Lord-of-the-Flies

WilliamGoldingIntroductionSummaryStylethemesIntroduction•Publishedin1954,LordoftheFlieswasGolding’sfirstnovel.•Itwasoneofthe100mostfrequentlychallengedbooks(禁书）of1990–1999ontheAmericanLibraryAssociation’slist.•In2005thenovelwaschosenbyTIMEmagazineasoneofthe100bestEnglish-languagenovelsfrom1923to2005.•ItwasawardedaplaceonbothlistsofModernLibrary100BestNovels,reaching41ontheeditor'slist,and25onthereader'slist.•Itwasadaptedtofilmin1963byPeterBrook,andagainin1990byHarryHook.Summary•Thestoryisbothacoming-of-agenovel（成长小说）andallegoricalnovel.Essentiallyagroupofboysagedfromaround6upto12aremaroonedonatropicalislandwithnoadults.InitiallytheboyselectaleadercalledRalph,plantolightafiretoaidtheirrescueandalsobuildshelters.Unfortunatelyalmostfromthestart,thingsgobegintogowrong.UndertheinfluenceofaboycalledJack,whowantsonlytohuntpigsandbetheleader,thingsbegintofallapartandtheboysbegintoactincreasinglylikesavages.•Negligenceleadstothedisappearanceofasmallboyandlatertoamissedopportunitytoberescued.AboycalledSimonisbeatentodeathwhenheismistakenforanimaginarybeastandafatboycalledPiggyisdeliberatelykilled.ThebookendswhenJackandhistribeaccidentallysetfiretotheentireislandastheyattempttohuntdownandkillRalph,onlyforthesmoketoattractanavalvesselandensureRalph'ssurvivalandtherescueofalltheremainingboys.MainCharactersinLordoftheFliesRalph•RalphandJack“aretwopolarizingfigures”inthenovel.•Ralphisasymbolofdemocracy.•Representscivilizationandmorality(Flickr)Jack•Cruelandmanipulative（操纵他人的）•Representssavageinstinctsandevil•Jackwascomparedtothedictators“HitlerandMussolini”.(Flickr)Piggy•Describedas“fat,”“intellectual,”•Representsscientific,rationalsideofcivilization,andsocialorderSimon•InLordoftheFlies,Simonsignifies“theChrist-figure,thevoiceofrevelation”.•Inaninterview,WilliamGoldingstates:“Simonisasaint”.Style•Golding'swritinginLordoftheFliesisfilledwithdescription,characterisationandsymbolism.•Golding'slanguagewasalwaysinlinewithwhatwashappeningtohischaracters.•Goldingtriesveryhardtolinkhumannaturewiththerhythmsofnature.•Numerousbiblicalallusionsthroughoutthiswork.Golding’sLiteraryTechnique•Heavyuseofsymbolism•Irony•Abundantimageryandsensorydetail•Figurative（比喻的）LanguageSimileMetaphorPersonification1.TheNeedforSocialOrder/Civilization2.Power-struggles3.Blindness4.FearoftheUnknown5.LossofIdentity6.LossofInnocence7.TheIndifferenceofNature8.TheDefectsofHumanNatureThemesGolding’sMessage“Thethemeisanattempttotracethedefectsofsocietybacktothedefectsofhumannature.”--WilliamGolding