the other boys from across the island. The boys begin to discuss who should be their leader. Ralph and Piggy are the two obvious choices, but one other potential leader arises — Jack Merridew. Jack was a choir leader, and still acts as leader of the other castaway members of his choir. Ralph is elected as leader. Piggy is less popular than Ralph, but is intelligent, and becomes Ralph's "lieutenant". However, it is evident that Jack covets the leadership position. Then, Ralph takes Jack and Simon, another choir singer, to explore the island. During their exploration they find a trapped piglet. Jack pulls out a knife, but hesitates to kill it and it escapes. Jack vows never to hesitate again. Early on, the boys are full of optimism, and expect the island to be fun, despite the fact that many of the boys are scared of a "Beastie" — allegedly some kind of dangerous wild animal on the island seen by one of the younger boys with a birthmark on his face.
The boys then make their first attempt at being rescued by starting a signal fire (lit by Piggy's glasses). The fire burns out of control, and scorches half of the island. The boy with a birthmark on his face who saw the "Beastie" goes missing during the fire, and is never seen again. Life on the island continues to deteriorate, and becomes more and more disorganised — the major characters (Jack and Ralph) have conflicting aims for the island, and there are only two people, Ralph and Simon, willing to build shelters.
The island's descent into chaos starts, ironically, with the potential for rescue by a passing ship. Jack had led a group off hunting, and took with him the boys who were tending to the signal fire, so the ship sailed past without knowing of the boys on the island. An intense argument ensues, in which a lens of Piggy's glasses is broken. Jack continues to push the boundaries of his subordinate role, and eventually becomes a tyrant. The irony is that the sound of his choir was originally described as the "voices of angels", but the choir boys are later described as "demonic figures". Although the signal fire is maintained along with a false sense of security, the order among the boys quickly deteriorates as Jack and Ralph continue to struggle for power.
As the novel takes place during a war, a dogfight between two planes occurs over the island. One of the pilots parachutes out of his plane, but dies upon or before landing. Two twins, Sam and Eric ("Samneric", as they become known) assume that the pilot is the Beastie when they saw him in the dark, causing mass panic. An expedition to investigate leads to Ralph, Jack, and Roger, a choir boy, ascending the mountain, but they eventually run away from what they believe is the Beastie. Jack denounces Ralph as a coward, and calls for another election for chief, but does not receive a single vote. He leaves the group to create a new tribe. Most of the older boys eventually leave "Ralph's tribe" to join "Jack's tribe". This new tribe hunts down a pig, and they decide to host a feast. Before that, they sever the pig's head and place it on a stick as an "offering" to the Beastie. Flies swarm around the head of the pig. Simon comes across it, and through hallucination, the dead pig speaks to him. Its message foreshadows Simon's fate, and he runs down from the mountain to break the news about the dead pilot and being talked to by the "Lord of the Flies". However, in doing so, he is mistaken as the Beastie, and is beaten to death by the other boys.
Ralph's tribe dwindles in number. Jack's larger, less civilised tribe, however, needs to steal from them to maintain their existence. They steal Piggy's glasses to light a fire. Piggy demands his glasses back, but is killed when Roger launches a boulder into him, crushing the conch shell and sending him over a cliff. Jack tries and fails to kill Ralph, and the next day, his tribe tries to hunt him down. In doing this, they set up a forest fire, which is seen by a passing naval vessel, and one of the ship's officers comes ashore and rescues the boys. Ralph's brush with death is tinged with irony; Ralph had always pushed for a fire to be kept, but the fire that leads to their rescue was originally lit to kill him. For the first time on the island, Ralph cries, weeping for the "end of innocence", "darkness of man's heart", and his friend, Piggy.
Major themes
War and human nature
At the beginning of the novel, the boys are being evacuated from England by plane, presumably to keep them safe from World War II.(Although this is unclear. Some may argue that they are being evacuated due to a fictional nuclear war or World War III. The term "reds" was mentioned (possibly giving the notion that the war was against the Soviets). On the island, they form a microcosm of the self-destructive society that sent them away. Their failure to create stability and decency mimics the larger failure of the grownups to do the same, and there is real ambiguity whether the children's "rescue" by the naval cruiser at the end of the novel represents any real end to their danger.
