Lord of the Flies - by william golding
Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding and published in 1954. William Golding was born and educated in England and became a HS English teacher. When World War II broke out, he served in the Navy and participated in the D-Day invasion. The War had a profound effect on his view of human nature. Before the war, he viewed the human condition as inherently good. He felt that when humans failed to live up to their potential goodness, it was often because of outside forces. However, because of his horrific experiences in the war, he came to feel that all humans were deeply flawed and evil by nature - it was only the organizing factors of governments and society which could keep that evil in check. He believed that in the absence of these societal forces, humans would descend into chaos and violence.
Lord of the Flies is an allegory which focuses on a group of boys stranded on an Island. The boys and island act as a model for mankind in a world absent of the organizing forces of society and government. It traces the descent of mankind (the boys) from order and rules into chaos and savagery. Ultimately, Golding feels the "Beast" is not an outside force acting on man, but, rather, it resides inside of us - waiting to get out. |
Background and Intro |
Assignments
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Resources
Below are some important resources that you may need or use throughout this unit.
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