Take out your journal and take a slip off the front desk. Read
the directions and begin.
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Lord of the Flies By William Golding
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William Golding (1911-1993) Born: September 19, 1911 in
Cornwall, England Studied Science and English at Oxford Witnessed
WWI- the war to end all wars Fought in Royal Navy during WWII
Participated in invasion of Normandy on D-Day At wars end, returned
to teaching and writing Earned the Nobel Prize in Literature
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The World Golding Knew The fall of France to Nazi Germany in
1940 Britain feared an invasion and evacuated children to other
countries 1940- A German U-Boat torpedoed a British ship carrying
children, killing the boys, thus suspending the oversees evacuation
program
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Major Events of WWII 1939- Britain joined France in war against
Nazi Germany 1940- Fall of France 1940- Fascist Italy joins the
Axis with Germany 1941- Japan attacks Pearl Harbor causing USA to
declare war on Japan and enter the war 1944- D-Day Normandy
Landings 1945- Bombing of Dresden 1945- European victory celebrated
1945- Atomic Bomb dropped in Hiroshima immediately killing
60-80,000 people (final death toll 135,000 people)
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On writing Lord of the Flies It was simply what seemed sensible
for me to write after the war when everyone was thanking God they
werent Nazis. Id seen enough to realize that every single one of us
could be Nazis. --William Golding
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Inspirations/Influences Golding once allowed his class of boys
total freedom in a debate, but had to intervene as mayhem soon
broke out Experiences in war Critical response to Coral Island by
R.M. Ballanytyne (ideal vs. real) Philosophical questions about
human nature
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Re jected 21 times before it was published It was his first
novel- published in 1954 Not successful until the early 1960s On
the American Library Associations list of the 100 Most Frequently
Challenged Books of 1990-2000. FACTS
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1.The Simpsons-Das Bus 2.Hook 3.Rock band Gatsbys American
Dream has a song inspired completely by Lord of the Flies entitled
Fable 4.The Offspring mention Lord of the Flies in their song,
"You're Gonna Go Far Kid 5.In Melbourne, Australia, there is a
business called Lord of the Fries
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Title Translation of Beelzebub or Satan Setting A tiny coral
island in the South Pacific during a war when the atomic bomb may
have (and most likely has) been used. This world becomes their
microcosm, which is definitely one of your symbols! Plot A group of
young boys is stranded on an island and they must negotiate the
social issues of cooperation and self-government. The outside world
is consumed with war
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Goldings Message The theme is an attempt to trace the defects
of society back to the defects of human nature. --William
Golding
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Does every human being have a dark side? Are humans inherently
good or evil? What does it mean to be civilized? Rules of
government democracy vs. dictatorship? What type of government
works best? Why? What are the outcomes when evil is an
influence?
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Use of the names Ralph and Jack as the main characters from The
Coral Island. Simon from the Bible Simon called Peter, Peter was
the other boys name in The Coral Island Mention of Coral Island and
Treasure Island Numerous biblical allusions throughout
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Basic Philosophies to Consider While Reading Humans are
inherently evil; society establishes government to curb evil
instincts We all saw a hell of a lot in the war that cant be
accounted for except on the basis of original evil Humans are
inherently good; humans are born good and are corrupted by society
Humans are inherently neutral; our experiences determine the
balance between good and evil Which do you agree/disagree with now?
Choose the one with the closet alignment to your own ideas.