1. William Golding Author of Lord of the Flies

2. Biography • Born on September 19, 1911 in Cornwall, England • Died in 1993 in Wiltshire, England Cornwall

3. Went to Marlborough Grammar School • Went to Brasenose College, Oxford, to study Natural Sciences.

4. More about Golding • In 1932 he changed his major to Literature • 1935 Became a teacher • 1940 Joined the British Royal Navy • 1944 Commanded a rocket-launching ship during the invasion of France • 1954 Published Lord of the Flies. • 1983 Won Nobel Prize for Worldwide Literature

5. Other Novels • The Inheritors (1955) • Pincher Martin (1956) • Free Fall (1959) • The Spire (1964) • Darkness Visible (1979) • Rites of Passage (1980)

6. Golding’s Philosophy • “man was sick—not exceptional man, but average man.” • “the condition of man was to be a morally diseased creature.” • LOTF is“an attempt to trace defects of society back to the defects of human nature.” • Turn to your neighbor and tell he or she whether or not you agree with these beliefs & why or why not.

7. More Beliefs • During the war Golding lost trust in man’s innocence. • Man is by nature evil and brutal. • Not even children are innocent, though they seem to be. • True nature comes out when man is put to the test (survival).

8. Vision of Humanity • The Coral Island (1858) not reality • Stripped of civilization’s social environment, human beings would return to a savage state ruled by fear and basic desire for survival—How will this play a role in LOTF?

9. Golding’s Themes • Defects in society can be traced to the defects in human nature. • Civilized society keeps human beings from reverting to a more primitive, savage state. • All individuals have a natural capacity for brutality. • A society can be judged by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens.

10. LOFT Extra Credit Opportunity • Many references to Lord of the Flies and the story’s characters appear in modern movies, music, and television. • Find one example of this (maybe LOFT has been parodied in a certain television show) and write a paragraph that describes the reference. Include at least 2 sentences that explain why you think LOTF has made an impact on pop culture. • Must be typed in PROPER MLA FORMAT. • 10 points possible; has to be turned in to me by Friday.