''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning British author

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel '' Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 198 ...

. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes include the tension between

groupthink Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Cohesiveness, or the desire for cohesiveness ...

and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...

and immorality. The novel, which was Golding's debut, was generally well received. It was named in the

Modern Library 100 Best Novels Modern Library's 100 Best Novels is a 1998 list of the best English-language novels published during the 20th century, as selected by Modern Library from among 400 novels published by Random House, which owns Modern Library.Jessica Woodbury"Back ...

, reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's list. In 2003, it was listed at number 70 on the BBC's The Big Read poll, and in 2005 ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine named it as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005, and included it in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult Books of All Time. Popular reading in schools, especially in the English-speaking world, ''Lord of the Flies'' was ranked third in the nation's favourite books from school in a 2016 UK poll.

Background

Published in 1954, ''Lord of the Flies'' was Golding's first novel. The concept arose after Golding read what he deemed to be an unrealistic portrayal of stranded children in the youth novel '' The Coral Island: a Tale of the Pacific Ocean'' (1857) by R. M. Ballantyne, which includes themes of the civilising effect of Christianity and the importance of hierarchy and leadership. Golding asked his wife, Ann, if it would "be a good idea if I wrote a book about children on an island, children who behave in the way children really would behave?" As a result, the novel contains various references to ''The Coral Island'', such as the rescuing naval officer's description of the boys' initial attempts at civilised cooperation as a " lly good show. Like the Coral Island." Golding's three central characters (Ralph, Piggy, and Jack) have also been interpreted as caricatures of Ballantyne's ''Coral Island'' protagonists. The manuscript was rejected by many publishers before finally being accepted by London-based Faber & Faber; an initial rejection by the professional reader, Miss Perkins, at Faber labelled the book an "Absurd and uninteresting fantasy about the explosion of an atomic bomb on the colonies and a group of children who land in the jungle near New Guinea. Rubbish and dull. Pointless".Monteith, Charles. "Strangers from Within." ''William Golding: The Man and His Books'', edited by John Carey, Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1987. However,

Charles Monteith Charles Montgomery Monteith (9 February 1921 – 9 May 1995) was a British literary editor. He was born in Lisburn, County Antrim, and won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford where he earned a Double First. He fought in World War Two, s ...

decided to take on the manuscript and worked with Golding to complete several fairly major edits, including the removal of the entire first section of the novel, which had previously described an evacuation from

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

. The character of Simon was heavily redacted by Monteith, removing his interaction with a mysterious lone figure who is never identified but implied to be God. Monteith himself was concerned about these changes, completing "tentative emendations", and warning against "turning Simon into a prig". Ultimately, Golding made all of Monteith's recommended edits and wrote back in his final letter to his editor that "I've lost any kind of objectivity I ever had over this novel and can hardly bear to look at it." These manuscripts and typescripts are now available from the Special Collections Archives at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

library for further study and research. The collection includes the original 1952 "Manuscript Notebook" (originally a Bishop Wordsworth's School notebook) containing copious edits and strikethroughs. After the changes made by Monteith, and slow sales of the three thousand copy first printing, the book went on to become a best-seller, with more than ten million copies sold as of 2015. It has been adapted to film twice in English, in 1963 by

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

and 1990 by

Harry Hook Harry Hook (born 1960) is an English screenwriter, film/television director and photographer. Hook is best known for such films as ''The Last of His Tribe'' and the 1990 version of '' Lord of the Flies''. Career Harry Hook's first feature film a ...

, and once in Filipino by Lupita A. Concio (1975). The book begins with the boys' arrival on the island after their plane has been shot down during what seems to be part of a nuclear World War III. Some of the marooned characters are ordinary students, while others arrive as a musical choir under an established leader. With the exception of Sam, Eric, and the choirboys, they appear never to have encountered each other before. The book portrays their descent into savagery; left to themselves on a paradisiacal island, far from modern civilisation, the well-educated boys regress to a primitive state.

Plot

In the midst of a wartime evacuation, a British aeroplane crashes on or near an isolated island in a remote region of the Pacific Ocean. The only survivors are boys in their middle childhood or

preadolescence Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...

. A fair-haired boy named Ralph and a fat boy named Piggy find a

conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...

, which Ralph uses as a horn to convene the survivors to one area. Ralph immediately commands authority over the other boys using the conch, and is elected their "chief". He establishes three primary policies: to have fun, to survive, and to constantly maintain a

smoke signal The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area ...

that could alert passing ships of their presence. Ralph joins a red-haired boy named Jack and a quiet boy named Simon in using Piggy's glasses to create a signal fire. The semblance of order deteriorates as the majority of the boys turn idle, and ignore Ralph's efforts towards improving life on the island. They develop

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...