Ralph and the conch
| “ | Because the rules are the only thing we've got! | ” |
Ralph may represent democracy as he is leader by a democratic vote, and attempts to please the majority. He can also be interpreted as a representation of the ego, which governs the id and is associated with practicality.
The conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilisation and order in the novel. Piggy tries desperately to protect it and when he dies, it is also destroyed. The shell effectively governs the boys’ meetings, for the boy who holds the shell holds the right to speak. As the island civilisation erodes and the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its power and influence among them. Its appearance also seems to parallel their descent, as it seems to lose color as they descend into savagery. Later, the other boys ignore Ralph and throw stones at him when he attempts to blow the conch in Jack’s camp. The boulder that Roger rolls onto Piggy also crushes the conch shell, signifying the end of the civilised instinct among almost all the boys on the island. This is the point at which Jack finally wrestles any control from Ralph and without the powerful symbol of the conch to protect him, he must run from Jack's hunters who now have no inhibitions against killing him.
Piggy and the glasses
| “ | How can you expect to be rescued if you don't put first things first and act proper? | ” |
Piggy may represent rational thinking as he is logical, but unpopular; eventually Ralph realises how much he depended on him and his logic, admitting "I can't think. Not like Piggy." He is arguably the most rational boy in the group, and as such his glasses may represent intuition and intelligence (they can also represent science, as can Piggy). This symbolism is evident from the start of the novel, when the boys use the lenses from Piggy’s glasses to focus the sunlight and start a fire.
When Jack’s hunters raid Ralph’s camp and steal the glasses, the savages effectively take the power to make fire, leaving Ralph’s group helpless. The physical state of the glasses may also represent the state of the social order on the island, for as their condition deteriorates, so does the order and organization of the boys. Piggy's fatness and asthma, which mark him as an outcast, can also be viewed as emblematic of how the superego, and, thus, civilised thinking, are ill-suited for this environment and are rejected as useless. The power of his glasses to make fire is also a reference to how the products of science can be useful, but the science itself isn't. Piggy might also represent Socrates, because, as in Plato's The Apology, his high intelligence and plain speaking only create more problems for him, and lead to his eventual death.
Piggy is the most feminine character in the story, and is almost a mother figure for the "littluns". Piggy discovers the conch, and he and the conch end their existence together. In addition, like Piggy, the Sow (‘Pig.' 'Piggy!’) is a sort of mother figure; when she dies, so does most of the power of the conch. The pig is pink and rosy; Piggy is a rosy white; and the conch is also rosy and white.
Jack and the choirboys
| “ | Bollocks to the rules! | ” |
Jack, the tallest and strongest of the boys, may represent totalitarianism as he does not appreciate the results of the election, eventually using his strength, his aggressiveness, and his choirboy "militia" to seize power in a coup and rule alone, making himself chief and the other boys his tribe. Most obviously, he demonstrates the principle of "absolute power corrupting absolutely."
Jack may represent the antithesis of democracy, dictatorship, or even the antithesis of civilization itself—sheer atavistic savagery. Everyone must abide by arbitrary rules, and he shows a distinct disrespect for the conch and its associations. In Jack's tribe, where fear and superstition go unchecked, the beast comes to seem more and more real until its existence is an article of faith. Jack, who gains authority from this atmosphere of dread by saying he'll protect the others from the beast, also succumbs to the fear himself.
Jack may also represent the id in contrast to Ralph as the Superego (or Ego) and the Id, respectively. The logic behind this is that Jack seeks to immediately satisfy the needs and act on instinct, fulfilling the description of the Id, while Ralph upholds the social norms of the Superego. Examples of this are both positive and negative. The positive is his commitment to democracy and teamwork, while the negative is his conventional mockery of social oddities, such as Piggy's thick specs, his fatness, and his "ass-mar", as Ralph calls it in his working class accent.
Roger
Roger may represent pure evil, even more so than Jack, as he is Jack's toady, abetting all his worst instincts, and is sadistic. He is the first boy to kill another person, and he targets the 'littluns' earlier in the book. He may be compared to Trotsky's Red Army or to another form of militia.
