World War Ii and Flies William Golding Essay

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Lord of the Flies

William Golding
1911- 1993

About William Golding
British novelist
 Winner of the Nobel Peace 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 

Golding’s Fiction
Allegorical
 Allusions to


•
•
•

Classical literature
Mythology
Christian Symbolism

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.”
• William Golding on his novel Lord of the Flies

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.


Themes in the Novel
Civilization vs. Savagery
 Loss of Innocence
 Original Sin
 Fear that separates one from God
 Nature of Good and Evil
 Goodness is rare and fleeting


Motifs in the Novel
Biblical parallels (book criticized for retelling episodes in the Bible)
 Pristine places corrupted by evil
 Beel’zebub- Hebrew translation for Lord of the flies


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


Philosophical Influence


John Hobbes
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•
•
•

English Philosopher: 1588- 1679
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 by absolute sovereignty to avoid brutish behavior

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

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