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Lord of the Flies Introduction and Critical Analysis

Lord of the Flies Introduction and Critical Analysis. Kerr- Look beyond the shadows on the wall. Allusion, Allegory, and symbol.

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Lord of the Flies Introduction and Critical Analysis

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  1. Lord of the Flies Introduction and Critical Analysis Kerr- Look beyond the shadows on the wall.

  2. Allusion, Allegory, and symbol • Allusion: An indirect reference to a person, event, statement, or theme found in literature, the other arts, history, myths, religion, or popular culture. They are used to enrich meaning or broaden the impact of a statement. • Allegory: The presentation of an abstract idea through more concrete means. The typical allegory is a narrative that has at least two levels of meaning (figurative and literal). They are like an extended metaphor. • Symbol: Something that, although it is of interest in its own right, stands for or suggests that something larger and more complex– often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices.

  3. What do those three things have in common?

  4. Literal and Figurative Figurative Literal • The literal meaning of something is what it actually is. A book is a book and if we are thinking literally then it is nothing else. If Lord of the Flies is about a bunch of abandoned boys on an island, then according to the literal meaning, that is all it is about. • The figurative meaning of something is what something could represent. For example, the bible is a book. Literally, all it is, is a book. However, it’s more than a book to some people. What do you think the figurative meaning of the bible is to people?

  5. Authorial Intent • The reason an author wrote a piece. Unless you have read a letter, diary, or personal description from the author of the piece that explicitly explains what an author meant when he or she wrote something, do not search for reasons why an author wrote something. • Authorial intent mostly does not matter. Sometimes there are reasons an author wrote something (an allusion) and that’s when authorial intent does matter. However, for the most part, we want to read works of fiction like they are art. They are separate creations from the author. • Reader interpretation is more important than Authorial Intent

  6. Back to our first three definitions. • So allusion, allegory, and symbol all refer to the figurative side of the spectrum, and that is what we want to focus on for Lord of the Flies.Lord of the Flies is a good literal book, but you can’t fully appreciate it, if you don’t examine the figurative meaning the book portrays. First, however, let’s go into a little more detail on those first three definitions. Then we’re going to talk about a Cave.

  7. Allusion • Allusions are in nearly every piece of art or literature, and for many reasons. • Enrich the meaning • Aesthetics • Historical Context • Allusions can be as simple as a rapper quoting a famous line from another rap song (not samples). • Allusions can be made with or without an Author’s intent.

  8. Allegory • Metaphor: a figure of speech (trope) that associates two distinct things; the representation of one thing by another. The image (or activity or concept) used to represent or “figure” something else is the vehicle of the figure of speech; the thing represented is called the tenor. For instance, in the sentence “That child is a mouse,” the child is the tenor, whereas the mouse is the vehicle. • What do you think the sentence means by describing the child in that way?

  9. Allegory (cont) • Allegory is an extended metaphor. • Allegories, like allusions can be used to enrich meaning or provide historical context. Examples. • Allegories can be written with or without Authorial Intent. • Lord of the Flies- many allegories- not clear if written with authorial intent (doesn’t matter, though)

  10. Most famous Allegory • The Allegory of the Cave- Plato • Brief introduction- http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/knowledge/story/sto_set.html • Videos- http://www.openculture.com/2014/02/two-animations-of-platos-allegory-of-the-cave.html • We must think about words on the page as if they are shadows on the wall. There is something behind and beyond those words.

  11. Symbol • A dead body is a dead body (literal). But in LOTF it will mean so much more (figurative). That meaning can be interpreted by each reader (as long as you have textual evidence). • Symbols can be written with or without authorial intent (not that it matters). • What can a symbol be? ANYTHING (as long as you have textutal evidence. • Symbols occur once or twice in a work. If it occurs more often, then it is a motif.

  12. Symbol (cont)

  13. Symbol (cont)

  14. Symbol (cont)

  15. Symbol (cont)

  16. Symbol (cont)

  17. Murfin, Ross C, and Supryia M. Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2003. Print. Works Cited

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