William Golding was a British novelist born in 1911 who is best known for his novel Lord of the Flies. He served in the Royal Navy during World War II, an experience that influenced his writing. Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 and tells the story of schoolboys stranded on an island who try to form their own society but eventually revert to savagery. Though initially unsuccessful, it became widely popular in the 1960s and explores themes of human nature, civilization versus savagery, and the struggle between good and evil. Golding went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983.

1. JasminVargas
Ms.King
Period 7
05/20/10
WILLIAM
GOLDING
(1911-1993)
GOLDING PHOTO PORTRAIT CA.1975
PhotoPortrait ca.1975.Photocredit JerryBauer.

2.  WasaBritish novelist.
 BornonSeptember 19,1911,died 1993
 StudiedScienceand Englishat Oxford
 Fought in RoyalNavy duringWWII
 and was briefly involved in the pursuit
and sinking of Germany's mightiest
battleship, the Bismarck.
 At war’s end, returned to teaching and
writing
 Earnedthe Nobel Prizein Literature
 Winner of the 1983Nobel Prizein literature,
he’s among the most popular and
influential British authors to have emerged
afterWorldWarII.

3.  HegrewupinWWII1939-1945
 Thefallof Franceto NaziGermanyin1940
 Britainfearedaninvasionandevacuated
childrento othercountries.
 1940AGermanU-Boattorpedoed,aBritish ship
carrying children, killing the boys, suspendingthe
overseasevacuation program.

4.  1939-Britain joined Francein war against NaziGermany
 1940- Fall ofFrance
 1940-FascistItaly joins theAxis with Germany
 1941-Japanattacks PearlHarbor causingUSAto declare war onJapan
and enter the war
 1944- D-Day NormandyLandings
 1945- Bombing ofDresden
 1945- European victorycelebrated
 1945-Atomic Bombdropped in Hiroshima immediately killing 60-80,000
people
(final death toll 135,000people)

5. ONWRITINGLORDOFTHE
FLIES
“It was simply what
seemed sensible for me to write
after the war when everyone was
thanking God they weren’t
Nazis. I’d seen enough to realize
that every single one of uscould
be Nazis.”
--WilliamGolding

6.  Golding onceallowed his classof boys total
freedominadebate,but hadto interveneas
mayhem soon brokeout
 Experiencesinwar
 CriticalresponsetoCoralIslandbyR.M.
Ballanytyne
 Philosophicalquestionsabouthumannature

7. THOMASHOBBES
 English Philosopher: 1588-1679
 Manisbynatureselfishlyindividualistic
 Manconstantlyat warwith othermen
 Fearof violent deathissolemotivation to create
civilizations
 Menneedto becontrolledbyabsolute
sovereigntyto avoidbrutish behavior

8.  Rejected21times beforeit waspublished
 It washisfirst novel-publishedin 1954
 Not successfuluntil the early1960’s
 On the American Library Association’s list
of the 100Most FrequentlyChallenged
Booksof 1990-2000.

9.  Setin mid 1940’swhenEuropewas
engulfed inwar.
 Aplane carrying British school boys is
mistakenfor amilitary craftandshot
down.
 Onlythe boyssurvivethe crashandtry
to form asocietyandgovern
themselves.

10. “The theme is an attempt to trace the
defects of society backto the defects of
human nature.”
--WilliamGolding

11.  Survival
 Power/leadershipstyles
 Civilization vs.Savagery
 LossofInnocence
 Humannature
 Duality ofman
 Nature Vs.Nurture
 Good Vs.Evil

12. Heavyuseofsymbolism
Irony
Abundantimageryandsensorydetail
FigurativeLanguage
Simile
Metaphor
Personification

13.  InHook,RobinWilliams comparesLostBoysto
savagesin Lordof the Flies.
 TheSimpsonsepisode“DasBus”isaparody.
 Inspirationfor the animeseriesInfiniteRyvius.
 MelGibson’s2006movieApocalyptohasasimilar
ending.
 T.V.showsSurvivorandLostaresaidto havebeen
inspiredfrom Lordof the Flies.
 2006movie Unaccompanied Minors makesreference
to Lordof the Flies.

14. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the
darknessof man's heart, and the fall through
the air of the true, wisefriend called Piggy."
-WilliamGolding, LordoftheFlies,Chapter 12

15.  Golding,William. (2010).GrolierMultimediaEncyclopedia.
Retrieved May 21,2010, from Grolier Online
http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0122620-0
 Galloway, David. "Golding, William Gerald (1911–1993)."
Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online
http://ea.grolier.com/article?id=0179130-00 (accessed May
21,2010).
 http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/lordoftheflies/