Golding, William: 1911-1993
Lord of the Flies, 1954 - Information about the Book
- General Information
- In this novel, children are evacuated from Britain because of a nuclear war. One airplane, with adults and prep-school boys as passengers, crashes on an uninhabited island, and all the adults are killed. As the boys fashion their own society, their attempts at establishing a social order gradually devolve into savagery.
- Information from Wikipedia
- Facts
- In 2005 Time magazine named "Lord of the Flies" as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.
- Themes
- Characters
- Main Characters
- On Symbolic Significance of Characters
- Golding's Introduction to Lord of the Flies
- Articles
- The Story Behind the Publication: "After the manuscript had been rejected by a number of leading publishing houses, Golding finally sent the tatty typescript to Faber & Faber." Faber & Faber
- Lord of the Flies: The Educational Value of Golding's Text: "Students take more away from the novel than the perverse language, violence and intentional antagonism. Golding’s story offers such a good model of novel structure, character development, and symbolism that it is almost necessary in the English classroom." Erin M. Frank, 2010 (pdf)
- What is an inciting incident, and how do I find one in Lord of the Flies?: "What was it that put everything in motion? What's the first important thing that really pulls you into the story? In other words, what was the inciting incident?"
- Lord of the Flies in Historical Context: "Golding’s war experiences caused him to question the roles of good and evil in the world, and to examine humanity’s capacity for violence." Brian Ireland
- Why should you read Lord of the Flies plus additional information, from TedEd
- Audio (2:32)
Alan Cheuse reviews William Golding's Lord of the Flies, 50 years after its first publication. Cheuse says this harrowing tale of a group of schoolboys stranded on a remote tropical island still holds up today. NPR Radio, March 29, 2004 - Frank Lavallo discusses the novel with readers. From Evergreen Podcasts
- Patricia Marx and author William Golding discuss his development as a writer and the impetus behind his Lord of the Flies. WNYC Radio, New York; June 4, 1963
- Survival Of The Kindest: Can Our Better Nature Help Us Build A Better World?. WNYC Radio, New York; July 13, 2020