around an imaginary monster they call the "beast", which they all gradually believe exists on the island. Ralph fails to convince the boys that no beast exists, while Jack gains popularity by declaring that he will personally hunt and kill the monster. At one point, Jack summons many of the boys to hunt down a wild pig, drawing away those assigned to maintain the signal fire. The smoke signal goes out, failing to attract a ship that was passing by the island. Ralph angrily confronts Jack about his failure to maintain the signal, but he is rebuffed by the other boys. Disillusioned with his role as leader, Ralph considers relinquishing his job, but is persuaded not to do so by Piggy. One night, an aerial battle occurs near the island while the boys sleep, during which a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

ejects from his plane and dies in the descent. His body drifts down to the island in his parachute and gets tangled in a tree. Twin boys Sam and Eric see the corpse of the pilot and mistake it for the beast. When Ralph, Jack, and a gloomy boy named Roger later investigate the corpse, they flee, incorrectly believing the beast is real. Jack calls an assembly and tries to turn the others against Ralph, but initially receives no support; he storms off alone to form his own tribe, with most of the other boys gradually joining him. Simon often ventures out into the island's forest to be alone. One day while he is there, Jack and his followers erect an offering to the beast nearby: a pig's head, mounted on a sharpened stick and swarming with flies. Simon conducts an imaginary dialogue with the head, which he dubs the " Lord of the Flies". The head tells Simon that there is no beast on the island, and predicts that the other boys will turn on him. That night, Ralph and Piggy visit Jack's tribe, learning that they have begun painting their faces and engaging in primitive ritual dances. Simon discovers that the "beast" is the dead pilot, and rushes down to tell Jack's tribe. The frenzied boys, including Ralph and Piggy, mistake Simon for the beast and beat him to death. Jack and his rebel band decide to steal Piggy’s glasses, the only means the boys have of starting a fire. They raid Ralph's camp, take the glasses, and return to their abode on an outcropping called Castle Rock. Deserted by most of his supporters, Ralph journeys to Castle Rock with Piggy, Sam, and Eric in order to confront Jack and retrieve the glasses. The boys reject Ralph, with Roger triggering a trap that kills Piggy and shatters the conch. Ralph manages to escape, but Sam and Eric are tortured by Roger until they agree to join Jack's tribe. That night, Ralph secretly confronts Sam and Eric, who warn him that Jack plans to hunt him like a pig and

decapitate Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

him. The following morning, Jack's tribe sets fire to the forest, with Ralph narrowly escaping the hunters. Following a long chase, Ralph trips and falls in front of a uniformed adult – a British naval officer whose party has arrived to investigate the fire. Ralph, Jack, and the other boys erupt into sobs over the "end of innocence". The officer expresses his disappointment at seeing British boys exhibiting such feral, warlike behaviour before turning to stare at his warship.

Themes

At an allegorical level, the central theme is the conflicting human impulses toward civilisation and social organisation – living by rules, peacefully and in harmony – and toward the will to power. Themes include the tension between

and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. How these play out and how different people feel their influence form a major subtext of ''Lord of the Flies'', with the central themes addressed in an essay by American literary critic

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking worl ...

. The name "Lord of the Flies" is a literal translation of

Beelzebub Beelzebub ( ; he, ''Baʿal-zəḇūḇ'') or Beelzebul is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name ''Beelzebub'' is associated with the Can ...

, from .

Reception

The book, originally entitled ''Strangers from Within'', was initially rejected by an in-house reader, Miss Perkins, at London based publishers

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel ...

as "Rubbish & dull. Pointless". The title was considered "too abstract and too explicit". Following a further review, the book was eventually published as ''Lord of the Flies''. A turning point occurred when E. M. Forster chose ''Lord of the Flies'' as his "outstanding novel of the year." Other reviews described it as "not only a first-rate adventure but a parable of our times". In February 1960, Floyd C. Gale of ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edit ...

'' rated ''Lord of the Flies'' five stars out of five, stating that "Golding paints a truly terrifying picture of the decay of a minuscule society ... Well on its way to becoming a modern classic". In his book ''

Moral Minds ''Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong'' is a 2006 book by former Harvard psychologist Marc Hauser in which he develops an empirically grounded theory to explain morality as a universal grammar. He draws eviden ...

: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and Wrong'', Marc D. Hauser says the following about Golding's ''Lord of the Flies'': "This riveting fiction, standard reading in most intro courses to English literature, should be standard reading in biology, economics, psychology, and philosophy." Its stances on the already controversial subjects of

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

and individual welfare versus the

common good In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) is either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by c ...

earned it position 68 on the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

's list of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–1999. The book has been criticized as "cynical" and portraying humanity exclusively as "selfish creatures". It has been linked with "Tragedy of the commons" by Garrett Hardin and books by

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

, and countered by "Management of the Commons" by

Elinor Ostrom Elinor Claire "Lin" Ostrom (née Awan; August 7, 1933 – June 12, 2012) was an American political scientist and political economist whose work was associated with New Institutional Economics and the resurgence of political economy. In 2009, ...

