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Introduction to Lord of the Flies by William Golding. About the Author. William Golding was born in 1911 in Cornwall, England. He enrolled at Oxford University as a physics major, but after two years he decided to study English literature instead.
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About the Author • William Golding was born in 1911 in Cornwall, England. • He enrolled at Oxford University as a physics major, but after two years he decided to study English literature instead. • Two years after his graduation, Golding joined the Royal Navy (1940).
Author (cont’d) • While serving in the Royal Navy, Golding was faced with the tragedies of WWII. • He was stationed off the coast of Normandy, France during the D-Day invasion. • After the war, Golding worked as a teacher in Salisbury, England.
Author (cont’d) • While living in Oxford, Golding wrote and published his first novel, Lord of the Flies. • He took it to several publishers, who all turned the book down. • It finally got published in 1954. • Today, Lord of the Flies is considered one of the greatest books in English literature. • Golding died in 1993 in Wiltshire, England.
Golding’s View of Human Nature • WWII had a great effect on Golding’s view of human nature. • Lord of the Flies is a novel based on Golding’s view of man’s innocence. • It focuses on what happens to that innocence when man is placed in a situation where he is forced to survive on his own.
Symbolism and Allegory • Keep an eye on the following objects that serve as symbols in LOTF: the conch shell the “beastie” the signal fire LOTF pig’s head Piggy’s glasses • Also, remember LOTF is an allegory for society; each character plays a symbolic role.