What Is The Context Of Lord Of The Flies
Lord Of The Flies- Context:
Lord of the Flies was written in 1953.
At this time, the Second World War was going on, so of course this played a part in the themes of the novel. The novel alludes to the Cold War conflict especially, with reference to the dispute between liberal democracy and communism, that fitted in with what was going on at that time. For example, in the Cold War, there was much disagreement between the West (the anti-communists) and the East (the anti-democratic)- it was their difference in opinions, ideas and rules that caused the Cold War and all the bombings that took place (such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). This disagreement is reflected in the novel by the different 'sides' the boys take; Ralph
represents the Liberal Democratic side, with his conch the symbol of democracy, as he lets other boys on the island have their say and take an equal part in the jobs, whilst Jack represents the Communist side as he wants total power and order. The tension in the novel builds up throughout, so the reader gets the impression that, towards the end of the novel, all this pressure leads to a sort of 'explosion' (when the first horrible death occurs and Simon is beaten repetitively in a cruel chanting ritual) and so it could definitely be said this mirrors the explosions that were going on at the time of the Cold War, as all the tension between the opposition was released on each side in a brutal and unforgiving manner. Although this event may seem shocking, confusing and completely thoughtless to the reader, backed up with what happened between the East and the West, we can see how the boys came to believe it was rational: just like in the Cold War, fear and anger were built up to a precipice. The world was on edge, and so as perhaps nuclear fallout was inevitable, perhaps Golding wanted to show that the events of the book were too. Unfortunately, in Golding's story, we see communism take over, resulting in tragedy. The pessimistic nature of the plot depicts Golding's strong anti-communist views and therefore his belief in the necessity of democracy in civilisation. It is also widely thought that the novel was greatly influenced by R.M Ballantyne's 'The Coral Island', written in 1857 with a plot which follows 3 boys marooned on a desert island. Golding believed that the events of the novel were unrealistic, and so perhaps Lord Of the Flies was an opposition to his novel, revealing what he really thought would happen in the circumstances of a group of boys being stranded on an island. In 'The Coral Island', the boys' explorations are pleasant, happy and carefree, and it is quite the opposite for Lord Of the Flies, in which they constantly fight against hunger, fear, danger and loneliness. This suggests Golding found Ballantyne's interpretation naïve and unlikely. It is also interesting to note that the Greek name for Satan: 'Beelzebub' literally translates to 'God of The Flies', directly linking the title of the novel with the darkest force known to Christianity. Golding wanted to show the evil that exposed itself in a dangerous situation. However, his reference to evil was certainly of that contained within a human (rather than a force from elsewhere), and so binds together Judeo-Christian mythology with Freud's Theory of the human mind- that there is a 'Super-Ego', a perfectionist side of the brain, and an 'Id', an evil side of the brain, either of which can be provoked by particular events. The worry and shock of being abandoned without adults brings out the 'Id' in some of the boys and makes them behave irrationally. The reference to religion also allows Simon to be portrayed as a martyr figure for the other boys.
Lord of the Flies was written in 1953.
At this time, the Second World War was going on, so of course this played a part in the themes of the novel. The novel alludes to the Cold War conflict especially, with reference to the dispute between liberal democracy and communism, that fitted in with what was going on at that time. For example, in the Cold War, there was much disagreement between the West (the anti-communists) and the East (the anti-democratic)- it was their difference in opinions, ideas and rules that caused the Cold War and all the bombings that took place (such as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). This disagreement is reflected in the novel by the different 'sides' the boys take; Ralph
represents the Liberal Democratic side, with his conch the symbol of democracy, as he lets other boys on the island have their say and take an equal part in the jobs, whilst Jack represents the Communist side as he wants total power and order. The tension in the novel builds up throughout, so the reader gets the impression that, towards the end of the novel, all this pressure leads to a sort of 'explosion' (when the first horrible death occurs and Simon is beaten repetitively in a cruel chanting ritual) and so it could definitely be said this mirrors the explosions that were going on at the time of the Cold War, as all the tension between the opposition was released on each side in a brutal and unforgiving manner. Although this event may seem shocking, confusing and completely thoughtless to the reader, backed up with what happened between the East and the West, we can see how the boys came to believe it was rational: just like in the Cold War, fear and anger were built up to a precipice. The world was on edge, and so as perhaps nuclear fallout was inevitable, perhaps Golding wanted to show that the events of the book were too. Unfortunately, in Golding's story, we see communism take over, resulting in tragedy. The pessimistic nature of the plot depicts Golding's strong anti-communist views and therefore his belief in the necessity of democracy in civilisation. It is also widely thought that the novel was greatly influenced by R.M Ballantyne's 'The Coral Island', written in 1857 with a plot which follows 3 boys marooned on a desert island. Golding believed that the events of the novel were unrealistic, and so perhaps Lord Of the Flies was an opposition to his novel, revealing what he really thought would happen in the circumstances of a group of boys being stranded on an island. In 'The Coral Island', the boys' explorations are pleasant, happy and carefree, and it is quite the opposite for Lord Of the Flies, in which they constantly fight against hunger, fear, danger and loneliness. This suggests Golding found Ballantyne's interpretation naïve and unlikely. It is also interesting to note that the Greek name for Satan: 'Beelzebub' literally translates to 'God of The Flies', directly linking the title of the novel with the darkest force known to Christianity. Golding wanted to show the evil that exposed itself in a dangerous situation. However, his reference to evil was certainly of that contained within a human (rather than a force from elsewhere), and so binds together Judeo-Christian mythology with Freud's Theory of the human mind- that there is a 'Super-Ego', a perfectionist side of the brain, and an 'Id', an evil side of the brain, either of which can be provoked by particular events. The worry and shock of being abandoned without adults brings out the 'Id' in some of the boys and makes them behave irrationally. The reference to religion also allows Simon to be portrayed as a martyr figure for the other boys.