By William Golding
Author Information
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William Golding 1911- 1993 (England)
Married; had 2 kids
LOTF: more than 20 publishers rejected novel
His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies (1954)
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983
Author Influences
● As a child, he witnessed WWI, which was referred to as “the war to
end all wars”
● 1940 joined the Royal Navy (WWII)
● Participated in D-Day
● Experience in WWII had a profound effect on his view of humanity
and the evils of which it was capable.
Why is the book called Lord of the Flies?
● “Beelzebub” is a Hebrew word for LUCIFER
● However, the literal translation for “Beelzebub” into English is
LORD OF THE FLIES
About the Book
● 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.
TERMS TO KNOW
Allegory
● Definition: a work of fiction carrying two levels of meaning
○ A surface plot (literal)
○ Symbolic/metaphorical meaning
● Example: The tortoise and the hare
○ A race between a tortoise and a hare
○ Teaches us that slow and steady wins the race
Allusion
● Definition: an indirect reference to a well-known person, place, idea, or
piece of literature
● Examples:
○ The Simpson’s episode titled Das Bus is a parody of Lord of the Flies.
○ Bands such as Taking Back Sunday, Nine Inch Nails, AFI, Iron Maiden,
Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd have written songs about or have
alluded to LOTF in their music.
“If we're keeping
score
We're all choir boys at
best
Archetype
● Definition: a recurrent symbol or image found across literature and
cultures
● Examples:
○ The hero
■ Demonstrates goodness and struggles against evil to bring
justice to society
○ Light
■ Hope or renewal
○ Dark
■ Despair or ignorance
Connotation vs. Denotation
● Connotation definition: implied/associative/emotional meaning
● Denotation definition: dictionary/literal meaning
● Examples
○ House
■ Connotation: doesn’t have the positive feeling compared to
the word “home”
■ Denotation: a building where someone lives
Diction
● Definition: author’s word choice to create meaning
● Examples:
○ Using slang in an informal setting/talking with friends
○ Formal words in formal situations like meetings
Freudian Analysis
Id: basic drives—pleasure seeker; avoid pain
● Ego: reality principle—reason and common sense; balances id and
superego; delays gratification until it can be socially approved ways
● Superego: conscience—moral constraint; contrasts id; feelings of
guilt, anxiety, inferiority
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Hyperbole
● Definition: exaggeration for effect
● Examples:
○ “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”
○ “I’m literally dying”
Imagery
● Definition: visually descriptive or figurative language
● Examples:
Irony
● Definition: when the reality is the opposite of what is expected or
intended
● Examples in Finding Nemo:
○ Marlin, the clownfish that isn’t funny
○ The pelican that is friends with fish
○ Sharks that choose not to eat fish
Metaphor
● Definition: a comparison between two things that are unrelated but
share some common characteristics
● Example: “Her voice was music to my ears”
Mood vs. Tone
● Mood definition: IN the text; the atmosphere or feeling created IN the
text
● Tone definition: OUTSIDE of the text; the speaker or narrator’s feeling
about the subject matter
Motifs
● Definition: recurrent symbols, images, or themes within a written work
● Example:
○ Light and darkness
■ Scenes taking place in either lightness or darkness carry a
different meaning
Paradox
● Definition: when something seems like a contradiction, but may
actually be true
● Example:
○ “The beginning of the end.”
○
Parallelism
● Definition: The repetition of grammatical structure
● Example: What goes around comes around
Personification
● Definition: giving human characteristics to something nonhuman
● Example: The ocean danced in the moonlight.
Simile
● Definition: A direct comparison between two different things using
“like” or “as”
● She is pretty as a flower.
Symbols
● Definition: something that represents something else
● Examples:
○ Black is used to represent death or evil.
○ White stands for life and purity.