Simon
Simon may represent natural goodness because he is the only character on the island that continues being good even when the other boys forget about the rules of society. Some see similarities between him and Jesus, based on the religious references around Simon: his name (that of one of the disciples), his skill with carpentry and his killing at the hands of a group. In addition, the night before he dies, Simon knows that he won't make it home all right, just as the night before Jesus' arrest, Jesus says he will be betrayed. Simon is also seen on the island giving the little ones fruit from the tree that they cannot reach. Simon is the only one who can get this fruit for them. Through him they get the fruit, much like through Christ, Christians receive salvation they cannot achieve on their own. Also, Simon's private sanctuary is a place with a high dome roof and candle-like flowers, suggests a cathedral, further establishing him as a spiritual, visionary character.
With his superior insight, he sees most clearly that the children's civility is dying. This is made clear when he says "maybe it's only us" in reference to the beast. This demonstrates his intuitive knowledge that the fear and chaos come from the minds of the children and not from any outside agent.
Simon has been viewed as a Cassandra figure, able to predict the future but condemned to be disbelieved. Another interpretation is that he represents the poets and writers, much like Benjamin the Donkey in Animal Farm. Simon has a sense of many things which he cannot communicate to the others, and he is in touch with the darker side of humanity.
Sam and Eric (the twins)
Sam and Eric, referred to in the first half as “Sam 'n Eric” and the second half of the novel as Samneric, may represent the masses as they are impressionable, and tend not to think for themselves. At several points in the book their behaviour mimics that of dogs. They can also represent the tug-of-war between good and evil; Golding describes them as "barely having enough skin" to cover both: they are "stretched". They also represent good and evil due to the fact they swing back and forth in their alliances between Jack's savage tribe and Ralph's rational democracy; one moment they help Ralph and the next they tell Jack Ralph's secrets. They also might be a representation of unity as they well always do everything together. As the book progresses they no longer support anyone else and only do what will keep them alive or out of harms way. This represents the fact that the masses no longer has any following of good or evil, but just what will keep them out of trouble.
Other boys
The "littluns" are perhaps a representation of the masses or the plebeians who are easily swayed to support one group or another but who are needed by a leader to rule over.
Percival
| “ | Percival was crying again | ” |
Percival, the youngest of the "littluns" may represent innocence, emotion and children. He is known as the character who frequently expresses emotions. He uses his address 'Percival Wemys Madison, The Vicarage, Harcourt...' as an incantation that comforts and reminds him of civilization. However by the end of the novel he cannot even remember his own name, this shows how far the children have descended into savagery, so far that they have no recollection of civilization.
The beast
The "beast" may represent brutality, propaganda and irrational fears, as it causes a panic and ultimately allies the boys around Jack. The fact that there is no "beast" suggests that it is a representation of the evil in human nature. The Lord of the Flies (which is translated from Hebrew "Beelzebub", or "Ba'alzevuv". "Lord of the Flies" is said to be a mistranslation from a mistransliterated word, but it does sound pungent and evil, like that of a reference to the devil. And a devil whose names means a devotion to decay, destruction, demoralization, hysteria and panic is particularly fitting for this book.) and the "beastie" represent the evil lurking within everyone's hearts, which, while not corporeal, is no less real. It may also be considered to be the religious belief of the island society, as it is not seen but its existence is rarely doubted, it is credited to what cannot be explained, and it is given offerings in an attempt to persuade it to spare the lives of the islanders. In this way, it is representative of what one might call "dark worship" — the worship of things that are inherently bad.
Simon's conversation with the Beast in the realm of his own mind is one of the most fascinating parts of the story, because the Beast tells him that it is immortal and finds all human action funny, leading one to wonder if there is some intelligence inside human evil — a reference to the devil, linking back to its name.
The Killing of the Sow
The sow is a mother: "sunk in deep maternal bliss lay the largest of the lot…the great bladder of her belly was fringed with a row of piglets that slept or burrowed and squeaked." The killing of the sow is done through bestiality and murder, referring to its driving force of sexuality, especially among the half-grown boys.
