Lord of the FliesChapter One: The Sound of the Shell

WILLIAM GOLDING

(19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993)

British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature

Best known for his novel Lord of the Flies.

During World War II, Golding fought in the Royal Navy (on board a destroyer) briefly involved in the pursuit and sinking of the German battleship Bismarck Participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day,

commanding a landing ship that fired salvoes of rockets onto the beaches, and then in a naval action at Walcheren in which 23 out of 24 assault craft were sunk.

• Golding returned to writing and teaching, with a dark view of the European civilization.

• Recalling later his war experiences, he remarked that "man produces evil, as a bee produces honey.”

Believed human beings cannot control the beast within

Believed that one’s morals come directly from our surroundings, and if there is no civilization around us, we will lose these values

WILLIAM GOLDING

British Evacuation

When Hitler came to power in 1933, British leaders worried that a new war might begin. By 1934, afraid that British cities and towns would be targets for bombing raids by aircraft, officials made secret plans to move infants, schoolchildren and some adults to the countryside if war began. In September 1939, evacuation began several days before Britain entered the war.

The evacuation plan worked very well and 1½ million children and adults were moved within 3 days, including 600,000 from London. There were no big bombing raids on Britain in the first months of the war and, by early 1940, many children had returned home.

LORD OF THE FLIES

Tells the story of a group of boys marooned on a tropical island after their plane is shot down during WWII.

This novel explores the idea of human evil is to some extent based on Golding’s experience with the violence and savagery of human beings during WWII.

This book explores the breakdown into savagery of a group of boys free from the imposed moral constraints of civilization and society.

Setting:

How did the boys arrive on the island?

How do they know that it is an island?

SETTING is an integral part of the novel

The island is a “character” in Golding’s novel

Personification is…

The island is personified, it is given human characteristics. (Ex. the plane carves a scar into the island.)

The Island as a Microcosm

Micro: small / Cosm- world

1. A little world; especially: the human race or human nature seen as an epitome of the world or the universe

2. A community or other unity that is the epitome of a large unity

The island is representative of the world at large

The boys face the same realities of the real world

SYMBOLISM

Symbolism:

What are some symbols? Ralph’s school sweater Piggy’s specs The conch The scar

The ScarWhat is the scar?

Where the plane crashed on the island it tore down a line of trees and undergrowth.

What does the scar symbolize?

The scar symbolizes:- man’s destruction- destructive forces of

human kind

Imagery

Imagery is descriptive language used to create a mental picture. It helps to create mood.

“The ground beneath the palm trees was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen tress, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open face of the scar.” What image is created?

The Conch

What does the conch symbolize?

Who finds the conch and why is that significant?

What do the boys do with the conch when they find it?

Ralph and Piggy are the first people we meet in the noveland are very different in background and character. We can see this in their contrasting reactions to being stranded on the island:

‘…the delight of a realised ambition overcame him…“No grown-ups!”’

Ralph’s excitement suggests he is adventurous and fearless

‘“They’re all dead,” said Piggy, “an’ this is an island. Nobody don’t know we’re here. Your dad don’t know, nobody don’t know…’’’

Piggy repeats himself, indicatinghe is very anxious

Now select two more quotes which show us Piggy and Ralph’s feelings about their situation.

How would you feel if you were stranded on an island?

Ralph and Piggy

Appearance

Background

Relationships with others

Character

Tall, blonde hair, athletic.

Confident,seems to be agood leader.

Father a Naval officer.Piggy and others look up to

him, friendly with Jack.

Ralph profile

Appearance

Background

Relationships with others

Character

Fat, asthmaticand short-sighted.

Orphan, liveswith aunt.Different accentto others.

Intelligent and sensible –teaches Ralph how to blow the conch, suggestsmaking a listof names.

Fears Jack, is taunted by others because of nickname.

Piggy profile

It is a technique of suggesting to the reader that something will happen later in the story.

This is usually something bad, and therefore foreshadowing creates a sense of tension and anticipation.

‘He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy. He looked round fiercely, daring them to contradict.’

What does this tell us about Jack?

What could this event be foreshadowing?

What is foreshadowing?

At the end of Chapter One, Jack has failed to kill the pig:

Foreshadowing

Appearance

BackgroundRelationships with others

Character

Leader of thechoirboys.

Thin, red hairand freckles, meanexpression.

Dominates the choir. LikesRalph but takes an immediatedislike to Piggy.

Bossy and rude – ordersthe choir about.

Jack profile

The British Boys’ Choir

A party of boys who marched in step

Dressed eccentrically; How?

Wore square black cap with a silver badge

“The heat of the tropics, the descent, the search for food, and now this sweaty march along the blazing beach had given them the complexions of newly wasted plums.”

Literary device?

“Choir perched like black birds on a trunk.” Literary device?

Who is the leader of the choir?