. Parallels have been drawn between the "Lord of the Flies" and an actual incident from 1965 when a group of schoolboys who sailed a fishing boat from

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

were hit by a storm and marooned on the uninhabited island of ʻAta, considered dead by their relatives in Nuku‘alofa. The group not only managed to survive for over 15 months but "had set up a small commune with food garden, hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights, a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire, all from handiwork, an old knife blade and much determination". As a result, when ship captain Peter Warner found them, they were in good health and spirits. Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, writing about this situation said that Golding's portrayal was unrealistic. * It was awarded a place on both lists of

, reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's list. * In 2003, the novel was listed at number 70 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. * In 2005, the novel was chosen by ''

'' magazine as one of the 100 best

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the i ...

novels from 1923 to 2005. ''Time'' also included the novel in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult Books of All Time. Popular in schools, especially in the English-speaking world, a 2016 UK poll saw ''Lord of the Flies'' ranked third in the nation's favourite books from school, behind

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

’s '' Animal Farm'' and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

’ ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

''. On 5 November 2019,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

listed ''Lord of the Flies'' on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels.

In other media

Film

There have been three film adaptations based on the book: * '' Lord of the Flies'' (1963), directed by

* '' Alkitrang Dugo'' (1975), a Filipino film, directed by Lupita A. Concio * '' Lord of the Flies'' (1990), directed by

A fourth adaptation, to feature an all-female cast, was announced by Warner Bros. in August 2017, but was subsequently abandoned. In July 2019, director Luca Guadagnino was said to be in negotiations for a conventionally cast version. '' Ladyworld'', an all-female adaptation, was released in 2018.

Stage

Nigel Williams adapted the text for the stage. It was debuted by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

in July 1996. The Pilot Theatre Company has toured it extensively in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In October 2014 it was announced that the 2011 production of ''Lord of the Flies'' would return to conclude the 2015 season at the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary� ...

ahead of a major UK tour. The production was to be directed by the Artistic Director

Timothy Sheader Timothy Sheader (born 23 November 1971 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire) is a British theatre director. Sheader read Law with French at the University of Birmingham before moving into a career in theatre. Since 2007, he has been Artistic Directo ...

who won the 2014 Whatsonstage.com Awards Best Play Revival for ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

''. Kansas-based Orange Mouse Theatricals and Mathew Klickstein produced a topical, gender-bending adaptation called ''Ladies of the Fly'' that was co-written by a group of young girls (ages 8–16) based on both the original text and their own lives. The production was performed by the girls themselves as an immersive live-action show in August 2018.

Radio

In June 2013,

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the ...

broadcast a dramatisation by Judith Adams in four 30-minute episodes directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. The cast included

Ruth Wilson Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She is known for her performances as the eponymous protagonist in ''Jane Eyre'' (2006), as Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama ''Luther'' (2010–2013, 2019), as Alison L ...

as "The Narrator", Finn Bennett as "Ralph", Richard Linnel as "Jack", Caspar Hilton-Hilley as "Piggy" and Jack Caine as "Simon". # ''Fire on the Mountain'' # ''Painted Faces'' # ''Beast from the Air'' # ''Gift for Darkness''

Influence

Many writers have borrowed plot elements from ''Lord of the Flies''. By the early 1960s, it was required reading in many schools and colleges.

Literature

Author

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

uses the name Castle Rock, from the mountain fort in ''Lord of the Flies'', as a fictional town that has appeared in a number of his novels. The book itself appears prominently in his novels '' Hearts in Atlantis'' (1999), '' Misery'' (1987), and '' Cujo'' (1981). King wrote an introduction for a new edition of ''Lord of the Flies'' (2011) to mark the centenary of William Golding's birth in 1911. King's fictional town of Castle Rock inspired the name of

Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom '' All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performa ...

's production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced the film '' Lord of the Flies'' (1990).

Music

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harr ...

wrote a song inspired by the book, included in their 1995 album ''The X Factor''. The Filipino indie pop/alternative rock outfit

The Camerawalls The Camerawalls is a pop rock band based in Manila, Philippines formed in 2007 by singer and guitarist Clementine, the main songwriter of the band and formerly of Orange and Lemons. History With a cult following back in 2003 to mainstream succes ...

include a song entitled "Lord of the Flies" on their 2008 album ''Pocket Guide to the Otherworld''.

Editions

References

External links

Chapter 1: "The Sound of the Shell"
of the novel ''Lord of the Flies'' by William Golding on

eNotes eNotes was a free student and teacher educational website founded in 1998 by Brad Satoris and Alexander Bloomingdale, that provides material to help students complete homework assignments and study for exams. Based in Seattle, Washington, eNo ...

''Lord of the Flies''
student guide and teacher resources; themes, quotes, characters, study questions
Reading and teaching guide
from

, the book's UK publisher
An interview with Judy Golding
the author's daughter, in which she discusses the inspiration for the book, and the reasons for its enduring legacy * run and administered by the William Golding Estate
The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months
About a real life incident in 1965; reality had a much more positive outcome than Golding's book. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Of The Flies 1954 British novels Allegory British adventure novels British novels adapted into films British philosophical novels British young adult novels Castaways in fiction Dystopian novels English philosophical novels Existentialist novels Faber and Faber books Novels about survival skills Novels by William Golding Novels set in Oceania Novels set on uninhabited islands Philosophical novels Pigs in literature 1954 debut novels Novels set on fictional islands