1、Lord of the Flies,William Golding,Contents,William Golding,He was born in Cornwall, English, in 1911 and educated at Oxford University. His first book, poems, was published in 1935. Following a stint in the Royal Navy and other diversions during and after WWII, Golding wrote Lord of the Flies(1954)
2、while teaching school. This was the first of many novels including The Inheritors(1955), Pincher Martin(1958), and Free Fall(1959) and a play, The Brass Butterfly(1958), which led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983. He died in June 1993 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyar
3、d, English.,Background,During World War II, Golding served in the Royal Navy in command of a rocket ship. His active service included involvement in the sinking of the German Battleship Bismarck(俾斯麦号) and participating in the Normandy Invasion(诺曼底登陆).,Background,His wartime experiences played a larg
4、e part in helping him to form his view of life and also made him witness everything about the ferocity of the war. He found that everyone even the children are not innocent. Sometimes, when a man is facing a difficult situation then he will probably show his dark and guilty nature.,Plot,In a fictiti
5、ous war, a plane carrying a group of boys crashes on an isolated island. In the beginning, they are harmonious and united, but later they split into two factions. They kill each other and finally the original evil of human nature wins.,Protagonists,Ralph is 12 years old. He is fair and well-built, a
6、nd might never grow into a devil, for he is sunny and decent, sensible, considerate. He doesnt understand a lot, but has two things clear: firstly, they will soon be rescued. And secondly, until they are rescued they must hang together. It is he who finds the conch and arranges that when there is a
7、meeting he who holds the conch shall speak. He is chosen as a leader. He is democracy. And as long as the conch remains, there is some semblance of cooperation. But it gets smashed.,Protagonists,Piggy is fat, asthmatic(哮喘), shortsighted, underprivileged and wise. He is the brains of the party. Its t
8、he lenses of his spectacles that kindle fire. He is loyal to Ralph, and tries to stop him from making mistakes, for he knows where mistakes may lead to in an unknown island. And as long as he survives there is some semblance of intelligence. Eventually, piggy is killed by Roger.,Protagonists,Jack is
9、 the novels antagonist. He is the head of choir(唱诗班). He loves adventure, excitement, foraging in groups, orders when issued by himself. He is good at manipulating the other boys, represents the instinct of savagery within human beings, as opposed to the civilizing instinct Ralph represents.,Protago
10、nists,Simon is a shy, sensitive boy in the group. He, in some ways, is the only naturally “good” character on the island. Simon represents a kind of natural goodness, as opposed to the unbridled evil of Jack and the morality of civilization represented by Ralph and Piggy.,Symbolism,1.The title Lord
11、of the Flies symbolizes evil, which is the literal translation of the Hebrew word “Beelzebub”, a Satan figure in the Bible , who represents the evil within them.2.The conch(海螺), which is used to summon the boys to gatherings, represents order, civilization, and authority.,Symbolism,3.Piggys glasses,
12、 which are used to make fire, symbolize the power of science and intellectual endeavor. He loses spectacles at a time, which indicates the boys loss of values.4.The Beastie, is represented by a pigs head on a stick hwas symbolized as the darkness of human beings. It was not real, but imagined by the
13、se children who feared the gloomy night .,Theme,1.the Fall of Man and Original Sin2.the civilization to savagery,_,Theme,3.“the end of innocence” and “the darkness of mans heart”,Writing style,1. It is written with taste and liveliness and the talk is natural, the descriptions of scenery are enchanting.,2.The tone is pathetic, critical and pitiful.,Thank you,