They remove the head of the sow and place it onto a stick that is jammed into the ground as a gift for the Beast, which seems to be lurking on the island. This shows their own irrational fears and blind terrors of the island and beast release the forces of death and the "devil" on the island.
The most symbolic incident of this is that of Simon and the sow head. To Simon, the head seems to be saying "Everything was a bad business…. The half shut eyes that were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life." Simon fought against what the head was saying. "Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!" said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoes with laughter. "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are the way they are?" The pig head tries to tell Simon that he cannot avoid the recognition of human capacities for evil and the superficial nature of human moral systems. It is the acknowledgment of the end of innocence.
Flies
| “ | Nothing prospered but the flies who blackened their lord and made the spilt guts look like a heap of glistening coal | ” |
The pig's head (The Lord of the Flies) may represent Satan, while the flies may represent devils and iniquitous and nefarious human beings. Simon represents Christ. The Lord of The Flies and Simon's confrontation represents the Temptation of Jesus.
| “ | Even when the vessel in Simon's nose broke, and the blood gushed out, they left him alone, preferring the pig's high flavour | ” |
The flies which represent mortal evil had chosen the Pig over Simon. This represents the way a number of humans choose to be evil instead of good and how the fruits of doing evil is more satisfactory than doing good.
Names
The names of Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack, and Roger all have symbolic meaning. Ralph's name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for "council," symbolizing Ralph's role as a leader who forms meetings and councils on the island. Piggy's name is meant to symbolise how he is vulnerable, just as the pigs on the island are. Piggy's name is also a reference to the Lord of the Flies, which is a pig's head. The pig's head holds its brain, therefore its intelligence. It is ironic, seeing as how the other boys mistreat him, while at the same time all of the brilliant ideas such as fire-making, shelters, and looking after the littluns, originated from him. The derogative nickname also shows the hostility towards him from the other boys. Jack's name is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob or Yakov יַעֲקֹב, which literally means "supplanter" or "one who takes over", just as Jack took the role of leadership by force from Ralph. Simon's name, derived from the Hebrew name "Shim'on" means "one who listens" or "one who observes", symbolizing Simon's quiet, attentive behaviour. "Roger" means "famous with the spear."
The signal fire
The signal fire becomes a measure of the boys’ connection to civilization. In the early parts of the novel, the fact that the boys maintain the fire is perhaps a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society. When the fire burns low or goes out, it seems that the boys have lost sight of their desire to be rescued and have accepted their savage lives on the island. The signal fire thus functions as a kind of barometer of the strength of the civilised instinct remaining on the island. Ironically, at the end of the novel, a fire finally summons a ship to the island, but not the signal fire. Instead, it is the fire of savagery — the forest fire Jack’s "tribe" start as part of his quest to hunt and kill Ralph. The forest fire could also represent humanity's destruction of the environment to accomplish shortsighted goals. Even if they had not been rescued, they had burned down the fruit trees and probably killed most of the wild game, and thus would have eventually perished due to their actions. Another interpretation of the fact that the "savage" fire saved the boys on the island may be that the "Allied forces" liberation of Europe from the clutches of the Nazi regime which was due to the fact that Germany attacked Russia in "Operation Barbarrossa" and that the allies of Germany, namely Japan, attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor is an analogy to the boys' condition on the island. Had those attacks never occurred, the U.S and the U.S.S.R would have never joined the war and without their contribution, Europe's fate may have been sealed. In the same manner, Ralph's fate would have been to die at the hands of Jack's hunters, were it not for the fire and its smoke, which though intended to kill Ralph, ended up signalling the British cruiser and rescuing the boys, including him.
The platform
| “ | Piggy stood on the platform, the white conch gripped in his hands | ” |
The platform may represent Parliament for debating about matters are held here. This is also where "the rules" were created and this is the meeting place of the characters. There have been lots of references between the Platform and the Conch (Represents Democracy).
