Context Flashcards
In which service did William Golding briefly work in?
The Royal Navy
What career did William Golding pursue, meaning he had great insight into the lives of English schoolboys?
He was a teacher in a boys’ private school
What is the book’s exploration of the idea of human evil based upon?
Golding’s experience with the violence and savagery of human beings during WWII
What could be argued to be the fundamental human struggle?
The conflict between the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully and the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, behave in a way that will gratify one’s own desires and scorn moral rules.
What could the first set impulses be called?
The “civilising instinct”
What could the second set of impulses be known as?
The “barbarising instinct”
Give two things that Lord of the Flies could be argued to dramatise
1) The history of civilisation itself
2) The struggle among the Freudian components of unconscious identity
* id, ego and superego
What effect did WWII have on Golding?
A profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it is capable
What is the id?
Id = instinctual needs and desires
What is the ego?
Ego = the conscious, rational mind
What is the superego?
Superego = the sense of conscience and morality
How does Golding present the novel as an allegorical microcosm?
By giving each of the three major characters (Ralph, Piggy and Jack) a specific trait that reflects the main theme which is the importance of civilisation
- Ralph represents democracy and order
- Piggy delineates intelligence and science
- Jack portrays wildness, violence and savagery
Why might Golding have decided to write the novel as a microcosm?
So that he could show his key message of the importance of civilisation but also how the world would be without it
