The Author William Golding started writing at the early age of twelve, but because his parents wanted him to study science he didn’t study literature. At least at first, after his second year he eventually did shift his focus towards studying English literature. After a period where he acted in plays and worked as a director he joined the Royal Navy a year after England entered World War II. He participated in events such as the D-day invasion of Normandy. Because of his experiences during the World War his view on humanity and it’s capabilities changed thoroughly. After his time helping the war effort he picked up teaching again and started to write novels. His first success was the very book I am about to analyse Lord of the Flies, a bestseller in both Britain and the United States after an initial slow start in sales. Because of the success of his novel, Golding was able to retire from teaching and devote himself to writing. He wrote several novels and even though he never had quite the same success as he did with Lord of the Flies he did remain a widely respected and distinguished author and was even rewarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. Ten years later he died as one of the most acclaimed writers of the second half of the 20th century. Social and historical context Lord of the Flies’ story is about a group of children who got stranded on an abandoned island after their plane got shot down during a war. The novel is fictional but this combined with the exploration of the evil humans can do and how the lack of civilization and structure in that matter influences us is clearly a reference to Golding’s days In World War II. Because the boys result to savagery when confronted with the lack of structure and guidance, something we saw happening over and over again during wars. When the soldiers go to the frontlines, rules are different and normal civilization is far removed. This results in outrageous behaviour and acts of savagery the likes of which you’d never see in normal life. It also shows how people group up in these kinds of situations, in this context of war, lawlessness and savagery. Some of the boys choose to behave peacefully and try to restore order to the group whilst others are keen on spreading anarchy and using violence. I think Golding truly is painting a broader picture of the struggle of the human mind and its instincts. The instinct to obey the rules, behave correctly and respect the law is in a fight against our savage instinct of violent actions based on selfish grounds and the desire to gain power over others without paying attention to morality. It was written during a time where the war was still fresh in everybody’s minds, especially its atrocities. But also a time of reformation and rebuilding, a time where a lot of countries had to deal with the same lawlessness the boys endured on their island because they had lost their guidance and their structure as a result of the war. Some might even consider it being written as a criticism of Western governing at the time. Literary significance For many people, especially critics, Lord of the Flies stands as a work on moral philosophy. They recognise the island as the Garden of Eden, it is full of food, water and other resources and a true paradise. Another hint is the title itself ‘Lord of the Flies’ is a literal translation of the Hebrew name for Beelzebub a demon though to be the devil himself. Other people looked at it as a work on political philosophy. They see the stranding of the boys as a way for them to begin anew, with a clean slate. They have the opportunity and all the means to start up their own utopia, their own perfect civilization without influences from elsewhere. But the persona’s soon collide with Ralph and Piggy rooting for a democratic society whilst Jack wants an authoritarian system. Some even see it as a work on Freud’s theories with Jack, Ralph and Piggy representing the ID, ego and superego. Whatever the correct answer is, or whether it is a combination of the three, the major significance The Lord of the Flies represents is the fact that the evil and the terror of the beast is an evil born and grown within the boys themselves, and not an external threat. The evil we humans often seem to see in others or in things is often just something that has grown within ourselves without us realising it. And that is an imposing message. The Plot The story is set during a raging war and begins with a plane that got shot down over a deserted island. The mission of the plane was to evacuate a group of English schoolboys, but that mission had now failed, and they had to survive on the island. Two boys that immediately found each other after the crash found a conch shell on the beach and used it to gather the rest of the group. When they had rounded everybody, they set themselves to electing a leader and to work out an escape plan. The elected leader was Ralph and he appointed Jack, anothe