Moral Despondency and Social Stigma
Despite reoccuring thematic elements, a significant ultimate hypothesis posits a supremely forward interpretation of the common social stigmas of the time. In fact this frequent occurrence opts towards the metaphysical aspects of self-centered thinking and has challenged psychological interpretations from a conglomeration of intrinsic desparities. Indeed, the effectiveness of this absolute and philosophical reiteration translates into a whimsical illustration of varied portrayance. Thus, the characters conclue with a quintessential listing of unrequested pittance and restitution.
Allusions/references to other works
The Coral Island
In 1857, R.M. Ballantyne wrote a book called The Coral Island. It portrayed three boys: Ralph, Peterkin and Jack (two of these names are transferred to Golding's book; Peterkin is altered to Simon, which is an allusion to the Bible "Simon called Peter") landing on an island, much like that in Lord of the Flies. They have great adventures, typical of much children's fiction written during the period of the British Empire — the book is not a realistic projection of what boys on a deserted island would do. However, it was very successful.
A number of references to The Coral Island are made in Lord of the Flies, as Golding wrote it as an indirect response.
Golding read The Coral Island as he was growing up, and thought of Ballantyne as racist, since the book teaches that evil is associated with black skin and is external. It is somewhat ironic then, that in Chapter 11 of Lord of the Flies, Piggy calls Jack's tribe "a pack of painted niggers." It should be pointed out that the term was not viewed as offensive in 1950s British society as it is today, being seen as a descriptive (rather than abusive) term for people of dark skin. (For instance, the word "nigger" played a prominent role in the 1954 British film The Dam Busters). In any case, the word was changed to "savages" in some editions and "Indians" in the Mass Media publication.
To a certain extent it can be said that Golding wrote this book as a response to Coral Island, to show what boys would truly do if left alone on an island. In chapter 2 the boys compare to what will happen "like in a book", saying it will be like "treasure island-", ""swallows and amazons-" and "coral island". Golding sets this to deliberately compare the two books, two different versions of boys activities when left on their own. When the officer is on the island at the end he says "like the coral island". This is once again comparing them, showing what would really happen.
Heart of Darkness and Pincher Martin
After Simon finishes talking with the Sow, he imagines he is looking into a vast mouth. "There was blackness within, a blackness that spread… Simon was inside the mouth. He fell down and lost consciousness."
The mouth also seems to be a reference to Conrad's "Heart of Darkness": "I saw (the dying Kurtz) open his mouth wide—it gave him a weirdly voracious aspect, as though he wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth all the men before him".
E.L. Epstein wrote, in a critical note regarding the Lord of the Flies which appears at the end of certain editions, that this mouth "seems to represent a ravenous, unreasoning and eternally insatiable nature. This appears again in Golding's novel Pincher Martin, in which the development of the theme of Nature inimical to the conscious personality of man is developed in a stunning fashion."
Literary significance and criticism
Many people have interpreted Lord of the Flies as a work on moral philosophy. The environment of the island, a paradise with food, water, and all the necessities, is a metaphor for the Garden of Eden. The first appearance of the "beastie" is in a form reminiscent of a serpent, as which evil appears in the Book of Genesis. One of the major themes of the book, on the very nature of evil, is brought to a head in a scene which Simon holds with the head of the pig, which is known as "The Lord of the Flies" (a literal translation of the Hebrew name of Ba'alzevuv, or Beelzebub) which is a powerful demon in hell, sometimes believed to be the devil himself. The conversation held also points to Simon as the character representing religion and good will in the novel, which is reminiscent of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Some Christian readers allude the British Naval officers' rescue of the boys, as the second coming of Christ (Bible story in Revelation). The "Lord of the Flies" in the end reveals that evil and the terror of the "beastie" is not an external threat, but an inborn evil with the boys themselves.
Others have looked at the novel as a work on political philosophy. The stranding of the boys, without any adult supervision, represents a clean slate upon which they have the power to build a small society without reference to any past authorities (past governments, religion, etc.). The abundance of food and water and all the necessities is a setting that sets the stage for a utopia or perfect society. The actions of the boys demonstrate the spectrum of governments, with Ralph and Piggy representing democratic ideals while Jack represents more authoritarian systems.
