William Golding's Lord of the Flies was published in 1954, as the Cold WarA period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed. was intensifying. The mid-20th Century's "clash of civilisations" pitted Western democracy against Communist totalitarianismA system of government that forces citizens to follow the will of the state. in China and the Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. . In Golding's novel, this cold war of ideas has turned hot, and a group of English schoolboys are being evacuated when their aeroplane crashes on a remote island. At first, they attempt to establish a sense of order and fairness — but as rivalries and superstitions emerge, the boys soon turn to faction, violence and savagery. "The theme of Lord of the Flies is grief," wrote Golding when the novel was published. "Sheer grief, grief, grief."
Lord of the Flies
William Golding's Lord of the Flies was published in 1954, as the Cold WarA period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed. was intensifying. The mid-20th Century's "clash of civilisations" pitted Western democracy against Communist totalitarianismA system of government that forces citizens to follow the will of the state. in China and the Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. . In Golding's novel, this cold war of ideas has turned hot, and a group of English schoolboys are being evacuated when their aeroplane crashes on a remote island. At first, they attempt to establish a sense of order and fairness - but as rivalries and superstitions emerge, the boys soon turn to faction, violence and savagery. "The theme of Lord of the Flies is grief," wrote Golding when the novel was published. "Sheer grief, grief, grief."
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Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in response to an 1857 novel called The Coral Island, which centres on the idyllic and peaceful life of three shipwrecked boys on a distant island. Golding was irritated by the text, seeing it as unrealistic. He asked his wife whether he should write "a book about children on an island who behave in the way children really would behave", and his take on human nature ends up being far more cynical. Some critics have questioned whether it is too cynical, citing real-life cases of island maroonings where the islanders cohabited and cooperated peacefully with one another, a far cry from the violent savagery of Lord of the Flies. But for Golding, human nature is a calamitousDisastrous. disaster-in-waiting when it is taken out of civilisation. Individuals are motivated by the will to power (in the case of the power-hungry Jack) and by groupthink, a term used to describe irrational decision-making in groups of people who are more keen to fit in than to make the right choice.
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In Lord of the Flies, violence often comes about as a result of a power struggle, but can also be motivated by fear and bandwagonism, as per the murders of Simon and Piggy. It is also something used to bond tribes of people together in collective bloodthirst or bloodpact. The boys' chant of "Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood" has become infamous, symbolising the sense of shared identity that can be constituted by violence. Through this, Golding paints a picture of authoritarianismA form of government in which individual freedoms are severely limited by government power. Examples include Nazi Germany, Khmer Rogue Cambodia and contemporary China. as a structure held together by mutual complicity in persecutionIll treatment and oppression, especially due to a person's beliefs or race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or other factors. and violence.
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Evil was clearly intended as one of the novel's overriding themes. The title, Lord of the Flies, alludes to Satan, as the translation of the Hebrew Ba'al-zəbub (Beelzebub in English) is "Lord of the Flies" or "Lord of the Flyers". Beelzebub, or Satan, is a prince of Hell and source of true evil. The fictive "beast" of Lord of the Flies is, for the boys, a similar source of true evil and terror, but as Simon realises, the beast is a symbol of the latentPresent, but not yet active or obvious. evil inside their own nature. All they have to be afraid of is themselves.
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Golding's first draft of the novel had a lengthy first section describing the pupils being evacuated from the site of a nuclear war. Thus, it is safe to say that the book can be read as a Cold War allegoryA story or poem that has a hidden moral or political meaning. . In any case, its cynical view of human nature certainly reflects the Zeitgeist. After two World Wars in the first half of the 20th Century, followed by a period of intense paranoia about nuclear annihilation, there was little reason for optimism about human nature or comradeship.
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When the students first arrive on the island, it is a wild and luxurious idyll. However, it quickly descends into an arena for violence and savagery, and is later described by Golding as "scarred" by the human presence. For this reason, some critics have drawn parallels to the Abrahamic Garden of Eden and claim that the boys are "cast out" for succumbing to their violent tribalist instincts. Critics have also called Lord of the Flies a "Robinsonade", inspired by Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Works of this genre centre around becoming stranded or cast away in a wild natural paradise, generally a desert island. Readers are unanimousAgreed upon by everybody. in agreeing that Lord of the Flies seeks to make a profound comment about the harm that human presence causes to the natural world.
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Keywords
Cold War - A period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed.
Totalitarianism - A system of government that forces citizens to follow the will of the state.
Soviet Union - Officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991.
Calamitous - Disastrous.
Authoritarianism - A form of government in which individual freedoms are severely limited by government power. Examples include Nazi Germany, Khmer Rogue Cambodia and contemporary China.
Persecution - Ill treatment and oppression, especially due to a person's beliefs or race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.
Latent - Present, but not yet active or obvious.
Allegory - A story or poem that has a hidden moral or political meaning.
Unanimous - Agreed upon by everybody.
Lord of the Flies
Glossary
Cold War - A period of diplomatic conflict between blocs led by the USA and the USSR that lasted from 1947 until 1991, when the USSR collapsed.
Totalitarianism - A system of government that forces citizens to follow the will of the state.
Soviet Union - Officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991.
Calamitous - Disastrous.
Authoritarianism - A form of government in which individual freedoms are severely limited by government power. Examples include Nazi Germany, Khmer Rogue Cambodia and contemporary China.
Persecution - Ill treatment and oppression, especially due to a person's beliefs or race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or other factors.
Latent - Present, but not yet active or obvious.
Allegory - A story or poem that has a hidden moral or political meaning.
Unanimous - Agreed upon by everybody.