Background and Context Flashcards
1
Q
when was lord of the flies written and published?
A
- written: early 1950s
- published : 1954
2
Q
what is the meaning of the title?
A
- refers to the devil
- derived from hebrew word ‘beezlebub’ - one of the 7 princes of hell
3
Q
how does golding address issues in society using his novel?
A
- island is a microcosm of the wider world, highlighting inequality and unfairness for select groups of people
4
Q
civilisation vs evil
A
- novel used to show the struggle between civilisation and evil
- boys struggle with the evil within them, as well as the evil things each of them do
5
Q
world war 2
A
- after his experience in WW2, Golding was interested in exploring how evil and violence can develop easily from innocent beginnings and how anyone is capable of evil
6
Q
war
A
- violence and fighting starts as a game, but the game goes too far and becomes vicious and savage for most of the boys
7
Q
nazi germany
A
- WW2 saw Nazi soldiers and the SS who were fiercely loyal to Hitler
- Jack leading his group who are loyal to him and follow his orders
- Golding uses this to reinforce ideas around WW2 - the dangers of blindly following a leader without question
- Hitler used fear of communism to manipulate people to support him- Jack used the fear of the Beast
8
Q
the cold war
A
- after WW2, Britain faced the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union
- throughout 1950s, British feared a nuclear attack
9
Q
nuclear war
A
- was a standoff to nuclear attack because britain had a nuclear missile as well
- if the soviet union had set theirs off, Britain would have retaliated, and countries would have destroyed each other
- mutually assured destruction
- seen in the novel
- at the end the fire destroys the island and if officer from navy hasn’t arrived to rescue them - Jack’s tribe wouldn’t have been able to survive on the island after destroying it
10
Q
1950s Britain
A
- rigid social class system and classes did not mix
- upper class boys educated at prestigious schools such as Eton - Ralph - home counties
- working class - majority of population
- novel shows strict social divisions - piggy is cleverest but is ignored due to his social status
- jack assumes being choir leader should make him chief
- piggy’s family - don’t seem to be wealthy but ralph’s father is in navy
- WW2 - severe rationing due to a lack of food and other supplies - people in Britain had enough food to survive, but only the basic necessities
- food is a key focus - reason they become obsessed with hunting and meat
11
Q
religious/christian allegory
A
- idea of original sin
- Christian doctrine that says that everyone is born sinful and with a built-in urge to do bad things and disobey God from the Fall story - eve ate the apple from the tree of knowledge tempted by the snake
- island described idyllic like the garden of eden - foreshadows their temptation by the beast (the snake-thing) and lose their innocence
- original sin is the result of adam and eve’s disobedience to God
- ## original sin is a catalyst for cruel and evil behaviour
12
Q
political allegory
A
- comment on the atrocities of WW2 and the totalitarianism vs liberalism of the Cold War era
- Golding was involved in D-day landings
- critique of the cold war era
- totalitarian power - Jack as a dictator figure
13
Q
psychological study
A
- if examining the novel as a psychological study, a Freudian reading of the narrative could explore the dangers of being dominated by the ‘ID’, resulting in selfish behaviour and the desire for power over others as clearly seen in the later development of Jack’s tyranny
- Sigmund Freud- theorised that the human mind was a constant battle ground for three contrasting forces; the ID (our most primal needs and desires), the superego (our sense of conscience and morality) and the ego (our conscious, rational mind)
- boys battle with what they have learnt is right and their innermost desires
14
Q
response to romantic portrayals of childhood
A
- coral island by ballantyne - 1857
- characters are based on those from coral island - a novel Golding found unrealistic in the portrayal of boys’ behaviour
- Golding taught boys in a private school for many years
15
Q
tribute to conrad
A
- Joseph Conrad - ‘Heart of Darkness’ - direct reference - final chapter
- ‘with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy’