Another analogy compares the three principal characters to the three Archangels of the Old Testament. Ralph equates to St Michael, the general of the Armies of the Lord, Jack to Lucifer the fallen angel who takes a hoard of lesser angels with him turning them into demons opposed to God in the process, and Piggy to Gabriel whose trumpet call announces Judgement Day.
There have been two film adaptations.
- Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook.
- Lord of the Flies (1990), directed by Harry Hook.
External links
- The Lord of the Flies: A Study Guide
- NovelGuide
- SparkNotes
- Lord of the Flies (1963) at the Internet Movie Database
- Lord of the Flies (1990) at the Internet Movie Database
- Criterion Collection essay by Peter Brook
- Slashdoc : Lord of the Flies Literary analysis of the novel
Editions
- ISBN 0-606-00196-4 (prebound, 1954)
- ISBN 0-399-50148-7 (paperback, 1959)
- ISBN 0-8072-3176-2 (audio cassette with paperback, 1977, unabridged)
- ISBN 1-55651-525-1 (paperback, 1988)
- ISBN 0-02-635121-8 (hardcover, 1990)
- ISBN 0-571-16056-5 (paperback, 1996)
- ISBN 1-57322-612-2 (paperback, 1997)
- ISBN 1-56137-384-2 (hardcover, 1998)
- ISBN 1-56137-383-4 (hardcover, 1999)
- ISBN 0-7910-4777-6 (hardcover, 1999)
- ISBN 0-7641-0821-2 (paperback, 1999)
- ISBN 0-14-028333-1 (paperback, 1999)
- ISBN 0-571-20053-2 (paperback, 1999)
- ISBN 0-399-52901-2 (paperback, 2002)
- ISBN 0-8072-0954-6 (audio cassette, 2002, unabridged)
- ISBN 0-399-52920-9 (hardcover, 2003, Anniversary Edition)
- ISBN 1-58663-355-4 (paperback, 2003)
- ISBN 0-88411-695-6 (hardcover)
- ISBN 0-8072-1364-0 (paperback)
- ISBN 0-571-22767-8 (paperback, 2005)
Major works
- Poems (1934)
- Lord of the Flies (1954) ISBN 0-571-06366-7
- The Inheritors (1955) ISBN 0-571-06529-5
- Pincher Martin (1956)
- The Brass Butterfly (1958)
- Free Fall (1959)
- The Spire (1964) ISBN 0-571-06492-2
- The Hot Gates (1965)
- The Pyramid (1967)
- The Scorpion God (1971)
- Darkness Visible (1979)
- A Moving Target (1982)
- The Paper Men (1984)
- An Egyptian Journal (1985)
- To the Ends of the Earth (trilogy)
- Rites of Passage (1980),
- Close Quarters (1987) and
- Fire Down Below (1989)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Official William Golding website
- Nobel Prize William Golding Biography
- Brief Biography of William Golding
- Last Words Article
External links
- The Spire a sixth form perspective at William Howard School
- Golding's Life and work reviewed at the Educational Paperback Association
- Biography of William Golding at the Nobel Prize website
- Interview by Mary Lynn Scott- Universal Pessimist, Cosmic Optimist
- Faber and Faber - UK publisher of William Golding
- William Golding Ltd Website of Golding family.
- Last Words An account of Golding's last evening by D.M. Thomas - Guardian - Saturday 10 June 2006 (Review Section)
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1976: Saul Bellow | 1977: Vicente Aleixandre | 1978: Isaac Bashevis Singer | 1979: Odysseas Elytis | 1980: Czesław Miłosz | 1981: Elias Canetti | 1982: Gabriel García Márquez | 1983: William Golding | 1984: Jaroslav Seifert | 1985: Claude Simon | 1986: Wole Soyinka | 1987: Joseph Brodsky | 1988: Naguib Mahfouz | 1989: Camilo José Cela | 1990: Octavio Paz | 1991: Nadine Gordimer | 1992: Derek Walcott | 1993: Toni Morrison | 1994: Kenzaburo Oe | 1995: Seamus Heaney | 1996: Wisława Szymborska | 1997: Dario Fo | 1998: José Saramago | 1999: Günter Grass | 2000: Gao Xingjian |
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